Fanfiction World
by Shadowlight0982
Summary: FFW, a world where people can not only write stories but can also create avatars with powers of their favorite shows. When something deep inside begins to stir, it is up to a group of heroes to protect both this world and FFW.
1. Chapter 1: The Adventure Begins

**Hello everyone to the first chapter of Fanfiction World! First I like to thank everyone who sent in their own characters it hard that I had to choose through interesting and unique characters but it had to be done. All of the people who are not in the main group or villains will have a cameo chapter. Now after a few announcements the story will begin.**

**Announcements:**

**I will start writing as soon as I can I just lost motivation to write until this story popped into my head in a dream.**

**Some stories may get deleted or put on hiatus, I may need to clear room and focus on certain stories more than others.**

**Now that this is done ON WITH THE SHOW!**

"aaaa"-Speech

'bbbb'-Thought

'_cccc'-Flashback_

"**dddd"-Attacks**

**Disclaimer: I own the plot, the locations, and some of the characters. What I don't own are things taken from anime, shows, movies, games, books, online RPGS, etc. I also don't own any character I didn't create. Put your lawyers away!**

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><p>"<em>If my Imagination is my power, then my power is limitless"-Shadowlight0982<em>

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><p><strong>CH. 1: The Adventure Begins<strong>

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><p>Fanfiction World, or FFW for short, is a virtual world created from the old Fanfiction site. While FF existed as a place for fans to post stories about their favorite shows, movies, and books FFW offers much more. Users from all over the world now have the ability to travel to worlds inspired by their favorite shows, movies, and books. FFW was created to be a new world, a haven for authors and otakus alike, however what happens when a presence threatens this world and possibly the world outside.<p>

_(Dream)_

_Shadow opened his eyes to find himself floating in a white space. Shadow looked around and tried to survey his new surroundings. Shadow then saw how he was dressed, a black hooded jacket, midnight blue shirt with a black crescent moon, black baggy pants and a pair of steel toed shoes._

'_Just like my avatar in FFW.' Shadow thought as he examined his attire. Shadow then continued to look for signs of life._

"_Where am I?"_

"_What am I doing here?"_

_A luminous glow soon appeared and Shadow had to cover his eyes from the harsh light. When the light died down Shadow looked and saw a girl floating with him in the white void. The girl must have caused the light because she had a white almost ethereal glow around her. The girl's light almost gossamer silver dress and silver hair blew in the nonexistent wind. The girl looked at Shadow with happy gold eyes. _

"_You've finally came. You are the one." The girl said._

"_The one? What are you talking about the one to what?" Shadow asked._

"_The one who will restore this world. You are the one who can save this world." The girl then began to vanish in another blast of light._

"_Wait!" Shadow tried to reach after her but the dream had already ended._

_(Dream End)_

Shadow then suddenly woke up in his bed. After taken a minute to catch his breath Shadow started thinking about the dream he had.

'The one who will save this world. What could she mean by that and why was I dressed like my FFW avatar.' Shadow then decided to question it in the morning after finishing his sleep.

In the morning, Shadow **(To not name names characters will still be called their user names outside of FFW)** finished his Saturday routine and was checking his messages. While the dream left Shadow with a lot of questions he still had to check his second favorite world FFW. Shadow then saw a few of his friends and sent them invites for a small chat room.

Shadowlight0982: Hey guys, what's up!

Keybladedude: Nothing much, I still have … in a few minutes so I have to make this quick.

DrummerBoy4Life: Well you're lucky you I'm stuck on a camping trip! I have a few miles before I completely lose service.

Shadowlight0982: How'd you get stuck on a camping trip on a Saturday? You hate nature.

DrummerBoy4Life: My mom made me go. She made it a compromise…I get the new drum set that I wanted if I spend more time with the family.

Keybladedude: Well that sucks, though I can't really talk seeing as I still have to leave with my family in five minutes.

Shadowlight0982: I guess I'm going in solo then. I'll see you guys later today.

DrummerBoy4Life: Solo? Where are you going?

Keybladedude: You know Shadow; it's always about rare items or something like that.

Shadowlight0982: You weren't complaining after fighting those fields of heartless.

Keybladedude: True. True.

Keybladedude: Well it's time for me to leave. See you guys online hopefully.

Keybladedude exited the chat room. Keybladedude logged out.

DrummerBoy4Life: Yeah I got to leave now too. See you later Shadow!

DrummerBoy4Life exited chat room. DrummerBoy4Life logged out.

Shadow saw that both of them had logged off and then readied his virtual band. After typing in his password and setting up his avatar Shadow got ready to log in the server.

'I didn't want to tell them about my dream. I can tell them later and hopefully I can avoid Hyna until then.' Shadow then launched FFW and was pulled into the virtual world.

(Login Station: Tokyo City)

Several rings began to form in a large check-in station. Shadow then appeared out of the rings as they disappeared. The reception ladies then repeat the same phrase they say to all entering FFW.

"Welcome to Fanfiction World. Please enjoy the experience." The two receptionists spoke in unison.

Shadow shrugged off the normal greeting and started to check his gear. Shadow was dressed the same as his dream except he had a single strap bag along with a large scythe on his back. Shadow checked his right hand and saw the familiar sealed Azure grimoire.

'One last thing for me to check.' Shadow then looked around for a mirror until he settled on a fountain just outside of the station. Shadow saw his reflection, same black hair and brown skin but he focused on his eyes. Shadow's eyes were heterochromatic; his right was a deep brown while the left was an almost pure white.

'I still have my Byakugan, okay time to head out.' Shadow then walked into the small little city. While walking Shadow saw the same thing as always; new players entering and being blown away by the sites, several people involved in public battles, people trading items or just showing off their powers.

"Some things never change; to be honest it's almost boring." Shadow comment as he continued to walk through the city.

Shadow kept walking until two hands began to cover his eyes from behind. 'Damn! I was hoping to avoid her for just a little longer.'

"Well well, where do you think you're going Shads?" A girl's voice spoke up.

Shadow quickly pushed the hands away from his eyes and looked to the girl. "I was going to check the messages on the board and what's with sneaking up on me like that?"

"It's not my fault you weren't paying attention. Speaking of which that's not like you, did something happen before you logged in?" The girl asked.

Shadow thought back to his dream for a second but still kept a calm look on his face. "No, it's nothing. So what have you gotten yourself into **now** Arabella?" Shadow asked.

"Only a minute in a conversation and you're already asking if I got in trouble. Typical Shads," Arabella commented.

Arabella Hyna or GeneralHyna as she is known was another of Shadow's friends. Arabella was the group's wild card if they ever needed one. Arabella was a tall girl, brown eyes with brown hair with blonde streaks wrapped in a ponytail. Arabella wore a chunnin flask jacket over her black shirt, camouflage pants, and brown combat boots. Arabella had a satchel that carried most of her things except for her dog tag necklace she wears and the omnitrix which was sitting over the bandages on her right hand. While she was friendly and trustworthy Arabella had one weakness.

"I wouldn't have to ask every time if I didn't always find you beating up a random player or destroying property." Shadow said with a sweatdrop.

"ONE TIME! Do you hear me, one time! And those guys shouldn't have made fun of my…" Arabella paused as she struggled to finish.

"Your "condition"," Shadow offered which Arabella nodded too. Shadow wasn't about to mention that she was near to flat chested, at least out loud.

"Well enough about me what are you up to?" Arabella asked.

"I'm going to check the bulletin boards; I need a treasure hunt to help clear my head." Shadow said.

"Clear your head, did something happen?" Arabella asked.

Shadow continued on his way to the message board. As he kept walking the dream continued to play in his head. Shadow began to groan in frustration.

'I really need for something to happen and soon.' Shadow thought.

As if someone above granted his wish Shadow soon bumped in to someone coming out of an alley. As they both hit the ground Shadow took the time to see who he knocked over.

"Hey! Are you alright?" Shadow asked.

"Yes I'm just fine, thank you for asking." A girl answered back.

Shadow then helped the girl to her and observed her at the same time. The girl had long silver hair with a crescent moon hair pin and blue eyes. The girl was wearing a silver tank top, white pants and black sneakers.

'She looks almost like…' A vision of the girl from his dream flashed in his mind before he sent the image away. Shadow then helped the girl to her feet.

"So why were you running anyway?" Shadow asked.

"I'm late for a really important meeting, I just lost track of time and I have to hurry. I'm sorry for bumping into you." The girl explained.

"Don't worry about it." Shadow said before he started walking again.

The girl was about to take off again before a question popped into her head. "Wait! Are you walking towards the bulletin board?"

"Yeah why?" Shadow asked as he was surprised by the question.

"Oh…no reason. Well I have to leave; I hope we see each other again!" The girl then took off leaving Shadow confused in the streets.

"Well this day is off to a surprising start." Shadow commented. Shadow then continued towards the bulletin board. When Shadow arrived he saw a crowd of players standing in front of a large stage in front of the bulletin boards. On the stage were ten people men dressed in armor, these men were Admin Guards.

Admin Guards are the police of FFW, they are given orders by the administrators to find and prevent any problems happening around FFW. The A.G. are easily identified, they wore a silver blue jumpsuit under what appeared to be futuristic armor. The armor covered then from the neck to the feet, the breastplate, gauntlets, and boots were all white with blue lights on the sides and many gold accents. To cover their face A.G's worn see-through visors that covered their faces; they can see anything but no one could see their face. All the guards had shields attached to their right left gauntlets and broadswords at their sides. One of the guards had bull horns on the sides of his visor and appeared to be the leader.

'Admin Guards, what are doing? They can't be here if this is for a normal event at least, not this many.' Shadow thought as he listened to the murmurs of the crowd.

"I heard they are about to show a new area!" A boy said to his friends.

"I here they are offering a special quest!" A girl gossiped with her friends.

"I heard a criminal is on the loose and they are scavenging the servers to find him." A group of boys said as they chatted.

Shadow decided to tune all the others out and began to watch the Admin. Shadow silently activated his byakugan as he watches the leader begin to speak.

"Players, we have received message that several hacks have taken place over this month. These hacks have started the dematerializing of several areas in this server!" The lead Guard began. "Let me remind you that all forms of hacking are prohibited and will lead to probation, but tampering with the server is a huge violation of FFW Administration rules and will result in immediate expulsion from FFW!" The Guard paused to let the information reach the crowd of confused players before continuing. "If anyone had any information on these hackings or the areas inform one of us or message the Administration, you're cooperation will be rewarded!"

The talk of rewards immediately got the crowd talking, many talking about finding the hackers. As the Guards began to leave the area Shadow reviews all the information he just heard.

'If it's affecting just the areas maybe it could just be a bug, but the talk of hackers and rewards…something's going on and they don't want us finding out what it is.' Shadow thought. As the crowd began to clear Shadow then looked at the bulletin board to try and find anything worth his attention.

"A moon shard in the Crystal Caves must be my lucky day." Shadow said.

"Crystal Caves! I heard that was one of the areas affected." Shadow turned around and saw the girl he had bumped into only a few moments ago.

"So we meet again, not to be rude but are you following me?" Shadow asked.

"OH, no I was also watching the Guards when you started to walk to the board. I wanted to thank you once more for your help when I heard you talk about the Crystal Caves." The girl explained.

"That makes sense, mind if I ask you for your name?" Shadow asked.

"Cast49, but most call me Cast." Cast said.

"Well Cast, I thank you for your advice but I think I can take care of myself. Besides if the area is really that bad then the A.G. would have shut it down, and no hacker ever stopped me from treasure hunting before." Shadow then walked away to find a warp station.

"Wait! Can I at least know your name?" Cast yelled out before Shadow could walk farther.

Shadow stopped mid-step and turned back Cast. "Shadow, Shadowlight0982" Shadow then turned back around a waved a good bye while he started walking. "So long."

Cast watched him walk until he was out of site; Cast then walked into one of the alleys and then pulled out what looked like a phone. After a few taps on the touch screen the Admin Guard with the horns appeared next to her.

"You call Princess?" The Admin Guardian asked.

"Yes, Leon, I need for you to take and team and investigate the Crystal Caves." Cast said with a peremptory tone.

"As you wish Princess, but may I ask why?" Leon asked.

"I just want to make sure that area was safe, I don't want another area fading away while players could be there." Cast answered.

"As you wish" Leon then left in a flash of light, Cast stayed in the alley for a few minutes after he left before leaving to a tall tower in the center of the city.

(Crystal Caves)

A few shining rings gathered on the grounds in front of a large ominous cave. Shadow then appeared between the rings and allowed them to fade away. Shadow looked around the area to try and find any problems.

"Looks alright to me, of course who knows about the inside." Shadow then walked inside of the cave and began his journey. Outside the cave where he was just standing the land briefly faded in static before reforming.

Inside the cave where many crystals and minerals sticking out of the cave light spheres on the cave ceiling let light bounced of the crystals and helped illuminate the dark cave tunnel. Shadow continued walking through all the while examining all the crystals around him.

"Lots of crystals, too bad none of these are rare." Shadow then saw a few sphere shaped crystals around the ground. Shadow picked up the spheres knowing what they are and pocketed them.

"Can't let things go to waste."

Shadow then continued walking ahead, after minutes of walking he saw a bright light from an entrance a few feet ahead. "Bright light, either something good or something bad...let's find out." Shadow then ran into a large clearing which showed various other paths. Shadow whistled as he counted the many ways to get lost.

"Well it wouldn't be a challenge if it was too easy. **BYAKUGAN!**" Shadow's left eye then became focused and various veins became visible around the edge of the eye. Shadow looked around the room and saw what looked like a weak signature.

"Must be a newbie in way over their head, I shouldn't interfere it would be a good lesson for them." Before Shadow could stop sending chakra into his eye he saw the large monster moving towards the signature. Shadow struggled with his decision before running towards the signature. "Sometimes I'm just too nice."

In another cave a young player backed away as a Grand Cave Python continued closing in on its prey. The snake was large as its body took up most of the room, its sandy brown scales reflected the light around it and its hungry yellow eyes stared down at its newest victim. The boy kept backing away before he hit one of the cave's walls; panic then began to set in as he saw there was no way out. The snake then raised its head to swallow the boy whole. The reptile opened its jaw began its descent but its fangs was met the blade of a scythe.

"I try not to be much of a hero but people like you make it very hard to ignore your cries for help." Shadow said as he slashed and sent the snake sliding a few feet away. Shadow then put a hand into his bag and gave a small blue sphere to the scared player. "Use that to get out of this area." Shadow then got frustrated when he saw the boy's hesitation. "You heard me and if you didn't I'll type it too! GET OUT OF HERE!"

The boy then followed instructions and used the return core to teleport away from the cave. When Shadow watched rings rise from the ground and send the boy away he turned back to his opponent. "Scare tactics, works every time. Now get ready you oversized snakeskin belt!"

The Python registered the insult and began its second strike. Shadow jumped away from his previous place on the ground. When the snake hit the ground Shadow began to run up the snake and jump higher in the air.

The snake then raised its head and then hissed madly at the vermin who used it as a jump post. The snake looked up and saw Shadow slowly rising in the air with a large amount of energy around his scythe.

"Sorry Snaky, thanks for the warm up though. You really helped me clear my head." Shadow said as and let a large crescent moon form around the blade of his scythe.

The snake then shot upwards to catch its floating prey. Shadow smirk as the moon finished its devilish laugh. Laughter filled the cave as the technique finally finished.

"Take this! **WITCH HUNTER!**"

The snake reached Shadow right as he slashed the scythe. The witch hunter began its travel through the snake, through the jaws and the body. Shadow landed on the ground and flicked the blood off his scythe as the snake's remains crashed into the floor.

"Well that's over" Shadow then placed the blade on its resting place on his back. Shadow started to move until he felt the cave rumble. Shadow stopped and watched as the ground began to fade around him. "What the…what's happening?" The ground then disappeared and Shadow began his descent down into a void of data.

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Shadow yelled as the ground reformed and swallowed him in darkness.

The scream echoed throughout the cave and into the ears of one of the Admin Guards, Leon.

'Maybe were close to the hackers.' Leon said as he stopped his team. "Alright I want two of you to warp outside and close off the area. The rest of us are going to separate and survey the area. Whatever keep you guard up, the hackers may be in the area as the caves are becoming unstable."

(Forgotten Altar)

Shadow's eyes struggled to open as he as he rose from the ground. During the fall through the network he must have fallen unconscious. Shadow opened his eyes and looked at the area. He appeared to be on the ground in front of a large altar, after looking around he saw there was nothing else around but the altar. After a while of searching for a warp station he started to check what area he was in.

"That's weird, area unknown, where am I?" Shadow asked. A bright light appeared in front of him causing Shadow to cover his eyes. When the light diminished Shadow opened his eyes and his eyes flew wide. "No way, it can't be you."

In front of Shadow, was a girl, the same girl who continued to appear in his dreams. The girl looked at Shadow with an apologetic look. The girl then offered Shadow a hand up off the ground. Shadow was hesitant to take the hand but reluctantly took it and was helped onto his feet.

"Are you alright?" The girl asked with concern.

"Just recovering from long fall but other than that I'm good. Where are we?" Shadow asked.

"This place has no name; I liked to call it the Forgotten Altar." The girl said as she turned to look at the altar.

"Forgotten Altar?" Shadow asked as he too looked at the altar. After a few seconds the two then regained eye contact.

"I have been waiting a while for you to come here Shadow." The girl said.

"How do you know my name?" Shadow said as he reached for his scythe.

"I know you for a while, I know you from the times we met inside your dreams." The girl said.

"Then those dreams were…" Shadow then let go of his scythe and let it drop to the ground. "Those dreams were…visions." Shadow realized.

"Yes they were. I couldn't contact you before any other way. But now we have the chance to talk face to face." The girl said.

"Yeah let's talk, first who are you and how were able to appear in my head." Shadow asked seriously.

"I guess it is fair if I answer your questions first. My name is Izanami." Izanami said as she did a small curtsy. "As to how I was able to speak with you…I don't really know that answer myself. The first time we talked was five years ago at…"

Shadow eyes opened as an old memory played in his head. The voice that helped comfort him from years ago belonged to the girl in front of him. Shadow then shook the memory away and looked back at Izanami. "One more question, what are you?"

"What am I? I guess you can call me an NPC. I don't really know. I have been here since the creation of this world. Always watching but was never able to interact with anyone." Izanami said solemnly. "It was fine as I had two others with me, but then they disappeared and now I am alone. Maybe I'm what you would call a god?"

'A god, well there is something special about her.' Shadow thought.

"I suppose you may want to know why I was calling for you or what happened to you in that area?" Izanami asked.

"Yes, what is happening? Does this anything like what's happening around the server? Parts or even whole areas do not disappear without reason." Shadow said.

"To answer all that I will need to start from the beginning." Izanami said.

"I don't have anywhere to be, not that I'm going anywhere anytime soon." Shadow joked to lighten the mood.

A few giggles exited Izanami's mouth before she began her explanation. Izanami then looked at the altar with a serious and maybe mournful look. "Like I said before there were three of us, me, my sister, and my best friend Izanagi. Together we traveled and watched as the world slowly begins to form. Izanagi saw the growth as too slow and then used his power to speed up the creation of the world, he used his powers to create lands, oceans, mountains, everything!"

Shadow remembered that many years ago the developers of FFW found a miracle program that helped create FFW. 'Izanagi must have been the one to literally create FFW.' Shadow then listened as Izanami continued with the story.

"Izanagi created everything" Shadow said.

"Yes, Izanagi took the name as god of creation and created the world. Soon, Izanagi, my sister, and I began to explore the world and we all agreed that it was too lonely. Soon Izanagi found many people and we all began to live in this new world. It was a lovely time until something happened…soon the lands began to change and cities start to build and soon we were all sent away into places like this or went into hiding."

"I'm sorry." Shadow apologized for no reason.

Izanami gave him an amused look. "There is no reason to be sorry, you didn't cause this and soon we learned that people from outside our world caused this. Anyway, after all the buildings were made people began to appear, first there were a few, then hundreds, and now I know millions of people come to this world daily. Soon we were able to come out of hiding, me and Izanagi wished to live with these people, the players, to live in peace but my sister didn't see it that way. My sister saw the players as an infection, coming to ruin our world and take it from us. Soon my sister did something unforgivable…"

"What did your sister do?" Shadow asked.

"My sister caused a revolt. She gathered all those loyal to here and started to attack and conquer areas. Izanagi and I tried to reason with but saw us as enemies for siding with players. Izanagi soon had no choice but to fight her. They fought for many days until that fateful day." Tears started to form in Izanami's eyes. "Izanagi was forced to seal my sister and her army away, and then he faded away."

"Faded away?" Shadow asked.

"He simply vanished; he must have been heavily injured in that battle. Izanagi sent me here and told me what must be done in the future. After that, Izanagi flew into the sky and turned to dust."

Shadow was stunned by all that information. One god tried to remove players and was stopped but it caused another god to disappear. Shadow then looked sadly at Izanami before helping wipe her tears away.

"Girls should never cry especially pretty ones." Shadow said as he pulled out a cloth from his bag and gave it to Izanami.

Izanami looked at Shadow with thanks and a small blush before wiping her tears away. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it, wherever Izanagi is I'm sure he doesn't want you here crying." Shadow said.

"It seems I made the right choice then." Izanami said.

"The right choice?" Shadow said confused.

"You have seen firsthand what's happening around the world. I am certain it is my sister somewhere stirring." Izanami said. "Izanagi knew that my sister cannot be sealed away forever, so he told me of a way to stop her." Izanami then pointed to the top of the altar. "Izanagi left something that can, the last thing he owns that contains all of his power. He said that in the altar a special player will use his power of creation and save the world."

Shadow was shocked and looked at the altar with awe. "Something that contains the powers of a god, power of creation…Then why do you think I'm the one?" Shadow asked.

"Like he said, a special player. Not only must a person be courageous, reliable, and powerful, but he must also have good judgment and will power." Izanami explained.

"I can name a few people more special than me that have all that and much more. Are you sure you didn't choose wrong?" Shadow asked.

"And humble too, like I said no one is more special than you to use Izanagi's power. All you need to place your hand into the light and it will do the rest." Izanami said.

Shadow took a minute to think about the situation. "I know I'm not much of a hero but let's see if I'm the one then."

"All you have to do is believe in yourself." Izanami said.

Shadow was about to walk towards the tower before Izanami put a hand on his shoulder. In a burst of bright light Shadow saw he was now standing on top of the altar. In the center was a thin pillar of life that seemed to reach even beyond the sky. Shadow then walked towards it and then stopped right in front of the light.

"Well, here goes nothing." Shadow then placed his right hand into the pillar. The pillar then reacted and then began to expand until Shadow was completely enveloped. Shadow then saw he was floating in a white void, the same from his dreams. Shadow then saw what appeared to be a giant bird flying towards. Shadow then braced himself as the bird soon collided with him. Shadow saw the bird's golden eyes before everything whites out.

The pillar then disappeared and then was replaced with radiant white wings. Izanami then watched in awe as two wings formed from out of Shadow's back and a golden bracelet with diamonds and runes over it. Shadow stood admiring the item before he suddenly loses consciousness. Izanami then caught Shadow and looked at his face with a smile.

"I knew you were the one, you're just like…" Izanami then placed Shadow down then pulled her hands together as if to make a prayer. Izanami then closed her eyes and Shadow's form began to glow, Shadow then was swallowed by a ball of light that shot into the sky. Izanami looks at the sky with a small smile.

"So it begins…" Izanami said to no one but the wind blew as if it agreed.

(Crystal Cave)

Shadow woke up and saw that he was once again in the cave from before. Shadow shook the cobwebs out of his hands and stood back up. "Was that a dream?" Shadow looked at his wrist and saw the bracelet secured. "Guess not."

"Hold it right there." A voice sounded from the entrance.

Shadow turned around and saw an Admin Guard entered the cave. Leon looked at Shadow as he pulled out the blade from his side.

"How are you here? This whole area was evacuated and closed." Leon stated rather than asked.

"Calmed down, I just woke up here." Shadow said in a bored tone.

"Woke up here, you expect me to believe that." Leon then got into a readied stance. "Give me one reason to believe why you're not a hacker and that you're the one messing with this area." Behind the visor two ominous eyes glowed red.

Shadow then pulled out his scythe and got into a stance of his own. "I can tell you many things but it looks like you aren't going to listen to anything I got to say. I'm not a hacker; I'm not the one doing all of this."

"Well then tell me how you got into this area?" Leon's eyes met Shadow's.

"I can't tell you that." Shadow said.

"Then prepare yourself." Leon then charged with his broadsword raised.

Shadow blocked the strike but with much difficulty. Leon then pushed Shadow away with forced and prepared for another strike. Shadow then dashed with his left fist raised surrounded by a dark power.

"**HELL'S…**"

The fist met Leon's armor and stalled him for a few moments, Shadow then raced his right arm and the aura formed a large claw around it. The claw then sliced Leon and sent him back a few feet. Several red orbs flew from Leon and into Shadow.

"…**FANG!**"

Shadow then charged up his Scythe to use Witch Hunter and ran towards the sliding soldier. Leon saw the attack and raised his shield in front of him. The shield began to glow blue and expand. Shadow then raised the scythe and then unleashed his attack point blank.

"**WITCH HUNTER!**"

Shadow's blade met the shield and the two fought for dominance. The more force Shadow tried to force onto the shield the more it tried to push him back. Soon the shield released a shockwave and sent Shadow sliding across the cave.

"What?" Shadow said as he tried to understand what happened.

"Do you honestly think you can defeat an Admin Guard? Our armor is designed to deal with any situation across the server." Leon then raised his shield. "These shields can take any force directed at it and send it flying, it is said to be unbreakable. Also…"

Leon then stood firmly and then started to raise his right arm. The gauntlet then began to glow and then Shadow then was covered in a red aura. Shadow then landed on his knees unable to get up.

"What's happening? I can't get up!" Shadow said.

"Our gauntlets are special as well, while it's something given to most Administrators but some high ranking Guards are given permission to use these. They are called Remissionem's Gauntlet." Leon said.

"Remissionem's Gauntlet?" Shadow said as he struggled trying to rise up to his feet.

"Remissionem's Gauntlet or the Gauntlet of Forgiveness. It forces any target to bow down with their head down, as if begging for forgiveness. My favorite for dealing with criminals like you." Leon said with an arrogant smirk at the end.

"Bastard" Shadow said as all he can do is keeping his head up. "No matter what, I will not bow my head to you!"

"Famous last words, after this...you will be removed from FFW completely." Leon then slowly as if dramatically walks towards Shadow dragging his sword.

'What do I do?" Shadow thought to himself. 'Not even a few minutes into this and I already failed. Izanami, I'm sorry but like I said…I can't be a hero.'

"That's not true."

Shadow then saw an image of Izanami before him. Izanami looked at Shadow with a kind and knowing smile.

"You are the person I have been looking for; you will be the one to save the world. Shadow all you have to do is believe in yourself." Izanami then faded away.

'Believe in myself? Or maybe…' Shadow slowly looked at the bracelet on his arm. Shadow then closed his eyes and focused. 'Believe, believe in Izanami's words, believe in Izanagi's power, and believe in myself!'

"I'll give you a moment to pray." Leon said as he raised his sword. Leon then stopped as the bracelet on Shadow's arm began to shine a brilliant white. Shadow's body then glow with a shining white aura.

"No I think you need a moment to pray." Shadow said as he slowly rose to his feet.

"Impossible! This proves it even more…you are a hacker!" Leon screams outright.

"I'm no hacker" Shadow then raised his scythe as if to slash Leon. "I'm just your normal guy on this server."

Leon then rushed to try and stab Shadow through. Shadow then slashed the air and a white arc slashed through the area. Leon tried to raise his shield to block the attack. The arc the swallowed up Leon as his shield was no match for Shadow's attack.

"Aaaaahhhhh!" Leon then faded away as the attack ate away at him until he disappeared.

The light died down and Shadow saw a deep trench where he had slashed Leon. "Aw man, now how am I going to fix this?"

As if to answer his question Shadow's bracelet glowed and a beam shot from it into the ground. The whole area then began to faintly glow. All the damage was being fixed, from the places where the ground disappeared, to the trench in front of him. Shadow looked at awe as the bracelet restored the area to perfect condition.

"I guess it really is the power of creation." Shadow said. Shadow then pulled out another return core and he was sent back to Tokyo City.

(FFW Headquarters)

A middle aged man pulled off his virtual gear and ran through the building. The man then ran into a large room surrounded by ten men and women who were looking at a large map of FFW.

"Leon, what brings you here?" A male Administrator asked.

"I'm sorry to barge in but I believe I found the cause of the problems around the server!" Leon said.

"The causes…explain please." Another Admin ordered.

Leon began the story. "I checked the area of Crystal Caves as instructed by Cast, after me and several guards closed down the area I found a player still in the area. He claimed not to be a hacker but with appearing in a closed down area and not explaining how made me think otherwise."

"Interesting." A female Admin said.

"After that we began to battle, I had him under Remissionem's Gauntlet when he suddenly glowed with a white aura. HE broke through the Gauntlet's power and defeated the shields that were said to block all." Leon said.

"Crystal Cave, someone put that area on screen." An Admin ordered.

The map of FFW then only showed Crystal Caves. "Scan the stability of the area." The Admin ordered.

After a few minutes of deep scans, all the scans showed clean. "Crystal Caves is all green, 100% stability which is unusual considering it was nearly 58% stable five minutes ago."

"100…but how?" Leon asked.

An elderly Admin then filled the room with a hearty laugh. "Well if this is a hacker than maybe he's working to fix our problems."

"Regardless, all forms of hacking whether hazardous or not is unacceptable. What is the player's name that you encountered?" The female Admin asked.

"Shadowlight0982" Leon said.

A small gasp filled the room but nobody seemed too noticed. The Admins then asked for scans to see if Shadow did hack the system at anytime.

"Scans show that Shadowlight0982 has not hacked into the system, his signature was reported MIA for a few seconds before showing up again. Maybe a glitch in the server caused the order to miss him."

"I could have sworn…" Leon started.

"Enough of this" All eyes in the room focused on the young boy in the room. "We can't prove that he's a hacker so we'll let this situation go. Leon, go take a break you have been working hard and your player is now in the Astral Realm."

"Yes sir" Leon bowed to the Admins and then left the room. The Admins then went back to looking at the map of FFW and try and fix the problems on the server.

One of the Admins looked at the map with one small thought. _"Shadow, Shadowlight0982"Shadow's voice rang though her head._

"Shadow, we may meet sooner than you think." The young Admin thought.

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><p><strong>TBC…<strong>

**So what do you guys think. Considering this took me a week after getting all the characters, researching things, sorting and having almost lost all this data after my old flashdrive broke down. I think this turned out very well. Of course it's not my decision to make. Well now that this is done it may take a while for me to update but I will soon so all of you have faith in me. So all of you better:**

**REVIEW**

**REVIEW**

**FAVORITE…THEN REVIEW**

**Author's debut in this chapter.**

**Shadowlight0982**

**Cast49**

**Generalhyna**

**Drummerboy4Life (Chat only)**

**Keybladeddude**

**Well everyone until next time! Shadowlight0982 out!**


	2. Chapter 2: FFW's Most Wanted

**Hello everyone! First I'm glad that the first chapter was a success to most of you. I hope those who were included were happy and others just you wait you will appear sooner or later or maybe in this chapter. All I really asking for is for people to review, send me a message for any questions you have, or tell all your friends and spread this out.**

**Announcements:**

** I am working on an ****updated**** profile sheet. The first profile sheet I sent out allowed some of you to be a little vague with your description and that is ok except when it is hard to visualize your character or where I have to guess what powers are yours when you just give me a name from a particular place. When the profile is finished I will post it up for all to see and send in.**

**Reviews:**

**BloodxForxMyxRose: Thank you and I hope you continue to enjoy this fic.**

**PrankK1ng: I'm going to be honest, I came up with this idea talking about .hack and Gaiaonline with some of my friends on x-box live. If I made any reference it was involuntary.**

**Hakuryuken: Same as above .hack did go into making this and just ask for the profile, I'm almost done with the new one. **

**Now that all of that all of that is taken care of ON WITH THE SHOW!**

"aaaa"-Speech

'bbbb'-Thought

'_cccc'-Flashback_

"**dddd"-Attacks**

**Disclaimer: I own the plot, the locations, and some of the characters. What I don't own are things taken from anime, shows, movies, games, books, online RPGS, etc. I also don't own any character I didn't create. Put your lawyers away!**

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><p>"<em>The strength of my teams doesn't come from our powers; it's from the strength of our friendship!"-Shadowlight0982.<em>

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Kurotsubasa: The Black Wing Guild<strong>

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><p>In Tokyo City and many other areas like in FFW there exist groups called guilds. Guilds are a group of many players that come together for a specific reason. Guilds exist for many reasons like mercenaries and tradesman. However one guild was very different from most of the guilds in the Server.<p>

This guild, Kurotsubasa, was different in many ways than one. This group specializes in three things, hunting, retrieving, and battle. While normal mercenary guilds take certain missions. Kurotsubasa will take all missions that are given to it (reason intended and fro a certain fee). Kurotsubasa now had four members but each could handle anything in battle. The Kurotsubasa base was in the merchant district of Tokyo City. The building had two stories and looked like any normal café style building except for the large black wing design that decorated the front.

Inside in what appeared like a normal café was the meeting room. Right now Shadow was showing the new item on his wrist to the rest of his friends. Shadow didn't tell them what happened because he was more concerned if the item had a double edge sword effect or if it was even safe. Right now his friends were looking at the item with awe.

GeneralHyna or Bella sat on one of the stools in her regular clothing except now her hair was out of its usual ponytail. After a few transformations into her smartest toons she either A. gave herself a headache, B. confused the group even more. Or C. gave up after five minutes of examining it. Bella was the team's wildcard and while she can do many things she couldn't figure out the item.

DrummerBoy4Life or DB was also on a stool and was looking at the bracelet while drinking from the regular bottle of alcohol. DB was wearing a formal black dinner jacket over a gray pinstriped waistcoat and a black shirt with a red tie. He also wore black formal trouser and red pinstriped socks and black shoes. DB was the team's self-named weapon of mass destruction with tanned skinned and long hair. Right now DB was right now watching Key examine the item while drinking and tapping a beat with a drumstick in his hand.

Key or Keybladedude was right now examining the item. Key knew more about FFW then most others and was right now trying to find out anything about the bracelet. Key Org XIII coat which was opened to show his silver hair that reached his neck, dark hazel eyes and slightly tanned face, a plain navy blue shirt, navy blue pants, and black shoes.

"Think you know what it is Key?" Shadow asked.

Key then stood up and shakes his head. "No, this is a really arcane item. I have never seen anything like it. The runes on it itself I can't even translate."

"Maybe we should ask…" Bella started.

"No! Out of the question!" Key raised his hands and formed an "X" to emphasize his point.

"Come on Key "he" may be the only one who might know what this is." Bella argued.

"I rather die A THOUSAND deaths before I stoop to going to HIM for information!" Key yelled.

"Alright compromise." Shadow offered. "Bella and I will go to the shop for the info. Key you can stay here and try and search through our shop's terminals for info."

Key seemed to calm down slightly but still had an annoyed look on his face. DB then noticed he was the only one without a job.

"Hey what about me?" DB asked.

Shadow stopped at the door as he opened it and turned back to DB. "If I know anything about Admin Guards is that they're nosy as hell. They'll come here first to try and question anyone I know or have talked to since the incident."

"That's a small list." Bella said out loud but Shadow ignored the comment.

"I just want you here in case the A.G. tries to start a fight. Can you handle it?" Shadow asked.

DB smirked before placing his drumsticks back into his coat pocket. "You can count on me, besides I still owe you one."

"You owe me five last I counted but whatever." Shadow and Bella then walked out of the base. "We'll be back as fast as we can, signal if there is any emergency."

DB gave them a playful salute as the door closed. DB then turned to Key with a serious look on his face.

"So how serious is this?" DB asked.

"Really serious if Shadow is keeping secrets from us, but there is nothing we can do. He is Shadow after all." Key said and then went up to the second floor to check the terminals. DB just stood next to the bar with the shot glass still in his hand as a melody played in his head.

"Can't wait to play my next gig" DB said quietly to himself.

(Scene change)

"So are you going to tell me the real story?" Bella asked as the two walked through the city.

"I did tell you the real story." Shadow said as he tried to steer the subject away from where it was leading.

"You know what I mean, don't make me force the story out of you." Bella threatened.

"Like you can force me to do anything." Shadow said.

"True, you barely try to interact with anyone but us in the guild." Bella said.

"I don't really see myself as the guy with a million friends in the server and you know I hate forum clubs." Shadow said sternly.

"Clubs or not you need to…Hey we're here!" Bella said.

The two were now in front of a small shop; over the door was a large book with three initials written in large, bold, and cursive.

"R.o.M., this is the place alright." Shadow said as he walked into the shop.

"Hey don't try and change the conversation!" Bella yelled as she ran after him.

Outside the shop a boy watched them enter. The boy wore a black sleeveless shirt that showed his midriff, black pants and black boots. Blond hair covered the boy's eyes that held evil intentions.

"So there you are, I should call the guards away from your base…but let's just see where this leads shall we." The boy then vanished in a flash of blue light.

The shop was filled with many bookshelves and books. Famous quotes read along the walls and origami cranes hung from the ceiling. The owner of the shop was reading a book until he heard the bell on his door ring. The man marked his place and greeted Shadow and Bella.

"Welcome to the Reader's House. How can I help you?" The man asked.

"Cut the act R.O.M. you probably guessed by now why I'm here." Shadow said.

R-o-M or Reader-of-Many chuckled as he leaned forwardly on the reception desk. R-o-M may be young but he has a lifetime of mischief about him. R-o-M was now in burnt red t-shirt and black shorts since the weather was now getting warmer. R-o-M's glasses covered his deep black eyes and he had neat black hair. Over all R-o-M seemed like a normal FFW player, but he really wasn't.

"So what is it this time? Need a new list of bounty? You must be desperate if you're coming to me for treasure." R-o-M joked.

"Like I said cut the crap. I need you to look at something and tell me all you know." Shadow said.

R-o-M now appeared with a cashier and a money visor on. "Well let's see, information fee, plus informant fee, plus hmmm antisocial fee…"

"R-o-M!"

"Alright alright. Ruin my fun why don't ya." R-o-M then stood from his desk and motioned to the door behind him. "Let's check it out right here because I know how you are about privacy."

Shadow and Bella then followed R-o-M into his back office. The door outside the shop then closed and a closed sign magically appeared across the book signed. This signified something everyone in the city knew…The Informant was at work.

(Kurotsubasa Base)

DB let out another yawn as he still lazily stared at the television screen. DB tried to finish another bottle of alcohol and found out he drunk it all. After a yell of frustration DB then walked upstairs to check on Key.

"Hey Key, you find anything?" DB said as he reached the terminal room. The terminal room was basically where Key kept all his information. Out of all of Kurotsubasa Key knew more about FFW then most people in the server, something he took pride in, right now Key was still searching through search bars and forum menus.

"Not yet, it's like that item doesn't exis…wait I think I found something!" Key then pulled up an image of the bracelet with three words written in gold.

"The Wings of Creation" Key said while DB looked at the screen with awe.

(R-o-M Shop)

"Now just lay down right here." R-o-M said as he pointed to the large surgery table.

"I swear to the log if you try anything…" Shadow said.

"Don't worry this is just to get a good scan of the item. Plus this young man is here to keep an eye on me right?" R-o-M said jokingly.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Bella said as she morphed into her Oogie Boogie form. The monster glared at R-o-M with hatred in its green eyes and bared its bug filled jaws.

"I mean that is why you brought a beautiful young girl as backup to keep an eye on me." R-o-M backed away nervously.

"That's what I thought you said." Bella said as she switched back.

R-o-M backed away a bit nervously before becoming serious. "This is a very old item, as old as FFW itself. It's an arcane item called the Wings of Creation."

"Wings of Creation" Shadow and Bella said in unison. Bella had a victorious smile while Shadow had a small frown at what just happened.

"Right here it says the Wings of Creation was used by the original program that created the system." Key said.

"The item bypasses all the laws and restrictions of this world to literally create anything from their imaginations." R-o-M said.

"All in all…Whoever owns this item is basically the God of FFW." The two finished.

DB and Bella both had surprised and awed expressions frozen on their face from the new information but Shadow still had a look saying disappointment. Shadow gave R-o-M a serious glare knowing he was hiding something.

"If I wanted to know all that I would have waited for Key to finish with our terminal, that can't be all R-o-M so tell me everything" Shadow said.

R-o-M let out a small sigh as he knew Shadow would find out. 'He always did know when I wasn't telling the whole story.'

"I didn't tell you the last part because I thought it wasn't important. Apparently the item while arcane is also an interface tool." R-o-M said seriously.

"Interface tool, what is that?" Bella asked.

"For the sake of my friend explain what an interface tool is for her." Shadow said.

R-o-M lifted up his hand and it split into several pages of paper. The papers flew to the front of the store to one of the many bookcases and pulled out a large encyclopedia. The book floated with the paper into R-o-M hand and let his hand reform. The book then began to glow and so did R-o-M eyes a bright blue; the light lasted for a second and then faded.

"Learned it." R-o-M spoke in a silent tone.

"Was there any need for the magic show?" Shadow asked.

A humorous look stood on R-o-M's face even as he was explaining. "An interface tool is a special class of items. These items give players incredible power but the power comes from somewhere else than from the item itself. The items allow their users to access the power source and draw power from it."

"So basically this bracelet is getting power from somewhere?" Bella asked.

"In mundane terms yes" R-o-M answered.

"So the question I have is…" Bella sent Shadow a look that said you're not about to hide anything from me.

Shadow sighed. "Before you ask I'm just as surprised as you that this is an interface tool. However I'll tell you and the others the story when we get back."

Bella nodded seeing as the agreement was fair. As the two got ready to exit the shop R-o-M stopped Shadow to ask one more thing.

"By the way Shadow, I know you're a big treasure hunter but one doesn't stumble onto one of the most old, rare, and powerful items in the world without an interesting story to tell." R-o-M said.

"Sorry R-o-M, this time I have info that you don't know. Let me cherish this as I walk back to our guild." Shadow and Bella then left the shop.

R-o-M then allowed the shop's sign to say open and then went to place the book back onto the shelf. "Sooner or later I'll find out Shadow, I always do."

(Tokyo City Streets)

"So what now all knowing one" Bella said sarcastically as they walked the streets of the town.

"First we go and find out what Key learned, he may not be a beta but Key has more knowledge than anyone I know." Shadow said.

"Well I find that insulting." Bella shifted to the form of Jack Spicer and said with crossed arms and a pout.

"First of all your transformation don't have the knowledge of the toons they came from. Second…does it seem a little less crowded around here to you?" Shadow stopped suddenly.

Bella shifted back and looked to see that the street was less crowded. The two were in the large square of town and other players were either gone or were several feet away as if blocked by a barrier.

"Ok now this is freaky…and I don't say that often." Bella said as she looked around.

"Understatement of the week everyone…Ok come out! Is this another tool of the Admin Leon?" Shadow yelled outward for all to hear.

A bright silver and blue light appeared in front of the fountain in the center of the square. The light faded to show Leon, three other knights, and a player both Shadow and Bella have never seen.

"Seems that he remembers you Leon, but then again it's not every day a regular, even high level, player can beat a head Administration Guard in combat." The boy said sarcastically while it didn't show because of his visor Leon had look that said my ego was bruised.

"Shadowlight0982, we are her to ask you some questions." Leon said in a peremptory tone.

"I answered all your questions in the caves, now who's the armor less guy with you?" Shadow asked.

"Well since you asked so nicely" The boy started arrogantly. The boy was a copy of Haseo from Hack/Roots with the signature black leather sleeveless top with a high collar that stopped at his midriff and black leather pants that split pass the knees to show black boots. The boy had blond hair in Haseo's hair style and blue slit pupils. "My name is Speedgain, Administrator#8 of the Fanfiction World Admin." Speed finished.

"An Admin! Now you have your bosses fighting your battles Leon?" Shadow yelled trying to get a reaction from the knight.

"On the contrary, this battle is beneath me." Speed said. "When Leon showed us a recording of your battle I was interested in that power you used."

"Is that so…" Shadow said.

"Hold on for a minute! You fought and beat an Admin Guard! Now I'm seriously mad at you for not asking me to tag along!" Bella yelled ignoring the tension in the air.

"Bella…" Shadow said in a tone that stopped Bella from making a scene. "I'm sorry I didn't ask you to come ok, there were some things on my mind and I need to vent. But now we have four guards and an Admin in front of us I'll tell you the right time to be random."

Bella let the seriousness of the situation sink in and became silent but still glared at the group before them. "So why are you here and hurry up before I use some serious Hyna power on all of you."

"I'd hurry up if I was you, Bella can be very hard to manage." Shadow said.

"All you have to do is come with and answer any and all questions about the recent problems around the server." Leon said calmly.

"I'm calling bullshit on that one, even after a while I was only in Tokyo City and Crystal Caves that whole day and even before then there were problems around the server right" Shadow had a small smile as he saw the three lower level knights tense. "But I'll humor you if you guys accept a little wager."

"A wager?" Speed asked.

'Here we go with his gambler's streak, at least when he gambles we end up winning.' Bella thought.

"I'm going to guess you have knights at our guild for my other friends are that right?" Shadow rhetorically asked.

"I'll make an honest bet with you, if you can beat anyone of my friends in fair combat and no Admin tools I'll tell you everything you want to know, no resistance…" Shadow began.

Speed had a smirk on his face as he saw what he thought was arrogance. "Alright then and by some fluke what happens if we lose?"

"If my friends can beat all of your guards and I beat whichever one of you wants to fight me, then you and the other Admin cannot forcibly interfere with me, my friends, and my items. Complete immunity from the Admin." Shadow finished.

"Preposterous! We will not agree to…" Leon was then stopped by Speed's raised hand.

"For the record these guards are not under my jurisdiction, I simply "borrowed" them from a fellow Admin who isn't around to do her duty." Speed said.

"That's why I making the bet with YOU. So what's the matter? Not enough fate in your guard even if they're from another Admin?" Shadow asked as he was enjoying being able to irk Admins and A.G. alike.

"Eager to sign your freedom away…fine I'll agree to these terms and I will let the Admin of this region know." Speed said in a tone that you know he had hands tied behind her back.

"I already heard enough." A calm voice spoke.

Everyone turned and saw Cast slowly walk towards the two groups. The knights bowed in front of her but Speed still stood his ground and just stared at his fellow Admin.

"Cast, you picked a wonderful time to show up." Speed sarcastically said.

Cast looked over to Shadow and Bella with a shock look but steadied herself and made a soft glare at Leon. "Leon, I thought I ordered you not to interfere with Shadow again unless given orders."

"Oh but he was given orders, from me." Speed said. "I simply allowed Leon to show me whether what happened was true. If Shadow is a hacker then we can't trust the eyes of the system. So I borrowed your knights to see the situation first hand."

"This region is not under your jurisdiction and you know that Speed." Cast said. "Leon I want you to…"

The gauntlet on one of the lower knights beeped out and sent a holographic message. The knight read quickly and under his visor was a shocked look. "Master Speed, Lord Leon. The six knights that were sent to the guild building of Kurotsubasa have been defeated and sent to the Astral Realm!"

"What!" Leon yelled in disbelief.

(Kurotsubasa Base)

When Key was finished explaining the information another screen appeared on the terminal. "What the hell? Are those Admin Guards?" Key said in surprise.

DB leaned closer to take a better look of the screen. "No way! You think Shadow's on the run from the law or something?"

"Members of Kurotsubasa, we have orders from a member of the Administration to question you about some incidents on the server." A Guard spoke and the sound reached even inside the base.

"What do we do now?" DB asked and then smiled when he saw Key push a certain red button on the terminal.

"Well until Shadow comes back to explain everything." Key then stood away from the screen and started to walk downstairs. "We entertain our guests."

"Should we break down the door?" A guard asked.

"Know need folks." DB said as he walked out of the building.

"We need you and your friend to come with us." A guard said.

"See the thing is…"

The lines then shot along the ground and formed a large rectangle on the ground. The Guards looked in surprise to see they were now inside of a battle zone. The guards then saw DB summon flames that encircled his form, the flames died down to show DB in his self-named Fighting form.

DB's black shirt was now shown with the sleeves ripped off and black hakama with geta sandals. A katana appeared sheathed at his side and a claymore appeared on his back. DB then pulled out two magnum revolver from the hidden holster in his hakama.

"I don't see us going anywhere without a fight." DB said.

"Us?" A few of the guards asked.

"Three for me and three for you right DB?" The guards then saw Key had appeared behind them with a keyblade in each hand. One keyblade resembled Oblivion except it was pure white with a diamond in the center of the hilt (Infinity). The other resembled Oathkeeper however its color's where inverted and showed a new darker keyblade (Oathbreaker).

"Nah, how about however beats the most had to take the other out for drinking on St. Patty's Day!" DB said.

"Fine by me, I'm going to be winning anyway." Key got into his twin sword stance while DB got into a readied stance with his magnums aimed at the knights.

"Fools" The guards all drew their swords and half turned to Key and the other to DB. "We are the symbols of justice in the Server no regular players can beat us."

"I guess you don't know our motto." DB's fingers itched on the trigger.

"When it comes to anything our group…" Key was ready to charge forward.

"IS ANYTHING BUT REGULAR!" Key charged forward with keyblades at his sides while DB let loose a hail of bullets.

The Guards facing DB had to raise their shields to form a wall to block the bullets. DB the put one revolver away and took out his katana and rush forward to the immobilized knights. DB sent a kick with enough force to knock the center Guard on the ground. One Guard quickly raised his sword to block a Katana swing to the neck. The last Guard finally shook off the surprise only to see a Magnum to his visor pointblank range.

"Let's see how tough an Admin Visor really is!" DB pulled the trigger and a bullet shot and landed in the center and a huge crack formed as the Guard was sent to the ground in a daze.

The Guard who was blocking the sword tried to push back with some force that DB had to quickly put his magnum away and place two hands on his katana. The Guard on the ground drew his sword and began to run forward. The Guard with the newly cracked visor stood up and held his sword in a stance and light began to form around the sword and form a lance. The Guard then began to charge as well.

"**Holy Piercer!"**

DB saw the situation and let a fiery red aura form around him. A wave of flame shot from his body and formed a sphere that knocked the Guards away and allowed the shining lance to bounce of harmlessly. DB stood in the center of the flames and now took out his claymore.

"**Blaze Barrier!"**

"Now it's time to get serious." DB spoke within the flames.

Key clashed and dashed from one Guard to the other and quickly showed he had the advantage of speed. In a flurry of slashes that sent one Guard to the ground as the others tried to double team Key. Key then got in a position and watched time began to slow around him Key then stabbed both Guards in the breastplate that sent them flying to the ground, to the Guards Key was moving faster than normal nut to Key time just slowed for about five seconds.

"Is that the best you guys can do?" Key said with a keyblade aimed forward.

All three Guards then all got in the same stance and raised their swords high. Holy energy sparked from the blades and all three of them swung their blades and waves of power shot forward.

"**Holy Judgment x3!"**

Key looked at the three waves of energy and stood still with a small smirk. The attacks all landed and the area was filled with a bright light. The Guards let the smoke clear and saw there were no remains. The Guards began thinking they had killed him until Key appeared behind them.

"I appreciate the effort but." Key allowed time to slow to a stop. Key then pulled out his blades and slashed through all three Guards and allowed his keyblades to vanish in two burst of light. Time began to move and the Guards then fell forward as they began to disappear.

"**Aeon Slash!"**

When the Guards have completely disappeared Key turned to see the flames that designated DB's attack. "Oh boy, let's hope he doesn't damage the building."

DB's eyes then began to glow a dark red as he slashed two arcs of flames at the Guards. Two of the Guards were able to dodge but the cracked visor was enveloped and was then turned to ashes. DB replaced his blades for guns and began to charge them with flames. DB gave the Guards a smirk belonging to a very popular vampire.

"When you see Hell tell them DB sent ya." DB pulled the trigger and twin pillars of fire erupted from the guns' barrels.

"**Crimson Trigger!"**

The Guards pulled up their shield to try and activate their effects but they failed and they were swallowed by the blast of hellfire. The Guards' forms where blackened until they disappeared in a crimson blaze. DB then willed the flames away and placed his magnums away. DB then let out a disappointed sigh.

"Now I'll still have to pay my own tab on St. Patrick's Day." DB said disappointedly.

"Don't worry about that." Key said. "Worry about how you're going to tell Shadow why the front of our base is ashen black."

DB turned and his face became pale as he saw the building was covered in a huge blanket of ash. "Oh man! I am so dead!"

"Not after we find out what this is about." Key said.

(Tokyo City Square)

A look of anger appeared on Speed's face and then he saw Shadow's expression. "You've know we didn't stand a chance."

"Actually I know if you pulled any fancy Admin tricks like that gauntlet we would lose. You forgot all guild buildings have their own battle field and Admin tools can't be used in a battlefield." Shadow said.

"Grab a rulebook sometime." Bella said.

"So what do you say Speed?" Shadow said after a while to let the feeling sink in. "Still up for the bet?"

"Why you…" Speed stared.

"Speed, you do realize if you did promise something then it is your duty as an Admin to follow your word." Cast said.

Speed scoffed at the response but knew he had no choice. "Fine, the rest of you deal with that woman already!"

The Guards stiffened at first at the tone Speed used but drew their swords and marched forward towards Bella. While they were running Bella gave Shadow a smile that led to him smirking.

"Bella I give you permission to be as random as you want." Shadow said as he jumped a few feet back.

"Finally my own battle inside this fic." Bella activated the omnitrix and let it spin to a random selection before slamming down her hand. Out of the green light a large howl sounded. In Bella's place was a wolf that stood on his hind legs, with the signature omnitrix on its right leg. The wolf was skinny that it's ribbed on its golden brown shaggy fur that covered its body. The wolf let out another howl as it shouted its name.

"**Hyna-Wolf!"**

"Hyna-Wolf? That's a new one. At least it's not Omi-wormtail don't want another scene like that again." Shadow said.

"Shadow, do you mind if I ask you some questions?" Cast asked as she walked towards him.

Shadow gave her the look he gave all Admin and A.G. but sighed and gave in. "Fine, what do you like to know?"

The three guards stopped for a moment but then continued to charge towards the shapeshifter. Hyna-Wolf jumped over the guards and then slashed one with her claws that left a deep gash. One Guard raised his sword and sent a wave of holy energy.

"**Holy Judgment!"**

Hyna-Wolf was so busy with another Admin Guard she didn't see the wave coming. The Wolf jumped at the last second but the wave still took away her left arm. Bella looked at her stub and then let out a small grunt as she forced the stub to grow a new arm and hand.

"You should really watch where you're slashing! You could have seriously hurt someone!" Bella said as she shifted back to normal.

The Guards stood their frozen at her comment but then continued with their assault. Bella then shifted again this time into a familiar Suna-ninja. The now awakened Gaara saw the men rushing towards him and sent waves of sand that covered the field. The Guards rolled away from the waves of sand but they were already in the Kazekage's trap.

"**Sand Coffin"**

The sand on the ground wrapped around the knights and raised them in the air. Gaara let them hover a few more seconds before forming a fist and gave them judgment.

"**Sand Burial!"**

The sand imploded allowing the Guards broken bodies to fall and hit the ground. The Guards then vanished as soon as their dead bodies hit the ground. Gaara then vanished in a green light and Bella took his place.

"Owe too much seriousness. My head hurts." Bella held her head as the Kazekage's serious nature left her with a migraine.

Shadow let out a sigh and then turned to Speed and Leon. "Anything else I need to clarify?" Shadow raised his hand and a small portal of darkness formed. Shadow reached into the portal and pulled out his scythe. After a quick spin of his weapon he aimed the blade at Speed. "Or do we need to continue?"

Speed glared at Shadow as he heard his silent challenge but he stilled his emotions. "Like I said battling you is beneath me." Speed was about to teleport away before Cast spoke to him again.

"Speedgain. Shadow has answered my questions about the incident and I intend on bringing it up along with your actions at the next meeting." Cast said with authority in her tone. "And Leon you are not to pursue anymore objectives unless I give you order."

"Yes Princess." Leon said with a bow.

"Whatever" Speed then turned around. "But Shadow…"

Shadow stood still intent on listening to the arrogant Admin.

"Don't think this is over, I can't touch you as an Admin. However as I player I can. Me and every other player in the Server. I would watch your steps if I were you" Speed began to glow a blue and silver light.

"Farewell, Most wanted player in the Server." Speed then vanishes and his words filled the air.

Shadow placed his scythe on his back and looked at Cast. "So what happens now?"

"Speed promised you complete immunity from Admin interference." Cast said. "But I am the Admin of this region, if you know anything please inform me. All I want to know is who is doing this so FFW will remain safe for everyone." Cast then handed Shadow a card and bowed before disappearing with Leon in a silvery blue light.

Bella then walked to Shadow to check out the card and smiled when she saw it was that it was a player pactio card. "Well will you look at that. I didn't know Admin could give friend request, so are you going to accept?"

Shadow gave Bella a look that said shut up and let the card disappear in a green light that meant he accepted. "Shut up, come on let's head back."

Bella gave Shadow a mock salute before they both began walking back to the base and left the remaining players to talk and gossip to themselves about the situation.

(Time Skip)

After the walk to base, the scolding to DB, and finding a spell to repair the damage to the building Shadow quickly explained what had happened to him while he replaced certain pats with other things.

"So now you have the power to repair the Server." Key said.

"But who is doing all of this to the Server anyway? Why go through the trouble and destroy FFW?" DB asked.

"That's the million dollar question DB." Shadow said as he stared at the bracelet.

"So what do we do now? If we go around fixing areas won't whoever doing this just keep on deleting them?" Bella asked.

"Yeah there are no guarantees that whoever they are are going to let us go around and repair what they destroyed." Key agreed.

"I say we try and figure out where this thing is interfacing to and that will answer some questions." Shadow said. "At least right now only a few people know about the item so we won't have to worry about…"

A beep sounded through the meeting room and they all pulled out what appear to be PDA's to view the message they all received. DB was the first to say what was on everyone's mind.

"Guys I think this just got a lot harder." DB said.

Ultra-Rare Item: Wings of Creation

Holder: Shadowlight0982

Reward: Five thousand munny (In game)-Five thousand dollars (Real World)

This item has been dormant for many years until it has now resurfaced now held by the player Shadowlight0982. Whoever can claim this item and deliver it to the Administration shall be extremely rewarded whether in-game or real world currency. We thank all who are willing to participate.

-Administration.

"Speed" Shadow said in a silent tone. The whole room became silent to take in the news until Bella broke the silence.

"Well Shads, at least it won't get boring around here for a while." Bella smiled which earned a smirk from DB and a sigh form Shadow and Key.

(Around the Server)

All around the server and maybe even the world many received the message from the Administration. Many were thinking of the item and the reward while some want to battle a supposedly powerful player. The race for who can defeat Shadow has begun.

"It seems I found a new target." A woman said as she left the forest area. As she walked the dead body of several players then dissipated.

"That reward is what I need." A boy said as he reformed his silver spear back into nine silver marbles. 'Sis, hold on for a little longer.'

"Shadow." A girl said as placed the treasure in her pocket. As the girl began to walk away a large golem appeared and was about to attack before it was pushed back by an invisible force and broke back into many stones. "This time…" The silver ringed eyes of the Rinnegan vanished to show dark brown. "This time I'll show you who the top treasure hunter is."

"Interesting." A boy said over a mountain of players that have not disappeared. Sick of the moans and groans of the beaten players the boy jumped and landed on the ground with his palms on the ground. A large structure formed from the ground and soon a large white tree-like attack held them all on its branches. As the cries of agony faded the boy started to cough blood before wiping it away.

"Shadowlight0982 please make this a challenge for me." The boy said with violent eyes with a symbol that shined a brilliant red.

**TBC…**

**17 Pages! That's the longest I typed for anything in my life. I like the reviews I received but the number is still too small. I need everyone to also have their friends look at this fic too. The more reviews I get the more it makes me want to write. Also I going to begin updating my old fics I just want to leave this up for all those waiting. Now…**

**REVIEW**

**REVIEW**

**And always REVIEW!**

**(Authors who appeared)**

**Speedgain**

**Keybladedude**

**DrummerBoy4Life**

**Reader-of-Many**

**(Insert announcer voice here)**

** Next time the group tries to avoid the random battles from players but soon they receive a request from another Player. The girl's item was stolen from her by a local gang in the area. While the group agrees on the mission Shadow can't help but be suspicious is this mysterious girl as she seems or is there more than meets the eyes. Find out next time on FANFICTION WORLD.**

**Players, Owls, and Illusions-Oh My!**


	3. Chapter 3: Players, Owls, and Illusions

**Hello and welcome back to FFW! It's nice to see this fic someone of a success, the reviews are low but that is because it is not that well known. I just hope all of you keep reviewing and are also spreading the word. I'm nervous of this fic because of so many ways this chapter could go but I'll leave how good this chapter is to you all.**

**Announcements:**

** The next chapter of this fic probably won't be up for a while. I may just spend some time updating my other fics as they have been seriously neglected. I'm going to update each one once before I get the next chapter up that's a promise.**

** I also hope everyone saw the new character profile that was posted on Chapter 2. To everyone who PM me thank you and to all the others just ask for the profile anytime.**

**Reviews:**

**Ilusionist Owl: Hope you're ready for this chapter!**

**DrummerBoy4Life:**

**Hakuryuken: Great advice and as for everything else if I didn't PM you then you can ask for the profile sheet and you can use video game powers, one of my powers are from a certain video game series.**

**MeteorThunder3: Every character given to me will be used at least once. I made that promise when I mad the fic and I'm not breaking that promise.**

**Generalhyna: Brilliant ideas but as you read you can see the reason why I choose neither.**

**Now that all of that is taken care of ON WITH THE SHOW!**

"aaaa"-Speech

'bbbb'-Thought

'_cccc'-Flashback_

"**dddd"-Attacks**

**Disclaimer: I own the plot, the locations, and some of the characters. What I don't own are things taken from anime, shows, movies, games, books, online RPGS, etc. I also don't own any character I didn't create. Put your lawyers away!**

* * *

><p>"<em>A power everyone has is the power of CHOICE; choices can shape the future and even the whole world."-Shadowlight0982<em>

"_Creation is only extended by ones imagination"-Generalhyna_

* * *

><p><strong>Ch.3 A Player's Choices<strong>

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><p>(Abandoned Building, Night)<p>

Ruins. That was the only thing that can describe the once standing building as it was now a burning patch of rubble. Through the flames an animal tried to fly into the sky only to be shot down by a blast of light. As the bird fell to the ground a girl's voice can be heard over the burning blaze.

"Muku-Chan!" The girl yelled in tears as her pet and friend was blasted out of the sky. The bird, now named Muku-Chan, fell into the hands of a large opposing figure as it stood in the middle of the inferno.

"Thought you could run away from us did you?" The man said and formed a cage of energy around the injured animal. The girl tried to back away only to be trapped in a larger cage of energy. The man moved closer as a large group of figures appeared around the two.

"I still have use for you" The man finished.

(Tokyo City a week later)

A large group of players were watching as a large group of fighters were sent flying into the streets of Tokyo City. As more jumped in they too were all blown away by the same force of power.

"**Rotation!"**

A large cyclone swirled and blew all those who closed in on it. The cyclone faded to show a dome of pure energy (or in this case chakra). The dome vanished Shadow allowed his spin to stop to face all those in the square.

"If you came here thinking you are going to get an easy victory then leave now." Shadow sent a glare that frightened most of the players around him. "I'm not going to lose too a bunch of amateurs looking for a chance at power and fortune." Shadow walked away leaving the frightened crowd.

"You know you just encouraged them to try again." Key said as he saw the show called Shadow pwns all was over.

"Doesn't matter to me; let them try more experience and munny to us." Shadow said as the two continued towards the guild base.

"Have you even thought about what you wanted to do?" Key asked.

As he walked Shadow began to think about the discussion Kurotsubasa had after the news was left out.

_(Flashback)_

_Shadow lifted his head up after the sigh and looked at the alert that was now posted all over FFW. "Great, just when I thought things couldn't get worse this has to hit the fan."_

"_So what's the game plan?" Key asked getting to the point._

"_I have the perfect strategy!" Bella exclaimed._

"_This 'out to be good, by all means Bella what is your idea?" Shadow asked with a sarcastic tone._

_ Bella snapped her fingers and a chalkboard with what seems to be a military plan written on it. The group watched as Bella tried to get into the professional mode._

"_She flashed the board this time, this has to be serious!" DB said to joke around, a tick mark formed on Key's head and Shadow continued with his uncaring look._

"_I've said this before and I'll say it again! We need to move underground! From there we can create new names and begin a new life…" Bella said._

"_If we really need to go off the grid we can probably start as a travelling band! All we need to do is get the travel base out of storage." DB offered._

_ As the two continued on with offers and ideas Key asked his the question again. "So what do we do now?"_

"_I'll tell you what we're not going to do, run and hide." Shadow said. "I'm not giving Speed the satisfaction of seeing me run from his challenge. I don't care who comes after me, I will take them all down with my blade held high." Shadow summoned his scythe and placed it in the middle of the group._

"_This crisis only affects me, I can't ask you guys to fight for me. But will you help me in showing the world Kurotsubasa is not to be trifled with!" Shadow said._

_ A keyblade landed on top of the deathscythe. "You already know my answer to that." Key said with his left eye burning with anticipation._

_ A claymore joined the clash of weapons. "I still owe you Shadow, fighting against the world may just as well repay my debt." DB said with glowing red eyes._

_ A ninjato completed the circle of weapons. "Like I can let you handle a world-class crisis without me Shads." Bella said._

"_Alright then" Over the weapons a shadowed image of Kurotsubasa's logo appeared, a large black raven's wing sprouting from a silver crescent moon in a blue background. "Let's show the world Kurotsubasa's power."_

_(Flashback end)_

"I'm going to do what I said before; I'll accept any challenge offered to me, that will never change." Shadow said.

Key nodded his head. "You think we'll get any missions today?"

"More like challenges." Shadow said. Shadow then stopped his walk. "I suggest you come out before I make you my 300th victory."

From a shadowed ally a girl appeared in front of the two. The girl appeared to be Shadow's age if not a little younger with long purple hair that partially covered her eyes. The girl was wearing a lavender coat with white trim, a red scarf around her neck, ruby earrings, a dark blue skirt that stopped at her knees, leggings and brown boots.

"Sorry I just needed to be sure if you are Shadowlight0982." The girl apologized with a small bow.

"I am, now who are you and why are you searching for me?" Shadow said hoping it wasn't the obvious answer.

"I need help; I have a mission for you and the rest of your guild." The girl said.

"And you are?" Key joined the conversation.

The girl's bangs parted to show her red eyes. "Illusionist Owl, but most call me Illu."

(Kurotsubasa base)

"Why did I end up the one that had to be here alone?" Bella said as she lay bored on a random couch downstairs. "Maybe if I summon some toons I can cause enough chaos too…"

"Don't even think about it!"

Bella looked up from the couch and saw Shadow and Key were in the building along with a new person she has never seen before. Bella looked from the girl to the guys and said what came to mind. "Don't tell me we have a job to do."

"That's right Bella, so no chaos inside the Guild building." Shadow scolded her.

"Bella…isn't that a girl's name?" Illu asked curiously.

"What was that about me not being a girl?" The Bella morphed Clayface yelled in Illu's face with a mace formed from his right arm.

"She didn't say anything about your gender so settle down." Key said as so Bella wouldn't kill their client (again).

"Bella" Shadow held a box labeled Bella Snax, Bella morphed into Wildmutt and panted happily in front of Shadow. "You want the treat girl don't ya?" A chibi Shadow taunted a chibi Wildmutt and then threw the box a fair distance away. "Go get it girl!" Wildmutt then ran after the box.

"Sorry about her, she's a handful but we put up with her anyway." Shadow then took a seat. "Now what is the mission?"

Illu pulled out a picture from her bag and showed a picture of a tiny owl. "This is Mukurowl, he's my best friend in the whole world, and he was taken from me from a very evil group of players in the outskirts of the city." Illu explained.

"Who took your owl?" A human Bella asked as she walked back into the room while eating from the box.

Illu's eyes were filled with a mixture of fear and seriousness. "The Red Savages."

"Did you say the Red Savages?" Shadow asked in surprised.

"Damn, of all the gangs in the server it had to be the Red Savages." Key said.

"The Red Savages?" Bella asked in confusion.

"You were with the Hyna Squad so you weren't here when the Admin Guards made the big announcement. Red Savages is the name of a very huge group from New York, They set up shop in FFW months ago and Admin had been searching for them as to find their identities in the real world." Shadow explained.

"Doesn't Admin have the information of all players registered in FFW?" Bella asked.

"All gangs these days have some kind of tech support. They use either a secure location or hack the system and erases personal information." Key said. "The disciplinary squadron has been hunting for them for a while."

"Please!" Illu shouted out and grabbed Kurotsubasa's attention. "Please I don't know what they could be doing to Muku-Chan! I'll pay any amount but please help me!"

Bella looked at Shadow with a serious look and Key's one hazel eye closed. "What do we do Shadow? Red Savages are a really vicious group and this is about A-rank at the least."

Shadow looked to Illu and saw her expression. Illu had a look of anticipation and fear and another emotion Shadow could sense. Shadow then stood from his seat.

"We've been through worse." Shadow looked to Illu. "Illu, we accept your request."

Illu's eyes then filled with tears. "Thank you, thank you so much!" Illu then wiped her tears away. "When will we leave?"

"Give us five minutes to prepare ourselves and then we'll head out." Shadow then walked upstairs with Key which left Bella to gather some supplies from downstairs.

"Why did you accept her request? You know as well as I she's hiding something." Key asked.

"I know, but there may be more to this than meets the eye. I want you to stay here." Shadow said.

"Why do you want me to stay?" Key asked.

"To follow us when we head out, if Illu does anything suspicious…" Shadow summoned a pile of cards and gave one to Key. "I want you to contact Cast and at least tell them Red Savages' location."

Key looked at the pactio card in front of him and accepted it. "I won't let you down."

(Time skip Tokyo City Forest)

"How comes Key isn't coming with us?" Bella asked as She Illu and Shadow walked through the woods.

"Someone has to watch the shop, besides we can handle this by ourselves." Shadow answered.

"Are you sure the three of us are enough for this?" Illu asked.

"Don't worry about us, worry about the Red Savages when they meet Bella." Shadow said which earned a devious look from Bella and a small smile from Illu. "Now are you sure Mukurowl is in this area?"

"We have a strong connection; I can sense him through our bond." Illu stopped and walked a new path through the trees. "We're close by."

The three looked past the foliage and saw a large cabin with three bandit dressed thugs walking around the entrance. The three looked to each other seeing the entrance was guarded.

"So what now Shads?" Bella asked.

"Well it's obvious we can't attack the front without alerting everyone in the building." Shadow then poured chakra into his left eye. "So we're just going to have to find another way in."

"**Byakugan!"**

The veins near Shadow's left eye became visible as he searched around the perimeter. Shadow saw that there was an entrance around the back that was unguarded. Shadow then looked inside and saw…

"Alright there's a back way that is unguarded. We can sneak around and grab Illu's owl and get out." Shadow said.

Bella nodded as did Illu but with a bit of hesitation. The group stood up from their position and began to walk around however halfway Shadow decided to confront Illu.

"Illu, before I continue any further, are you hiding anything from us?" Shadow bluntly asked.

"What? What do you mean?" Illu asked.

"First you have been a little quite since we started this mission; you're also a bit too nervous if it's the gang that has you worried. Also…" Shadow placed a hand on Illu's shoulder which caused her to flinch. "There are the wounds that you are hiding under your coat." Shadow finished.

"I r-really don't know what you're talking about; these wounds were from a monster that was in the area." Illu explained.

Shadow remained silent but he didn't buy her story. "Let me just say something before we go into that bunker."

"Everyone has choices, sometimes the choices are good and others are bad. However, everyone has to live with the choices they make. Just make sure your choice is something you can live with." Shadow continued walking which left Illu to bring up the rear as she was silent in thought.

'I wish I didn't have to do this. I'm sorry Shadow, but you're wrong. I have no choice.' A guilty look appeared on Illu's face until she forced it away and continued to follow. The group then stopped to look at the unguarded entrance. "Muku-Chan is inside, I can sense him."

"Bella can you check out the inside?" Shadow said.

"On it!" Bella slammed down the omnitrix and morphed into a living green puddle of liquid. Goop then slid across the ground and inside the bunker, when the living blob saw no one Bella transformed back and signaled Shadow and Illu.

"Coast is clear, alright let's go." Shadow walked inside with Illu behind him. When the two joined Bella they saw literally an empty room.

"Funny thing is I never expected thugs to be this neat." Bella thought out loud. "Or for this place to be empty?"

"Strange room, no windows, no entrance but the one we walked into. It almost feels like a…what is that smell?" Shadow said as a purple vapor filled the room.

"I don't know but the room's all swirly." Bella said as she fainted from the effects of the vapors in the air.

"Bella! Illu…?" Shadow used the last of his strength to look at Illu who had miasma emitting from her hands and a guilty look on her face.

"I'm sorry, but this is the only way. I'm sorry." Illu bangs covered her eyes and gave her a demonic appearance as Shadow's vision started to fade.

"Damn...it" Shadow then joined his teammate into unconsciousness.

Illu stopped generating the miasma and let the room filter out; Illu looked at the two members of Kurotsubasa with guilt before knocking on a certain wall. A large man appeared from a hidden door and smiled as his sees the plan had worked.

"Wonderful, I guess all your "motivation" finally sunk in huh?" Illu held her arms as she felt a phantom pain course through them. The man began to examine the bodies. "Are they dead?"

"No, it's a mild poison that only knocks them out for a few minutes." Illu said in a silent voice. Illu then stiffened when she felt fingers on her chin as the man forced her to look at him.

"Good. They have no use to me if they're dead. Don't worry girl…" the thug dropped his hand from Illu and then picked up the sleeping members of Kurotsubasa. "In a few minutes you'll be able to leave with your little bird intact."

As the man walked away Illu felt guilty being the cause of what was about to happen. 'I never wanted any of this, but they still have Muku-Chan. What do I do?'

_(Flashback)_

"_Everyone has choices, sometimes the choices are good and others are bad. However, everyone has to live with the choices they make. Just make sure your choice is something you can live with." _

_(Flashback end)_

"Everyone has a choice, is this choice the one I want to live with?" Illu silently asked herself.

(Tokyo City Outskirts)

Key then opened his eyes as he felt Shadow and Bella's signature just now dimmed. Key knew either they were dying or were unconscious. Key then pulled out the pactio Shadow had given him.

"Let's hope this works" Key held the card to his head and tried to contact Cast.

"This connection is secured and reserved only to the Admin, who are you?" A gruff voice asked.

"My name is Key; I'm a friend of Shadow. Please I need to speak to Cast, this is an emergency!" Key spoke in his mind.

"What is the nature of this emergency?"

"The Red Savages" Key spoke both in his head and out loud. The connection was silent for a while before the voice returned.

"This is an emergency, Cast is not online at this moment but I can connect you to the next available Administrator."

'I hope I can get help just in time.' Key thought. "Alright patch me through!"

The connection once again remained silent until a new and familiar voice answered. "Office of the Disciplinary Squadron, Speedgain speaking."

'Dammit' Key thought to himself.

"So the Red Savages care to explain this more thoroughly please Keybladedude." Speed said sarcastically.

"I don't need your crappy sarcasms, I need for the A.G. to head into the forest and help Shadow and Bella!" Key yelled.

Key could hear laughing from the other line. "Yes you do need help but what's in it for me?"

"Why you…!" Key yelled.

"Listen I'll compromise, I'll head to Shadow's location and deliver discipline if you beg for my help." Speed reasoned.

"What?"

"Beg, like you mean it. Tick, tock Key you of all people know how valuable time is."

Key's grip on the card tightened after that last statement. Key wanted no more than to rush into Admin Tower and kick Speed's ass or try and help Shadow himself but he knew what he had to do.

(Red Savages Hideout)

"All right you little brats wake up!" A sharp voice cuts through the darkness. Shadow slowly opened his eyes and found out his movements were restrained. Shadow saw that he and a still asleep Bella were tied up and surrounded in all directions.

"So…you guys are the Red Savages. Funny I always thought there'd be more of you." Shadow said.

"You know what they say kid less is more." A deep voiced answered Shadow's retort. The man was large and almost inhumanly muscular. The man was shirtless with a small red vest with the Savages' logo on the back, brown pants, and boots. His bald head shown and the light and his chest was covered in scars.

"My name is Ripper or in here it is. I'm the head of the Red Savages." Ripper introduced himself.

"Ripper that's original. I would applaud you for your unique name but as you can see I'm a little tied up." Shadow continued to joke with his captors.

"Funny one aren't ya kid?" Ripper smiled and slammed a surprised punch that left Shadow breathless. "I like funny guys like you, keeps things entertaining!"

"Hurrah I'm a steroid abuser's favorite punch line." Shadow said after regaining breath.

"Shads, stop tormenting the bad guys for once unless you have a plan." Bella said in her sleep.

"Best listen to ya girlfriend there kid." A thug said and gained a laugh from many others.

"Girlfriend you serious? No way she's too high maintenance plus several people would kill me if I even try anything." Shadow said.

"You won't have to worry about dying for a while, but first!" Ripper moved to show a nervous and guilty Illu in the middle of the crowd. "A big hand for the witch that made this all possible!"

"Illu you don't have to do this. Everyone has a choice! You can choose to do what you think is right." Shadow said.

Illu was about to say something but was kept silent as Ripper placed a hand on her. "She had a choice alright! It was HER choice to help us, it was HER choice to capture you here, and it was HER choice to lead you to us!"

"Because you gave her NO choice right?" Shadow shouted back. "You took away not just her friend but also her free will just to get a shot at me!"

"What do you expect? Us to just parade into Tokyo City while we're on the most wanted list?" Ripper asked. "I don't think so, when we first caught this wench her powers were exactly what I needed to capture you!"

"Who said you captured me?" Shadow said and silent drew power from the Azure.

"What did you say?" Ripper asked.

"Who said you actually captured me?" Shadow's form began to pulsate with power. "I have the Byakugan; I saw ALL of you before we even went the back way." A dark power began to fill the air with pressure.

"Say what?" Ripper asked as he saw several of his men pass out from the pressure coming from Shadow.

"You heard me." Shadow said silently as an evil aura cloaked his body and began to burn away at the ropes. "You haven't trapped me…I just simply had you talk enough for me to make my move."

"Wait you wouldn't risk…?" Ripper and the others then notice Bella was nowhere to be found.

"Looking for me?" Most of the Savages turned around and saw Clayface was standing tall over twenty fallen thugs with his hands as twin blades. Ripper look as Shadow began to stand and blew away the ropes with just pure power.

"**Blood Kain!"**

Shadow glared at the Red Savages with his now red right eye and blazing Byakugan. "Let's start this party." Shadow opened his dimensional pocket and drew his scythe, after a few spins and twirls he assumed a fighting stance.

"Why you!" Ripper then held Illu by her neck and began to drag her to a secret exit. "Forget the reward, kill them KILL THEM! I don't want any trace of them left here!" The remaining thugs seem to surround Bella and Shadow to allow their leader to escape.

When the thugs tried to rush Shadow he quickly dashed through them and hit several pressure points. As the men lay paralyzed on the ground Shadow saw Bella was easily knocking thugs around in her clay form.

"Bella I'm going after Ripper!" Shadow ran for the exit only to see ten guards block it.

"Get out of my way!" Shadow suddenly appeared in front of them. Shadow's scythe was now cloaked in dark power.

"**Carnage Scissors!"**

A large ethereal tail sliced through all of the men in its path. As they dissolved into flakes of data Shadow then ran after the escaping Savage.

(Forest)

"Let go of me!" Illu struggled to get out of Ripper's grip.

"I don't think so, no one double crosses Ripper! I'm going to make sure no one finds you or your pet chicken again!" Ripper yelled out.

"That's far enough!"

Ripper looked and saw Shadow had found them. Shadow form was still covered in the dark and evil aura. The jewel on Shadow's right hand, the azure grimoire, was active. Shadow glared Ripper down.

"Running from a fight and taking a hostage. That's about as low as I expect of you Ripper!" Shadow said.

"My men should have taken care of you." Ripper growled.

"Like your band of weaklings could stop me, speaking of them Bella should be finishing them all off right about…" An explosion came from the direction of the hideout. "Now" Shadow then got in a fighting stance.

"It's all over Ripper."

"I'm still in control! I hold all the cards here!" Ripper slammed his free hand into the ground and sparks of energy flew out. Shadow then saw from out the ground formed a cage around him.

"What now little boy! You're trapped like a rat in front of a LION!" Ripper then lifted Illu by her throat. "I should kill you Shadow but first…"

Ripper's form then began to change; his body seemed to grow more inhuman. His muscles continued to bulk up, his skin gained an unnatural red hue. Rippers' small dog like pupils we're now replaced with white voids. Ripper had become a red ogre.

"First you bitch! I'm going to teach you a lesson, about betraying the Red Savages!" Ripper began to choke her. "I'm going to beat you to an inch of your life and then I might just kill your little hero and pet in front of ya!"

Tears fell from Illu's eyes as she felt the beast's large hands continue to squeeze her neck.

"I never betrayed you, because I was never one of you." Illu managed to squeeze out. "If you have not taken Muku-Chan from me and captured me I would never have helped you!"

Just before Illu's vision could go black a flash of light cut cleanly through Rippers' arm, causing him to howl in pain. Illu fell and was soon landed in Shadow's arms. Illu coughed violently but was relieve she could breathe.

"Made it just in time." Shadow then jumped back with Illu in his arms as the injured Ripper thrashed around with his bleeding stump. "You ok?"

Illu took a moment to catch her breath and then looked back to Shadow. "I'm...I'm ok."

Shadow then placed Illu on the ground and looks back to the wailing beast. "If he wasn't mad before he is now."

"What are we going to do?" Illu asked.

"For now can you stall him?" Shadow raised his scythe across his head and assumed his stance. "I'm going to try something but I need a little time."

"How much time?" Illu asked.

"About five minutes give or take." Shadow answered. "You sense Mukurowl?"

Illu closed her eyes and a light shone on her forehead. Illu looked and saw Mukurowl was held in a sphere in Rippers' pocket. Illu opened her eyes.

"He's still got him; can you land your attack without hitting Muku-Chan?" Illu asked.

"I can't guarantee that" Witch Hunter then appeared on top of the scythe blade. "That's why I'm giving you the time to get him and get out of the way!" Shadow then focused the power of the azure into the scythe.

Ripper finally got over the pain of his bleeding stump and growled bestially at the two. "Now you both are going to die!"

Illu got in front of Shadow and pulled out two hidden knives. "Ripper, this time it's you who doesn't has a choice! Accept defeat!"

Ripper answered Illu by charging in with power surging through his remaining arm. Illu jumped just in time to dodge a punch that left a crater in the ground. Illu landed and slashed at Ripper, twice she pierced skin but that only enraged the Savage more. Ripper tried another punch that got him a cut on the cheek that drew blood.

While Ripper was backing away Illu quickly reached for his pocket only for Ripper to grab her.

"You little bitch!" Ripper slammed his now massive skull against Illu.

Illu's forehead began to bleed but she still was able to reach and grab a red and white sphere from Rippers' pocket. Illu slammed both daggers into Ripper's back which got him to let go in pain. When Illu landed on the ground she pressed the button in the center and a ball of light was released.

Mukurowl was a small owl, about as big as Illu's palm. Mukurowl then landed next to his weakened and tired friend.

"Muku-Chan, you're safe…" Illu said with all the strength she could.

Shadow watched this scene in anger. 'Dammit, just a bit longer…Illu you have to get out of there!' The Witch Hunter soon gained a crimson hue, the large circular eye became slightly curved and the smile became demonic. Shadow was about the let loose his technique before he felt a flash of power.

"What is that? That surge of power?"

"Damn bitch!" Ripper lifted up his massive foot. "I'm going to crush under my foot like the insect you are!"

Illu's bangs began to rise and the symbol on her forehead began to glow, Mukurowl let out a hoot as he too begins to glow. Before Ripper could even put his foot down he was blown back by a dome of light.

"What the hell?" Ripper said in surprise.

"Is that…demonic transformation?" Shadow asked himself as the move was almost complete.

The sphere of light burst open and a figure flew high into the sky. The figure then stepped on thin air and glared at Ripper. The figure was Illu but with plenty of changes, her wounds were healed, she now had large owl wings that grew from her arms. Illu's feet and boots were replaced by large razor sharp talons.

Illu looked down at Ripper with her new avian eyes. "Now Ripper it's time I showed you what this insect can do!" Illu then began a dive bomb charge.

Ripper tried to move but found that he couldn't. Ripper then took many slashes from Illu's attack as her talons ripped through his hard skin.

"What the hell, I can't move!" Ripper manages to get out after the barrage of slashes.

"I know" Illu lifted up her talon to show her cleans gleaned a purple color. "My blades, my talons are all coated with a special poison. Those two knives in your back still have paralysis poison on the blades."

"Shadow now!" Illu called out.

Ripper focused back and looked in fear as Shadow now held a demonic witch hunter.

"Red Savages leader Ripper, this is THE END!" Shadow lifted his weapon and slashed forward.

"**Lunar Destroyer!"**

A wave of energy began to slice through the air and ground as it made its way towards Ripper. Ripper could only watch as the attack neared as he could not move. In a small breath Ripper called out a name he thought he'd never call again.

"Mother…"

Shadow turned away and placed the scythe on his shoulder. The blast connected and wave of light burst from behind him. As Ripper's now human body fell to the ground Shadow opened his eyes and Blood Kain's aura faded.

"Like I said the end."

Illu landed on the ground and began to glow red. Illu now changed back to normal. Mukurowl also appeared from the light and perched itself on top of Illu's head. Illu turned from Shadow to the smoking crater.

"Is he dead?" Illu asked.

"No" Shadow walked them to the crater to show Ripper unconscious with a large scar on his chest. "But he won't be causing trouble anytime soon."

Illu took the chance and nailed Ripper in the family jewels. "That's for all the days in that cage!"

While Illu vents her frustration Shadow looked around and saw the destruction around them. Shadow then took a chance and pulled down his sleeve and the Wings of Creation began to glow.

"Let's hope this works." Shadow hoped silently.

_**World Restoration**_

Illu stopped her righteous punishment to see the whole area begin to glow. Illu saw the crater around Ripper, the fallen trees, and the scarred ground begin to vanish and the forest seem to return to its original state. Illu turned and saw Shadow now stop the item and returned it under his sleeve.

"So that's the Wings of Creation?" Illu asked.

"Yes it is" Shadow said. "So now what do we do with him?"

"You don't have to worry about that Shadow."

Shadow and Illu turned and saw Speed, four discipline Admin Guards and Key. "Speedgain, what are you doing here?" Shadow asked.

"Just doing my job," Speed answered back.

"Key what happened? Where's Cast?" Key had his eyes closed but Shadow guessed what had happened.

"Cast is off duty today, she's busy looking into repairing another area. I however am in charge of the disciplinary squadron of the Admin Guards, so it's my job to see to it criminals in FFW are captured." Speed explained. "You're friend was useful in telling me about the Red Savages' hideout here."

The two began a glare contest until Bella walked into the scene and saw the tension. Key was silent but inside he was cursing himself for being so careless. Speed was the first to break eye contact as he passed out grimoires to his men.

"Got and capture the rest of the live ones at the bunker." The guards took the grimoires and proceed to walk towards the bunker Bella had come from.

"New toys?" Shadow rhetorically asked.

"Not new but yes special, these are capturing Grimoire! They're useful for holding many things, especially people." Speed then walked to Ripper's body and pulled out a small card. Ripper's body turned into a trail of light that was swallowed by the card and ripper's symbol appeared. "These cards also come from the grimoire."

Speed then grasp Illu's arm suddenly. "I also have to take YOU into custody."

"What! Why?" Illu asked while trying to remove her arm from speed's grasp.

"You were working for them were you not? I believe that is called guilty by association." Speed then started to drag her away." Now just cooperate or else…"

A hand soon landed on Speed's arm and threw him away from Illu; Speed skids a few inches on the ground and looks to see it was Shadow that intervened. Illu was surprised at what happened as shadow now blocked Speed's path to Illu.

"So you're protecting criminals now Shadow? And here I thought you had at least some honor." Speed said.

"More than you Speed. Illu is the reason we were able to defeat the Red Savages before you guys came into the picture." Shadow defended.

"That girl chose to do what the Savages asked of her, so she is as guilty as they are." Speed explained.

"Illu may have chosen that but she had NO CHOICE in the situation. Even after all that happened I still trusted Illu and she made the right choice in the end." Shadow argued.

"Shadow" Illu said in a low tone.

"Everyone has a choice in this world; it is the choices we make that define us. Illu defined herself as a person who even after all the evil things she had to do she is still a good person." Shadow said. "What about YOU Speed, what choices will you make? How will you define yourself?"

Speed sent his best glare in Shadow's direction as if to destroy them both with only his eyes, the Guards returned and then gathered behind Speed sensing the dispute but Speed raised a hand to dismiss them.

"Fine then have it your way. Since Illusionist Owl was not involved of her own free will I'm willing to let this slide." Speed then turned around. "You will however be placed on a weeklong probationary period to see if you are telling the truth." Speed began to walk away with the Disciplinary squad.

Illu let out a long breath and landed on the ground, Bella sighed as the tension was finally over. Key suddenly punched the bark of a tree.

"Sorry but after all this work Speed's probably going to get a reward for bringing them in and we won't get shit." Key said in a rare display of anger.

"Not exactly" Shadow said holding up his PDA. "I had the whole thing recorded and sent it to the Administration Tower directly."

"When did you start recording?" Illu asked as she got back to her feet.

"Since when you tricked us to go into the back way." Shadow then held up his hand to stop Illu from apologizing. "No apologies, you did what you had to do but it all worked out, we're all alive, the Red Savages may very well already be in custody, and Speed's probably going to be embarrassed when the video reaches. Everyone wins"

"Theirs is still one thing thought" Key said and got everyone's attention. "Ripper or whatever didn't seem like the type to have expert hacking experience, did anyone in his group?"

"No, they were a bunch of dumb thugs; a chair has a higher I.Q. than all of them put together." Bella answered.

"So who gave Ripper the tools he needed to stay under radar for so long?" Shadow asked. The question lingers in the air before shadow lets out a sigh.

"Whatever it is I'm sure we won't have to worry about it, come on let's get back." Kurotsubasa began to walk before Illu stopped them.

"Wait! I can't just accept this! All that happened today and you are all willing to just let me walk away?" Illu asked.

"You paid for the mission and the mission's over, sure you had that one bad event but you made up for it in the end." Shadow stated.

"While I don't like anyone who puts my friends in danger I'm sure under the same circumstances I may have done the same. Like Shadow said no harm done." Key said.

"Besides getting to know you for a while was fun, just talking with a couple of guys get's old after a long time." Bella said.

Kurotsubasa then turned to walk away. Illu let a fear tears fly before looking back up. "Thank you! For everything!" Mukurowl let out a hoot in thanks.

Bella turned around and waved back, Key turned for a second and then turned back to walk. Shadow didn't turn but he put a hand in the air to show he had heard her. The sun began to set as Kurotsubasa made their way back to the guild building.

"Say Shadow you're not going soft on us are you?" Key asked.

"What do you mean?" Shadow asked.

"Saving the damsel in distress, beating the bad guy, leaving without asking for the smallest reward. Key listed out and smiled. "You're turning into a hero man."

"Yep, a genuine hero, a knight in shining black armor, the stereotypical savior." Bella played along.

"Shut up, I'm no hero. I'm just not that bad a guy." Shadow said after a blush of embarrassment. "Besides we were paid and we are about to collect a reward."

(FFW Penitentiary 1)

It was nighttime or at least it was in the game. Ripper was now in a cell in the solitary section of the prison. The Admin had placed him in a cell that prevented him from logging out. Ripper now stared out the bared window into the night sky.

"Damn it, forget the Admin, at least HE doesn't know I failed." Ripper then heard some footsteps. When he walked to the bars to check it out he received a blade to the heart.

"Mr. Ripper, let us talk about your unsatisfying performance." A gentleman's voice spoke.

"It's not my fault! That bitch…!" Jack tried to argue as his form started to become pixilated.

"Your plan failed, you failed to achieve your end of our deal and my Mistress does not enjoy failure." The voice spoke back, Ripper was about to vanished but somehow he stayed solid. Ripper stared into the man's cold violet eyes. "You will become an example for what is to come…"

A large void appeared behind Ripper, zeros and ones flowed out of it showing that it was leaking through the program and the system itself. The sword was then yanked out of Jack's torso and a hand held him by his hair.

"Please just give me anoth…"

"I'm sure I can find someone else to complete the job, you humans…always making mistakes." The stranger interrupted. "That is why you all must die"

Jack was thrown into the void. Jack's screams could be heard until the void closed itself, silencing the screams as if Jack/Ripper never existed. The man pulled out a PDA and activated the phone feature.

"It's me; I just took care of another failure. Maybe we should try a different approach to these humans." The man nodded his head. "Yes…understood." A portal opened up next to the man and he began to walk into it.

"The era of Humans is over." The portal closed.

Soon two Admin Guards came over to check the noise, they found Ripper's cell empty and they began to signal for alarms. The Admin were now searching for something that has vanished from FFW. Ripper's data.

(Earth-Warehouse)

"Boss!" A teenage boy with the Red Savages logo ran into the warehouse. "Boss, the Admin tracked us down, I managed to get away but…"

The teen stopped because on the floor was an unconscious Ripper. The grunt tried to check for a pulse only to find none. The whole room was silent and dark. The only light came from the laptop screen which had two words written on a now blood red screen.

GAME OVER

(FFW-The next day)

A knock was heard on Kurotsubasa's front door. The group was lounging in the lounge while Shadow walked to get the door.

"Sure no one hears the door but me." Shadow opened the door and saw a familiar face. "Illu?"

Right on Kurotsubasa's doorstep was Illu, wearing the same thing but it was now cleaner and her wounds had healed. Mukurowl was perched on her head giving the owl version of a happy smile. Illu nodded her head.

"The one and only." Illu said.

"When I said comeback anytime you had a problem I didn't think you would get in trouble again literally." Shadow said.

"Oh I'm not here because I'm in trouble." Illu stated.

The rest of Kurotsubasa (chibi forms) gathered behind Shadow. "Then why are you here?"

"Two things, one to give you this." Illu held up a pactio card for all to see. Shadow took then card and it showed holding two knives that gleamed a poison light and Mukurowl flying beside her, them both with a symbol on their forehead. On the back was Illu's symbol, an owl.

"A pactio pal request, what's the other thing." Shadow asked as the card flashed a green light showing he accepted it.

"I wanted to ask if I could join Kurotsubasa." Illu said with a small blush.

"You want to join our crazy group?" Shadow asked rhetorically. "By all means…"

"It would be good to see a new face in the guild now." Key said.

"Finally another girl in the group!" Bella shrieked with happiness.

"You're the girl these guys were talking about right? Well after all I heard you're more than welcome to join!" DB said.

"BUT FIRST…!" Shadow, DB, and Key all yelled at the same time.

"You have to complete initiation." Shadow said.

"What initiation?" Illu asked.

"I JUST HAD TO ASK!" Illu screamed as a rabid Hyna-Wolf chased after her. The rest of Kurotsubasa watched in enjoyment.

"How much time does she have left?" Db asked.

"About ten more minute" Key answered.

"Well Bella is always complaining about adding more members, Illu will have her hands full "playing" with Bella." Shadow said.

Illu was now running from a team of Jackbots. Bella or Jack Spicer as she was now was laughing manically as Illu ran.

"That's right dance puppet dance!"

"Key I know this is wrong to ask but can you slow this down about so we can watch in slow motion?" DB asked.

"You are one SICK dude…but yeah." Key slowed time down around the two females.

The day ended with one happy Bella, a traumatized Illu and three boys who almost died of laughter.

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><p><strong>TBC…<strong>

**Now that this is over I hope that this turned out a good chapter. If not then I know what I'm doing wrong and I'll only get better. Now this story will not update unless you…**

**REVIEW**

**REVIEW**

**And always REVIEW**

**But I'll probably update for a while anyways, this story is just now starting to get popular. **

**-Shadowlight0982 out.**

**Author debut**

**Illusionist Owl**

** Next time, many disappearances have been happening all over Tokyo City, mainly in the secret underground routes Cheshire's Path. While walking one day Shadow stumbles upon a small animal fleeing from the A.G. The cat contains a clue about not only its owner but maybe what may be happening underneath the very streets of Tokyo City. Next time on FANFICTION World!**

**A special cat crosses your path!-Punnyao!**


	4. Chapter 4: A special cat

** Happy Spring Break everyone, away from the pressures of school it's the perfect time to update and write some chapters. I'm surprised at the reviews this story is getting hack I got a person putting their own twist on this story I'm stating a trend. Anyway for all of you following the story is about to get interesting soon.**

**Announcement:**

** Not everyone sent me an updated character after I put up the profile so I'm going to assume you are comfortable with what you sent me. If you are not you can always send me a message and I will send you the profile.**

** Also while I have a good number of characters the next chapter has a need for a lot of characters. So tell your friends and other readers if they are interested. If not I can make it work with the number of characters I have now.**

**Reviews:**

**LuckyShadowWolf****: The answer is yes, that is my main weapon.**

**Demonhelper007****: I have come up with a way that a lot of characters are going to be revealed either next chapter or thee chapter after.**

**Ravena Felidae****: Thank you for the review and I know you are especially excited for this chapter.**

**Renchard19****: This is just the beginning.**

**Generalhyna****: Yep things are starting to heat up; also I like your story of your POV.**

**Now that all of this is finished ON WITH THE SHOW!**

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><p>"Aaaa"-Speech<p>

'Bbbb'-Thought

'_Cccc'-Flashback_

"**Dddd"-Attacks**

**Disclaimer: I own the plot, the locations, and some of the characters. What I don't own are things taken from anime, shows, movies, games, books, online RPGS, etc. I also don't own any character I didn't create. Put your lawyers away!**

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><p>"<em>I don't help people because I have to; I help people because I can."-Shadowlight0982<em>

_"We may have the power to choose, but at times our choices can either help, or destroy"-GeneralHyna_

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><p>Ch.4 A special cat crosses your path.<p>

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><p>(Tokyo City underground)<p>

Underneath Tokyo City were a series of tunnels leading from inside to several spots and areas away from Tokyo City. Many rumors about these tunnels say they were spy routes for the Administrations, other say it was how some things were smuggled through the system and into the game. Many rumors spread about these tunnels though few have used them.

Right now a girl was walking through the tunnel holding her day's spoils, pure, raw crystals and jewels. The girl had long brown hair with bouncy curls, golden eyes with cat slits and brown cat ears that rest one her head. She was average height for her age if not a bit shorter, hourglass figure, and d-cup bust. She wore a red sleeveless top under a long black jacket with a high collar, black tights and black knee high boots. She also had gold shackles on her forearms, black belt and black collar with a golden bell. Her tails was waving in happiness.

"Alright Punnya we found a large amount of things tonight! Now tomorrow we can cash them in and make a fortune nya." Ravena said as she and her pet walked through the dim lit tunnels carrying a large sack.

"Punnnyaaa!" A small pink neko manju called as it flew alongside her master.

"Yep we made a huge discovery today, who knew these old tunnels still had treasure after all this time!" Ravena said happily.

"Punnyaaa…Pun?" The neko then stopped when it saw an ominous purple glow shine from deep inside another path.

"What's wrong Punnya? See something?" Ravena stopped and saw what her pat was staring at.

"Punnya" Punnya said in a worried tone.

"I got a bad feeling about this, my tails are on edge. Punnya let's leave now ok." The girl took her view away from the light and now ran down her original path.

"Punnya!" Punnya then flew after her master.

The two ran but then they were stopped by an invisible force. The girl stopped and felt ahead and her hand made contact with a barrier.

"A barrier nya? What's going on?" Ravena asked.

"What's going on is that you are in the wrong place at the wrong time as they would say." A robed figure appeared behind them. The figure wore a large brown robe that covered his torso, black pants and shoes. The teen's blue eyes and blond hair could be seen though he wore a hood.

"Who are you nya?" Ravena asked.

Punnya tried to speak but Ravena made a signal to keep silent.

"Doesn't matter who I am, what matters is a little cat girl like you is doing running down here at night?" The robed teen said.

"I'm nineteen and it's a free country and server!" Ravena yelled. "Now just put down your barrier so I can leave."

"I'm afraid I can't do that." The robed one said. "Just the fact that you already saw me and I can't have that. Can't let my little project be found out early."

"Too bad then!" A twin tail whip slid out from the girl's large sleeve and she sent the whip towards the boy. "Cause I'll have to beat you to get out nya!"

The boy clapped his hands together and then caught the whip. Blue light shined as the whip was deconstructed.

"Alchemy?" Ravena thought.

"Clever with that hidden weapon…but" Fire appeared I the boy's palms. "Now it's my turn.

**Fist of the Mortal Flames!**

The boy charged forward with his hands enveloped in bright flames. The girl's eyes became white voids and pieces of the ground rose covered in a black aura and became a shield. The boy hit the shield canceling his attacks. The girl was about to move but she was then forced against the wall.

"Telekinesis, clever trick but my Psychokinesis is better." The boy's hand was covered in a bright aura. "Now what to do with you?"

Ravena let out a silent incantation and suddenly parts of the ceiling fell and showed the night sky. "Punnya run now!"

Punnya followed her master's words and flew towards the opening. She looked back and hesitated for a bit but she then flew away.

"Where do you think you're going?" The boy motioned to capture Punnya but his arm was forced back by a telekinetic blast.

"Even when forced onto a wall you still have the will to fight, I applaud you for that but…" The boy started to clench his hands and the girl felt pressure being added. The boy laughed seeing the girl's pain. "Hahahaha, it would be a waste to kill you. Maybe you can be the final ingredient I need?"

'Punnya, get here soon.' Ravena thought.

(Next day, Kurotsubasa building)

The sound of blades clashing filled the air. Two members of the now know guild was practicing outside in the training ground behind the building. Scythe and Glaive met each other as Shadow and Illu continued their spar.

"Come on is that all you got Illu?" Shadow asked, his jacket was tossed to the side and he just had on the usual sleeveless midnight blue shirt with a black crescent moon symbol, black pants, and shoes.

"Power isn't everything Shadow." Illu spoke as she was glad she caught the scythe blade between the blades of her glaive. Illu had her coat also at the side with Mukurowl and just had her and dark blue tube top that stops at her mid-drift, short dark blue skirt, and brown boots.

Shadow then put more forced and swung his weapon and Illu slid a few inches away. "True but it couldn't help, speed means nothing if you can't hit me." Shadow then opened his dimension arm and sent his scythe away.

Illu dropped her stance and walked and to her coat. Mukurowl flew to her with a towel and she used it to wipe her sweat away.

"Thanks Muku-Chan!" Illu said. Mukurowl let out a hoot in happiness.

Shadow walked and was about to put his jacket on but Illu offered him a spare towel; Shadow took the towel and wiped his sweat away. "Thanks."

"No problem," Illu smiled. "So what's the score now?"

"5 to 4, looks like you're cleaning the base today." Shadow then put his jacket on.

"Ah man," Illu said in sadness.

"You wouldn't have much to clean if it wasn't for your prank war with Bella." Shadow said as he began walking to the building.

"Then why doesn't she have to clean too?" Illu said.

"Because she's hiding somewhere and is escaping punishment, you however are right here." Shadow explained.

Illu was about to say something before they both heard a commotion coming from the streets. "What do you think that is?"

"Don't know, want to check it out?" Shadow asked.

"Do you have to ask?" Illu then ran to the commotion.

"Nope but it's polite to." Shadow ran after her. Shadow caught up when he saw Illu stop; he looked over and aw Admin Guards chasing after a flying pink cat.

"What is that a cat blob?" Illu asked in confusion.

"It's a neko manju…" Shadow said. "And for some reason the A.G. are chasing after it."

"Should we get involved?" Illu asked.

"No, I don't think every time the A.G. is in a crisis I have to get involved." Shadow then saw the neko begin to fly towards him. 'Dammit.'

Punnya was exhausted but continued to fly forward, she knew that she had to find someone to help her master before it was too late. Punnya flew all around but everyone was either too week or didn't pay attention to the flying neko manju. Punnya was soon discovered by Admin Guards who had a rule about pets roaming the streets without their masters.

"Hey you, is that neko manju yours?" One of the two Admin Guards asked.

"Nope, first time I met the thing." Shadow said but it didn't change the fact Punnya decided to rest on his head.

"First time, seems to be a lot comfortable around you." The other Admin Guard commented.

"Can I help it if an animal randomly decides to rest on my head?" Shadow said irritated.

"Either way, that animal is coming with us." The Admin Guard said.

"And why is that, what did it do?" Illu asked.

"Harassment, disturbing the peace, property destruction, all I know is that pet will be sent to a kennel or be deleted." The Admin Guard answered.

"Punnnyaaa" Punnya meowed in fear.

Shadow sensed Punnya's fear and glared at the Admin Guards. "I don't think so."

"What did you say?" The Guards were about to draw weapons but they soon felt the pressure slam against them enough to make them hunch over.

"Before you get your rusty armor in a knot and attack me you know who I am right?" Shadow asked.

"Shadowlight0982, one of the few players to defeat a Captain class Administrative Guard." One A.G. said with struggle.

"And suppose holder of a weapon known as the Wings of Creation." The other A.G. said.

"So Speed and Leon keep you updated, that's good." Shadow put his hand down and the pressure on the two vanished. "Look you guys get back to your important assignment you know you should be doing."

"And what about that…?" An A.G. started.

"I'll do you guys this one favor and find it's…"

"Punnyaaaa!"

"…HER master. So what do you say, do we have a deal?" Shadow asked.

The two A.G. looked to each other and discussed the situation. They then decided what was best for their careers and reputations.

"Alright, that beast is now in your care. Be lucky a higher official gave us orders not to attack you." The Guards turned around to leave.

"Tell Speed I said hi too!" Shadow called back and earned a laugh from Illu. The Guards hid their irritation and continued walking.

"Now what about you little girl?" Shadow pulled Punnya off his head to examine her.

Punnya was an average neko manju, about the size of a basketball. Punnya had pink fur, cat ears, whiskers, and long tail. She had red eyes, and a cat bell somehow hung where her neck would have been. Punnya's black wings and tail were moving in happiness.

"So these are neko manju, I never seen one up close." Illu made a motion to hold Punnya and Shadow passed her over. Illu began to squeeze Punnya and saw how squishy and bouncy she was.

"Well we have to go call the others." Shadow walked back to the base.

"But what about Bella, she's still hiding and Key is gone too." Illu said following him, Mukurowl flying behind her.

"Key's having an important meeting so I can't reach him, Bella however…" Shadow pulled out his P.D.A. and tapped out a message and hit send. Soon a grey specter rose from the ground. And shook Shadow by his jacket.

"**Where is it, where is it, where!" **Ghostfreak said as he shook him.

"Sto~~~p sha~~~king me Be~~lla~~~ or you won't fi~~~nd out!" Shadow yelled.

Ghostfreak stopped shaking him and then changed back into Bella. "Whoops, sorry Shads!"

"Whatever," Shadow took a minute to regain his composure.

"So when do we leave?" Bella asked.

"As soon as we get D.B., we'll talk on the way." Shadow said.

(Time Skip)

"So you're saying this cat thing was being chased by the Admin Guard, it became attached to you so you're helping it find it's…."

"Punnyaaaa!"

"…Her, master? That's not what I was expecting to happen while you two were alone." D.B. said as the group walked through the alleys of Tokyo City.

"And what did you think was happening besides our spar?" Shadow said irritably.

"Well I thought…"

"**Choose your words wisely."** Hybrid Illu stood with talons raised.

"That you two were telling stories and having a good time!" D.B. said to cover his thoughts. Illu returned to normal.

"So how will we find her master after she takes us there?" Bella asked.

"My eye," Shadow pointed to his left eye. "With the byakugan I'll be able to track any energy signature."

"But you don't know this person's signature, how will you track it?" D.B. asked.

"You're going to use Punnya?" Illu asked.

"Punnya?" Shadow asked.

"It's what she always said so shouldn't that be her name?" Illu asked again.

"Punnya!" Punnya turned around to nod and then turned back around.

"Punnya it is then, no I'm not using Punnya. I'm using her bell." Shadow saw the confused looks and decided to explain. "When a pet owner decided to give their pet an item it still carries their signature, I can track that."

"Alright that's the plan, but where is the fur ball leading us?" D.B. asked.

"Down there is a good guess." Bella said as they saw a small hole and they were outside the City limits.

"A hole? What are supposed to do dig for a lost cat toy?" D.B. joked.

"I think Punnya's saying her master and she were underground and she used this to escape." Shadow said.

"Punnya!" Punnya nodded which empathizing his theory.

"Ok then, Bella you know the "drill"." Shadow said.

"Ha-ha, ok then." Bella was about to transform.

"But first…" Shadow pulled out something out his pocket dimension. Shadow then threw at the tree, the tri-kunai landed in the bark.

"A Yondaime Kunai? How is that going to help?" Illu asked.

"Call it a quick exit." Shadow said. "Ok Bella whenever you're ready.

A bright green light filled the air and Bella was replaced with a large yellow armored alien.

"**Armadrillo!" **Armadrillo began to dig and made the path lager for them to enter. After Bella got in the rest of Kurotsubasa followed after her.

(Scene Change)

A small rumble sounded in the tunnels causing the robed teen to stop his work. "More intruders?"

"Looks like Punnya found some help nya, you're finished! If I know Punnya she brought the most powerful, strongest, best players around to help nay!" Ravena said from inside a large steel cage. **(Think Nightmare's Steel Cage from Yu-Gi-Oh!)**

"It doesn't matter," The boy dropped pulled his hood down to let his long blond hair free. "Once this is complete no one, not even the Admin can defy me. But let's give your rescuers some entertainment. The boy pressed a button and several red eyes opened all around the tunnels.

(Kurotsubasa)

"For the last time splitting up is a bad thing!" Shadow argued.

"We can cover more ground Shads!" Bella retorted.

"How are you going to track Punnya's master huh?" Shadow said.

"Hello, shapeshifter here! I'm sure I got a Neji or Hinata form somewhere. And I can use Hyna0Wolf to get Punnya's scent and tart there!" Bella smiled.

"Fine then, teams of two. Just don't get lost the kunai is one use only!" Shadow reminded them. "So who's with whom?"

"I'd go with you Shad's but whenever Bella has a good idea it also means it's dangerous. So I'll go with her!" D.B. said.

"I guess it's you and me then Illu." Shadow said and Illu nodded back. "Fine then, Kurotsubasa…take off!"

The group ran through the long tunnel until it leads to a circular room with many paths. Shadow activated his Byakugan and Bella transformed to Hyna-Wolf and the team separated down two separate paths.

(Shadow, Illu, and Punnya)

"Hey Illu is Mukurowl ok? He seems a little tense." Shadow asked.

"It's being underground; Muku-Chan doesn't really like enclosed spaces and no skies. I don't feel comfortable down here either." Illu said.

"Then I'll make this mission end as quick as I can." Shadow looked down the tunnel as they walked and then stopped.

"What's wrong?" Illu asked.

Shadow answered by taking out his scythe. "Trouble ahead."

Illu looked ahead and saw six glowing red eyes. Illu then pulled her daggers from inside her coat. "Big trouble ahead."

(Bella and D.B.)

"We're lost aren't we?" D.B. asked.

"We are not lost, the scent led me here" Bella answered.

"If the scent you were following was the right one wouldn't we have gone down the same path as Shadow? Also I always that smell didn't travel well underground so how are you sure?" D.B. asked.

Bella suddenly sat in the corner with a dark cloud over her head. "We're not lost; we just took the scenic route that's it the scenic route."

"Yeah scenic, rocks, dirt, more rocks, mutant wolves behind us, dirt."

"What did you say?" Bella asked suddenly.

"Dirt" D.B. said.

"No before that!" Bella yelled.

"Mutant wolves behind us" D.B. said slowly and turned around. Behind the two was a small pack of wolves, they were shaggy and rabid but they also had body parts of other animals attached.

"Run?" Bella asked.

"Ladies first." The two then ran down the tunnel being chased by wolves.

(Shadow, Illu, and Punnya)

**Carnage Scissors!**

A wave of energy blasted a large creature into a circular room. Shadow and Illu ran down after it and were relieved to have more space. The monsters got back on its eight legs and stared daggers at the two.

"An onigumo under Tokyo City, that makes no sense!" Illu said.

"It makes perfect sense; someone made this monster and sent it after us. Meaning they don't want us finding out what's going on here." Shadow said.

"My weapons are useless, it has its own poison to counteract mine. " Illu said.

"You're weapons maybe but not your powers, back me up ok!" Shadow said.

"Ok, whenever you're ready!" Illu said. Shadow nodded and dashed to the giant spider with his scythe raised.

The Spider raised a leg to stab Shadow but he sidestepped it. However another leg was aimed after him again.

**Armor!**

The limb bounced off a blue magic seal, Shadow then slashed the limb off resulting in a demonic scream from the onigumo.

"That's new, never thought spiders could scream." Shadow then saw the limb regenerate. "Ok spiders aren't supposed to regenerate!"

The spider opened its large mandible and fired a blast of treads. Shadow then suddenly glow a light blue and disappeared in a flash of speed.

**Vernier!**

Illu called out her spell just in time to save Shadow from the webs. The spider looked around confused looking for its target.

"Thanks Illu, remind me to repay you after this is over!" The spider looked up and saw Shadow holding a large crescent moon in the sky.

**Witch Hunter!**

The spiritual attack slammed into the spider and it howled in pain as its soul was cut in two. Shadow landed and opened his palm to catch the scroll and then crushed it in his hands.

"Ok, so we got a large monster running around, series of paths that could be traps, and by look of the summon contract I just destroyed, an evil maniac behind it all." Shadow listed out.

"I hope Bella and D.B. are ok." Illu said.

"Don't worry, they can take care of themselves," Shadow focused his byakugan and saw they were close to the signature of Punnya's master. "We're close."

"Punnya!" Punnya landed on Shadow's head and pointed her tail forward as if saying to lead the way.

Mukurowl landed on Illu's shoulder as she laughed and Shadow let out a groan as they continued walking.

(Bella and D.B.)

"Bring it on you Wolf fuckers!" D.B. yelled in battle mode as he slashed another wolf in half that tried to tackle him.

"Hey D.B., not to point the obvious but they are regenerating and we're regenerating so how are we supposed to beat them?" Bella punched another wolf and it slammed into the wall with another force to shake the tunnel.

"I have an idea, but you may want to turn into something fire proof." D.B. grabbed his katana and claymore and the blades ignited into flames.

"Ok then," Bella then transformed into Heatblast and backed away. **"Bring on the heat!"**

D.B. smirked and his eyes glowed red as he ran and slashed through two wolves that now burst into flames. The rest of the wolves became wary and started to back away.

"Oh no you don't!" D.B. somehow combined the blades by the hilts and threw them in the air. The blazing disk of destruction slashed through all the wolves and reduced them to ashes. D.B. caught his blades and extinguished the flames.

"Nice," Bella said as she changed back. "You've been waiting to do that?"

"Yep, this fight going on my page!" D.B. didn't notice the ashes and flames on the ground started to condense together.

"Uh" Bella made a "look behind you" motion and D.B. turned around and his face dropped in shock.

The ashes and flames combined together to formed a large ash gray wolf about twice their size. Its burning reds eyes glared at them and it howled to show its teeth and jaw were made of flames as well.

"An evolved Hellhound? How's that possible to make that from like ten chimera?" D.B. asked. A blast of green light and Big Chill then joined the battle.

"**I don't know and I don't care, what I do know is this guy need to chill out!" **Big Chill breathed frozen air towards the beast. The wolf then suddenly vanished into a cloud of ash, Big Chill looked around but then a paw materialized and slammed him into the ground.

"Bella!" D.B. pulled out his magnums and began to fire. The bullets just seem to pass through the wolf as if he was made of air. The paw then became frozen as Big Chill flew through the limb.

"**This guy is tough!" **Big Chill said.

"Damn, we need a wind or light element attack to kill it!" D.B. remembered.

**(Insert Digimon Xros Op. 2 New World)**

The wolf began to walk towards them but a blast of light hit its arm and it howled in pain. The two turned and saw two people they weren't expecting to see.

"I should have known Kurotsubasa was somehow involved in this." Leon said.

The shapeshifter returned to normal. "It's Leon, that guy from the Admin Guard."

"Enough Leon, right now we have to deal with the crisis ahead." Cast said as they both entered the battlefield.

"Cast too?" D.B. asked out loud.

Cast walked forward and held out her hand. A ball of light appeared and she sent it high into the ceiling. "Normally I am against killing monsters if I can avoid it, but from what I can see you are beyond saving.

The hellhound charged towards the new arrivals, not paying attention to the threat above its head. Cast then began her dropped her hand and finished her attack.

**Light Shower!**

The ball burst and began to rain down and pierce through the large beast. The beast howled as he was purified and then vanished in a flash of light and flakes of data. The light vanished and Cast then turned to the members of Kurotsubasa.

"Now why are you here and where is Shadow?" Cast asked.

**(Digimon Xros Op. 2 New World End)**

(Shadow, Illu, and Punnya)

Punnya now took the lead and flew towards where she had sensed her master. Shadow and Illu were running full speed after her and Mukurowl was flying at the rear.

"You were right; it is good to have some speed." Shadow said.

Punnya flew ahead until she made contact with a barrier, as Punnya was squished against the barrier and slid down Shadow, Illu and Mukurowl stopped to see the barrier became invisible.

"A barrier, what is it doing here?" Illu asked.

"My guess is that we're close to the mastermind's HQ." Shadow tapped the barrier with his staff to see it reappear and disappear.

"So what now, we can't walk around and we can't force our way ahead." Illu said.

"Do you know a spell that can take it down Illu?" Shadow asked.

"No but I have an idea." Illu's bangs parted and showed a symbol on her forehead that began to glow. Mukurowl began to glow too. Shadow took Punnya and backed away and allowed Illu to transform.

"So what's your plan?" Shadow asked.

"I have an attack that can corrode anything it touches; maybe I can use it to corrode the barrier." Illu explained.

"We got no other plans so go for it." Shadow said. Illu then began to focus and a large sphere of poison began to form and grow in front of her.

**Acid Barrage!**

The ball of poison burst open and poison splashed against the barrier. Shadow backed up a bit as a bit of poison landed on his jacket. Shadow was about to say something until he saw the barrier shimmer and began to die.

"Nice job Illu, now we can keep moving." Shadow said as Illu changed back.

"You'll be going nowhere."

Shadow turned around and saw Leon and Cast behind them with Bella and D.B.

"Cast, Leon, what are you guys doing here?" Shadow asked.

"That is none of you…" Cast put up a hand and stopped Leon.

"This is an official Administrative case, I can't tell you any more than that." Cast said.

"What's so important down here the Admin has to get involved?" Illu asked.

"That's what I said but of course they gave us no answer." Bella said.

"Now all of you can leave so that we can finish our mission." Leon said.

"No can do." Shadow said.

Leon kept his anger to himself but Cast asked what was already on his mind.

"Why is that, are you saying you want to become involved?" Cast asked.

"We already had a mission to find this little girl's master." Shadow pointed to Punnya who was once again on his head.

"Punnya!"

"So there's that and seeing as your only backup is sir asshole over here we might as well help you guys out." Shadow said.

"We don't need help from the likes of you." Leon said.

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Leon, I can't for normal player to get involved in Admin affairs." Cast said.

"I'm doing this for the Admin…" Shadow started. "I'm doing this for a friend who happens to be in the Admin." Shadow started to walk forward.

"Kurotsubasa, let's go."

The rest of the team left after their own unique goodbyes (D.B. flipping Leon off, Illu waving, Bella saying goodbye) and followed Shadow into the darkness.

"Those fools," Leon said.

"There is nothing we can do about now." A loud beeping sound came from Cast's P.D.A. "The signal is close."

(Scene change)

The guild walked into a massive room that was different compared to the tunnels. The top showed a starlit sky but it sometimes shimmered and showed a rocky ceiling. The floor was marble and the walls looked new. In front of them was a large cage with a sleeping girl inside.

"Punnya!" Punnya flew to sleeping cat girl.

Ravena's ears twitched as she heard noises and opened her eyes in surprised. "Punnya!"

"Well look who we have here!" Everyone turned to see a robed teen land on the ground. "So you are the ones running amuck down here."

"And might you be?" Shadow asked.

"The Lawless Alchemist, DarkSin98." Cast said as she and Leon entered.

"The Administration too, though I was expecting more than one Guard and a little girl." Sin said.

"Your crimes in FFW are over!" Cast said.

Leon drew his sword. "Surrender now and les charges will be filed against you!"

Sin began to laugh. "Man you are o hilarious, making big deal over a few petty things. Of course transmuting animals and using human transmutation is kind of illegal."

"Human transmutation! You actually did an alchemist sin?" D.B. asked.

"Yeah, what of it?" Sin asked.

"It's not just performing the ritual; it's what he did while he performed it." Cast said.

"And that is?" Bella asked.

"Reduced an entire area to oblivion! All those souls prime ingredients for this!" A red light shined from the ceiling. The fake sky faded to show a glowing gem.

"Is that…?" Illu started.

"What I think it is?" D.B. finished.

"A philosopher stone, bastard." Shadow said.

"I thought you were evil before, you're just a murderer nya!" Ravena said.

"I'm not a murderer, I'm a mass murderer get it right." Sin said.

**Remissionem's Gauntlet**

Sin was then brought to his knees, Leon then charged with his sword. "For your crimes you will receive death!"

"Leon stop!" Shadow called out.

"Idiot" Sin's hands then glowed and stalagmites grew and pierced Leon through his torso.

"Leon!" Cast said.

"Did you really think I didn't plan for you Admins and you're toys?" Sin rose to his feet and kicked the pixel body of Leon towards Cast. Cast then went to work reviving Leon.

"That's it's!" D.B. charged with burning swords.

"You're going down!" Shadow rushed forward with his scythe.

Sin then blast them away with a psychic pulse. "Fools, none of you are on the level to match me."

Bella then transformed and entered the fight. Oni-Wormtail then charged towards him but was forced into the ground and was trapped in the marble. Sin used alchemy to hold Bella there.

"A shapeshifter, too much of a wild card. Better to keep you down there and experiment with you later." Sin said.

**Silver Starburst!**

The blade of Illu's glaive shot forward attached to a chain. The blade and chain then wrapped around Sin and began to squeeze.

"I'm not finished yet!" Illu then created a pack of beast using poison.

**Beast of Miasma!**

The demonic pack then charged towards their trapped target. Sin then produced a shockwave that blew the chain, the miasma, and Illu away.

"Points for originality but not enough!" Sin said.

"What now?" D.B said as he got to his feet.

"He's pushed back everything we threw at him." Illu said.

"Guys, leave this to me."

Everyone looked and saw Shadow had thrown his jacket to the side. Shadow then raised his right hand in front of him.

"Are you sure Shadow, he's crazy strong!" D.B. said.

"I know, but that just means I have to give it my all!" The red shell on Shadow's hand opened to show a jewel that began to glow.

**Releasing number 666!**

Shadow's body began to grow a red and evil aura.

**Dimensional Interference field Deployed!**

"What's this?" Sin saw the room began to tremble as powered began to flood the room. "You want a fight boy, let's see what you got!"

**I'm going to end this!**

**(Insert All Hail Shadow by Crush 40)**

**Blazblue Activated!**

The aura around Shadow's body then grew in strength; the scythe blade began intermitting a crimson red light. Shadow's eyes' were now crimson. Shadow held his scythe and slashed.

**Dead Spike!**

A large serpent head made of seithr roared and charged towards Sin. Sin put up a psychic barrier to black it.

"Is that all you got!" Shadow appeared behind Sin.

"What?"

**Inferno Divider!**

A demon wind formed around the scythe and sent Sin straight into the air. Shadow jumped after him, he landed a quick punch to his gut and a drop kick sent him flying back into the ground. Pieces of his soul flew into the air and were collected by the azure.

"Bastard, di!" Sin sent a wave of stalagmites towards Shadow.

Shadow raised his scythe and then a red demonic Witch Hunter appeared. The moon laughed evilly as Shadow unleashed his attack.

**Lunar Destroyer!**

The wave of evil energy sliced through the ground and through Sin's attack. Sin chose the wise move and dodged.

"You missed!"

"Wasn't aiming for you!" Shadow said. Sin turned around and saw the attack had cut through the cage and freed Ravena from her prison.

"Nice shot, a little close though nya." Ravena said as she was freed. Punnya flew into her arms happily as she caught her.

Sin looked at the scene with rage and transmuted a gun from the wall. "Time for you all to die!" Sin let loose a hail of bullets, and smiled as Shadow made no move.

Shadow's eyes glowed red as the bullets all suddenly stopped in place and then fell to the ground. "Bullets, after all that and a philosopher stone that's all you have."

"What did you…?" Sin started to back away.

"There's a famous saying I heard from an anime once, those who walk in death's thrall leave no footprints." Shadow then raised a hand into the air. "I am now death and I will deliver judgment!"

"Please you are just a little boy who's talking big game." Sin raised his hands in the air and the stone began to glow an ominous red. "I will show you all true power, true judgment!"

**Gravity Wave!**

Sin was then forced onto the ground as the gravity around him increased. "What the hell? What just…"

"Like I said judgment, now this is the end!" Shadow increased gravity around the stone and it began its descent…right on top of Sin.

"This can't be! This can't be!" Sin's voiced then vanished as the stone shattered and destroyed its maker.

"Like I said…" Shadow deactivated the Blazblue. "The end."

**(All Hail Shadow by Crush 40 end)**

Shadow then helped pull Bella out the ground who had returned to normal. "About time, I thought you would have forgotten me!"

"Forgot you no, probably leave you here as a form of comedy relief yes." All talked stopped as Sin started to rise up.

"You…fool…did you really think?" Sin opened his hand and a shard form the stone shined. "I would die that easily!" Sin was about to heal himself before a beam of light slammed into him from behind. Sin screamed as he vanished into ashes and data. Everyone looked to see Ravena and what appeared to be a cannon attached to her arm.

"That's for locking me in a cage nya!" Ravena said. The cannon left her hand and became Punnya.

"Well that's a first." Shadow began to walk towards Ravena. "So this is your master Punnya?"

Punnya nodded her head happily. "Punnyaaaaa!"

"So you are the guys that came to rescue me?" Ravena asked.

"Not much rescue, looks like you could have handled him by yourself." Shadow said as he pointed to the burn marks that was Sin.

"Nya, it's because you already had him down, I just finished him off." Ravena said.

"So the non-hero saved the day again?" Leon said as he returned to consciousness.

"Leon, are you ok?" Cast asked.

"Yes, did you already place the ban around Sin?" Leon then rose to his feet.

"The ban is in place, Sin can no longer enter the server and the analysts have already deleted all his account information." Cast said. Cast then looked to Kurotsubasa and bowed. "If it wasn't for you we may not have been able to win."

"From what Bella and D.B. said you saved their lives so we're even. Besides what are friends for?" Shadow then put his jacket back on.

"Well the mission is done, that's the good news." D.B. said.

"The bad news is we can't use the kunai to get back." Bella scratched her head.

Shadow let out a sigh. "How are we supposed to get out then?"

"Leave that to me!" Ravena said. Kurotsubasa looked to her. "I know these tunnels in and out so I'll guide you nya!"

"You'd do that for us?" Shadow asked.

"You kind of saved my life and Punnya's from what I heard. So we owe you that." Ravena said.

"But first!" Shadow walked to the shards of the broken stone.

"Really Shads, not the time to act treasure hunter on us." Bella said.

"That's not it…" Shadow held up a piece of paper with a strange symbol on it. The symbol was the kanji for destruction with angel wings on the side on top of a sword. The symbol seemed to possess a strange aura. "This was the seal I saw on the onigumo."

_(Flashback)_

_ Before Shadow felt Illu's speed spell he saw an unusual symbol underneath the onigumo. He glared and then vanished to prepare his attack._

_(Flashback end)_

"What do you think it means?" D.B. asked.

"No clue, have to ask Key when he gets back." Shadow said.

"We'll all this aside; can we please get out of here now?" Illu asked and Mukurowl hooted in agreement.

"Alright, everyone stay close!" The shadows around them enveloped them all and a large nekomata rose up and passed through the ceiling. On the grass below the shadow vanished and everyone landed square on the ground in a pile.

"Whoops still need work on that nya." Ravena said.

"Why am I on the bottom?" Shadow asked no one.

"Someone grabbed my chest!" Illu suddenly screamed out.

After a few minutes of struggling Shadow forced them all off. "Get off!"

"Looks like you guys are having fun." Everyone looked and saw Key had just now arrived.

"Just got back Key?" Shadow asked.

"Yep and I got a whole lot to tell you…who's the cat?" Key asked.

"Oh I didn't introduce myself! Ravena Felidae nice to meet you all!" Ravena said.

"Punnya!"

"And this is Punnya!" Ravena said.

"Another member of the guild?" Key asked.

"Not really, Ravena you want to come with us? I think anything you heard Sin said will help out a lot." Shadow asked.

"Speaking of the psycho he said some strange things." Ravena said.

"Like what?" Shadow asked.

"Something about not to fail Chaos or something like that nya." Ravena said.

"Well like I said let's all head back." Kurotsubasa plus two then headed back towards Tokyo City.

(Scene Change-Hollow Bastion)

"Idiot, I give him a village to get a philosopher stone and what does he do, he screws it all up." A man said as he saw a signal that was Sin disappear.

"Oh well, plenty of more ways to cause Chaos." The man let out a maniacally laugh as walked through his lair.

**TBC…**

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><p><strong>Well I know what I said but for some reason it is easier to write this fic than it is for the others. I almost have the others finished though so you won't have to wait for them long. Like I said if I did anything wrong then P.M. I might just go through and revise this chapter later. So everyone…<strong>

**REVIEW**

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**FAVORITE…THEN REVIEW**

**Author's debut in this chapter.**

**Ravena Felidae/Felis**

**(Insert announcer voice here)**

** Next time, at bar full of bounty hunters news of the Wings of Creation reach big time thieves and treasure hunters. Two particular thieves decided to go after the item, one for money, the other for her own agenda. A person from Shadow's past is about to appear in Kurotsubasa's lives. Also who are the one's causing destruction around the server…Find out next time on Fanfiction World.**

**Next time-The Slashed Throat**

"**Almighty Push!"**

"**Gravity Wave!"**


	5. Chapter 5: A Rose's thorns

**Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter! From what I have seen this story is getting very popular and I see some new people even want to join the action of this story. I know what I wrote last chapter and the big player cameo will be revealed the next chapter. For now enjoy this chapter.**

**Announcements:**

**For all of you worried about appearing in this fic, like I keep saying everyone will appear in this fic. Also I like to thank Ravena Felidae for doing what I can do and creating artwork for this story. Thank you for your help and please send me the links when you are done! Lastly I changed the idea for this chapter but it should still be entertaining anyway!**

**Reviews:**

**RinaMelody: Welcome to the fic and next time PM me your profile.**

**Torquoisepeanutbutter****: Well the story is up and don't worry as I keep saying everyone will appear eventually.**

**Mister Grim: You'll have to wait next chapter to find out.**

**Ravena Felidae: Thank you for your ideas, I had a feeling those kinds of ideas were bound to pop up.**

**Deus-Rasengan2: I use quotes I create and any quotes someone sends me.**

**GeneralHyna: You'll have to read and find out!**

**Now that all of this is over ON WITH THE SHOW!**

"Aaaa"-Speech

'Bbbb'-Thought

'_Cccc'-Flashback_

"**Dddd"-Attacks**

**Disclaimer: I own the plot, the locations, and some of the characters. What I don't own are things taken from anime, shows, movies, games, books, online RPGS, etc. I also don't own any character I didn't create. Put your lawyers away!**

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><p>"<em>Everyone has their own secrets they want to stay secrets, demons that we all have from our past." Shadowlight0982.<em>

_"What I lack in power, I make up with creativity! HU-NYA!"-Ravena Felidae._

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><p>Ch. 5: A Rose's thorns<p>

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><p><em>(Flashback)<em>

"_Why! Why are you doing this?"_

_ A younger Shadow was walking down a path and stopped to turn back. His cold brown and white eyes stared into a young girl's dark brown._

"_You can't follow after me forever; walk on your own two feet." Shadow then continued his walk down the dirt road._

_ The girl watched him leave with tears in her eyes before she shouted in anger. "I'll show you, someday Shadow! I'll show how strong I am, I swear it!"_

_ Shadow kept walking and made no motion that said that he heard her last exclamation. Under his hood Shadow's eyes where sober, and had no expression on them._

_(Flashback end)_

"Hey Shads, pay attention!"

Shadow was brought out off his memories by the sound of Bella's call. Shadow noticed that they hadn't started with the meeting yet. "How come you haven't started yet?"

"Because our new guest hasn't arrived yet." Key answered.

"Punnyaaaaa!" Punnya then flew through a window and landed once again on Shadow's head.

"Well there's Punnya, where's Ravena?" Shadow said.

"Sorry nya!" Ravena then appeared through the door. "I had to get some things from my realm and get back but I kind of forgot the directions you gave me nya."

"Why didn't you just message we traded friend request before we got back to Tokyo City." When Shadow saw her scratched the back of her head he decided not to question. "Never mind, take a seat and Key can start."

When Key saw everyone was seated and ready he cleared his throat to gather everyone's attention. "Ok, now to begin, the reason for my being absent…"

"I was talking to some of my sources about the collapse and destruction of areas in the Server." Key said. "That's not all, our friend Ripper…" Key brought out a holo-projection of a news article.

"This article was from a few days ago in the real world." Key finished.

"A coma, how could that happen, a seizure maybe?" Illu asked.

"Seizure, I thought the visors we all use were made to protect against seizures and stuff or at least that's what it said when I bought my Neko-visor nya." Ravena said while fingering her bell.

"The visors were made to give as much protection to our senses as possible to simulate real life without over exerting our minds, so something happened that the visor malfunctioned…" Shadow started.

"Or the guy experienced something so real that he just collapsed." D.B. finished

"Right on the money D, there has been some several cases about people put into post stress seizure but it was so few in numbers that it gained no attention." Key explained.

"But what is causing it; you said you have an idea of what is causing all of this trouble." Bella said.

"Nya, that Chaos guy right?" Ravena asked.

"That's one idea…" Key then showed a new image. The image was a laughing skull with blood dripping from its laughing jaw, the blood pooled together to form the word chaos. "Chaos is what you might a terrorist group."

"Terrorist in a game world, that's kind of extreme isn't it?" Illu asked as she ran her hand through Mukurowl's feathers.

"We just met a guy that destroyed an entire city zone just to please one person, they have gone pass extreme." Shadow reminded everyone.

"Meow, so these are the guys causing problems huh?" Ravena asked.

"Yes and no," That got everyone's attention. "That symbol Shadow found is something different, something I can't really explain." The symbol was now shown next to the Chaos symbol. "I can't tell what it means."

"_You have seen firsthand what's happening around the world. I am certain it is my sister somewhere stirring."_ Izanami's voice ran through Shadow's head. "Her sister."

"Nya, what did you say?" Ravena asked as she heard Shadow with her enhance senses.

"Punnya?" Punnya looked down sensing the different emotions running through Shadow's head. Shadow raised his hand and petting the neko, earning meows of pleasure.

"It's nothing, well we can deal with this Chaos thing later I have a feeling you don't know where their base is located." Shadow said.

"Unfortunately no," Key said.

"Then let's end this meeting, lots of things to do and I'm sure we want to sleep or enjoy the rest of our vacations." Shadow then pulled Punnya off his head and handed her to Ravena. "I'm taking my leave, goodbye everyone." Shadow then walked out the base.

"What's wrong with Shadow, he seems to be acting a little differently." Illu said.

"Just another one of those mysterious that is Shads, he's practically the definition of anime silent loner." Bella commented.

"Shouldn't we do something; I mean if he's having trouble with things should we, his friends, help him?" Illu asked.

"Ha! Guys don't like talking about his feelings and Shadow doesn't like talking about his pass." D.B. then put his drumsticks away after tapping rhythm throughout the meeting and placed them inside his coat.

"Everyone has their own troubles in life; Shadow just likes dealing with them alone." Key rose and walked to the exit, D.B. followed after him.

Bella then stood up and stretched and looked to Illu. "Well we can ask Shads all about it tomorrow, he's good at avoiding me but two girls on the team should be enough to break him."

Illu smiled then notice that the door had opened four times but only three people left. "Where's Ravena?"

(Scene Change)

"Hey Shadow wait up nya!" Ravena said as she chased after him.

"Punnyaaaaa!"

Shadow looked and saw the cat girl caught up to him. "What do you need, if it's about joining then you'll have to wait until things are sorted out tomorrow."

"It's not that nya, what were you thinking when you we day dreaming nya?" Ravena asked.

"Oh is that all? Forget it." Shadow then turned around.

"You can't keep everything bottled up inside nya; I know what it's like." Ravena put a hand on her bell. "I've lived enough to know life can be cruel, real and game."

Shadow stopped for a bit. The azure master was silent before turning his head an inch. "If you really want to know meet me at Tokyo City Check-In Station tomorrow, we'll talk there." Shadow then continued to walk.

Ravena seemed to accept that answer and prepared her and Punnya to leave. Ravena then stopped and look up to a nearby building but saw nothing.

"I was sure I sensed something nya." Ravena's ears began to twitch.

"Punnya?" Ravena then allowed the small wings on her back to grow and she then took flight with Punnya behind her.

On the building Ravena was watching a figure then reappeared. The figure was girl, around 15 with pale skin that glowed in the moonlight, long red hair with black streaks some of her bangs slid in front of her eyes. The girl wore a blue sleeveless hoodie, fingerless gloves, black shorts, fishnet stockings and knee high boots. Her eyes flashed from brown to pale purple and back with rage before disappearing into the night.

(Scene Change- Outskirts bar)

The Slashed Throat, the top location for bounty hunters around the server, here many offers are up to test their skills and people meet to discuss possible riches. As the usual rambled and drunk the girl sat at the front of the her usual spot.

"Ah Rose, I see you're back from your latest expedition!" The bartender raved.

"If you can even call it that." The now named Rose said before ordering her usual drink. "It wasn't even worthy of my time but the jewel was worth it."

"Spoken like a true bounty huntress, that's going to raise your stats by a long measure. You should be able to rise in rank soon." The Bartender finished the order and slid it to her.

"Bounty Hunter rank means nothing to me," Rose took a drink of her soda. "Only Treasure Hunter rank matters."

The Bartender sighed as he started to clean another cup. "I don't get that about you, you're #3 Bounty Hunter in the world but you worry about your Treasure Hunter rank which is only #5."

"My reasons are my own," Rose was about to take another drink until the sound of slamming bar doors filled the room.

A woman just walked into the bar and instantly got many calls as she walked, she was tall with long purple hair and slanted red eyes. The woman wore a short sleeveless black cheongsam with silver designs, dark grey shorts hidden underneath the folds of her dress, silver and black martial arts shoes.

"Naenia welcome back! How did the job go?" The Bartender asked the warrior.

"As I predicted, they went down without much of a problem. Shame their items weren't worth much." Naenia said.

"Losing your touch, maybe you should step down as Number 1 Huntress in the world." Rose laughed.

"And leave the position for a fool like you whose stuck in the past, I don't think so." Rose glared at her in rage but Naenia stayed call and ordered her drink.

"A fool, you're calling ME a fool! I not the one who didn't see here job was waste, seems the power to see the future can't tell you everything!" Rose yelled.

"I don't need to see the future to know you'll never be on my level, stick to digging around crypts little girl and leave real bounties to us adults." Naenia received her drink.

"What!" Rose slammed her cup.

"Ahahahahaha!"

The two huntresses and the Bartender looked at the laughing boy laughing at a table not far away. The boy was tall but still seemed young with light blue eyes, pale skin, and brownish blond hair. The boy was wearing black sweatpants, black t-shirt and dark blue jacket with two swords strapped to his back.

"May I ask what is so funny?" Naenia asked.

"Yeah asswipe, is there a problem, you find our argument funny?" Rose asked.

"No I find it hilarious!" The boy laughed for a bit. "I find it funny you guys are fighting like children instead of fighting like Bounty Hunters."

"And how do you think we should determine this?" Naenia asked.

"Besides other things…" His light blue eyes had a perverted gleam for a second. "A new bounty just became official and public."

"And this bounty is?"

The blue then slid a poster through the air and it slid on the bar table. The poster had a picture of Shadowlight0982, his profile and his full body appearance and a large bounty on the bottom. "I'm sure you have heard of this bounty by now?"

"Where did yo…?" Rose started.

"Like I said they just started making posters for it, I say whoever can collect it can say they are the best Hunter in the world." The boy explained.

"And why are you offering this to us, shouldn't you be trying to catch the bounty for yourself?" Naenia asked.

"Naw, money means nothing to me. I hunt people for the thrill of a battle and hopefully good entertainment. I never saw this guy fight, so I might as well study the local hero."

"And you want us to give you a show of hunting him down?" Rose asked.

"You got it babe! After that if I'm interested I'll attack full circle!" The boy smirked. "By the way, for numbers 3 and 1 in the world I don't really know your names that well."

"Naenia is all you need to know." Naenia then stood to leave. "And this request is not worth my time."

"BloodxForxMyxRose, or Rose to you lesser beings, and I'll take this mission just to prove to you all." Rose said. 'Even you Shadow.'

"Excellent, and why not Naenia? Getting cold feet for this mission?" The boy asked.

"No," Naenia somehow had an ice mirror in her hand. "I have seen where this mission will take me, its best that I wait for another day."

"Well I'm not waiting." Rose then got up to leave.

"All you will do is give yourself more misfortune little girl, but for all means try." Naenia said.

"Ahahahaha, either way I'll see something interesting. Rose was it, do your best." The boy said. Rose just flicked them the bird before leaving the shop.

"Speaking of names kid, what is yours?" The Bartender asked.

The boy then smiled at the Bartender as he raised his glass. "I have long since forgotten my name, but Amaterasuice is all I know so that works for me!" Amaterasuice downed his beverage in one gulp.

(The next day)

Shadow stared at the large full moon that overlooked his realm. Every player once they created an avatar created their own realm, a whole space where they can have anything almost as if it was a mindscape. Shadow looked down from the moon and to the piece of paper with the mysterious symbol on it.

"If only I can contact Izanami again maybe she will have some answers to these questions." Shadow then looked down at his right arm and pulled back his sleeve, the wings of creation glistened in the bright moonlight.

"And if you're just an interface, where is the source of your power?" Shadow said. The bracelet shined for a bit but otherwise showed no reaction. "Well it's obvious you're not giving me answers."

The bracelet then began to glow and what appeared to be a mirror formed in front of Shadow. Izanami's image then appeared on the mirror.

"Shadow, but how?"

"I'm still trying to answer that myself, I'm still getting the hang of your gift." Shadow said. "But since I have a way to speak to you I have to ask you a question."

"What is it?" Izanami asked.

"Do you know this symbol?" Shadow showed the symbol to her, the symbol's aura seemed to glow as if recognizing Izanami's presence.

"It can't be she should still be sealed away." Izanami said with worry in her voice. "How can it be?"

"So I was right, to assume that this came from your sister." Shadow then pocketed the page. "That's one question answered does that me Izanagi may still be alive?"

"Possibly, Shadow you will have a tough battle ahead of you." Izanami said.

"Don't I know it; I may have a problem right now." Shadow then opened a doorway. "Since we can communicate now, I'll speak to you later."

"Shadow" Shadow turned around to look to Izanami. "You would do well to trust your friends, in times like this it's best to have someone to rely on." Izanami smiled.

Shadow turned around and began to walk into the doorway. "Yeah, I guess…"

(Tokyo City)

"Ah another day, another dollar." R-o-M prepared his shop for another day. "Who knows, this day might be interesting." R-o-M then heard his door open.

"Welcome to R-o-M's info, source of all your answers for the right price. How may I help you?" R-o-M asked.

"I'm looking for information about a certain boy." Rose demanded.

"And do you happen to know the name of this boy?" R-o-M asked.

"Can it smart ass, I know you have this infinite information, now tell me what I want to know about Shadow!"

R-o-M looked up with mischief in his eyes. 'This is going to be an interesting day.'

(Scene change)

"Meow, I'm lost which is the way to the check in again?" Ravena sighed as she still searched the streets.

"Punnyaaaa" Punnya called behind her.

"I know Punnya but sometimes it's impossible to tell newbs from experienced players nya, maybe I should just wait at the base for him." Ravena then saw Punnya begin to fly away.

"Punnya I know the way to the station isn't that way!" Ravena then chased after her pet.

(Scene Change)

"Here you go miss; I must say that I'm surprised someone like you is interested in this kind of contract." The shopkeeper said.

"Let's just say I'm interested in it." Illu said as she took the scroll and then walked out the store.

"I still say the real thing will be better than the illusion don't you think Muku-Chan?" Illu said.

Mukuruowl hooted happily on Illu's shoulder as they walked down the street. Mukurowl's eyes then became glossy as he then flew away to an unknown location.

"Muku-Chan, where are you going?" Illu then chased after him.

(Scene Change)

"Ok Bella you see anything yet?" D.B. asked.

"No, I still don't see anything! Why is it me that has to be the one to find it?" Bella complained through the radio.

"Because you're the only one who has been to that location and can find it faster with your powers than me or D.B. can." Key explained.

"And it was punishment for almost wrecking the base." D.B. smiled in remembrance.

"It's not my fault she groped my breast out of nowhere!"

Before D.B. could say "what breast" Key placed his hand over his mouth. "Just find it already, from what I know we'll need this to get on the road soon."

"Fine, fine! I hope the other girls are having more fun than I am." Bella then ended her transmission. The bell on the door alerted Key and D.B. to the newcomer in the building.

"Hello, is this Kurotsubasa?"

(Scene Change)

"Damn it, you would think someone would call after waiting for about an hour." Shadow said as he walked down the street. Shadow then pulled out his PDA and saw no messages.

"Something is not right here." Shadow then heard an explosion form a mile away. Shadow then took to the rooftops.

(Scene Change)

Illu kept running until she saw Ravena running alongside her. "Ravena!"

"Nya, it's you Illu right?" Ravena asked as the two kept running.

"Yeah, why are you…?" Illu then saw Mukurowl and Punnya were flying in the same direction. "Animal troubles too?"

"Nya, Punnya never goes out on her own! Something is wrong nya!" Ravena then ran faster.

"Ravena wait!" Illu saw Ravena run into an alley, after following her she saw the air was wavy like it was in a heat wave.

"Ravena, a powerful illusion is here, Ravena!" Illu called after her but it was too late. Illu closed her eyes to concentrate. 'An illusion like this won't work against me.'

**(Insert Makkai no Chikai/ Buso Renkin OP)**

Illu walked forward and saw Mukurowl was on Rose's shoulder, his heterochromatic eyes glowing letting her know it was his illusions.

"Who are you and why did you take Muku-Chan?" Illu pulled out her knives to show she was serious.

"I see you easily saw through the illusion; of course from what your pet can do I'm sure they're just child's play for you." Rose said as she played with her hair.

"Where's Ravena, what did you do with her?" Illu asked.

"Wow someone is full of questions today, why don't you ask the big question." Rose then pulled out her knives, twin diamond blade daggers. "Why I decided to do this?"

"I don't know what you're talking about but…" The symbol on Illu's head then glowed with her anger. "I'm taking Muku-Chan back, and then you'll answer my questions!"

Illu then charged forward, Rose blocked her knives with her daggers and the two began what appeared to be a graceful dance.

"Oh come on, you mean you don't know what this is about or who I am?" Rose asked.

"All I know is that you took Muku-Chan and Punnya and trapped my friend in your illusion. That's enough for me to fight you so I can save my friend." Illu said.

Rose then jumped back out of the knife fight. "If it's the owl that you're concerned for then here…" Rose snapped her fingers and Mukurowl then flew back to his master.

Illu caught Mukurowl and they then glowed and Illu's hybrid form appeared. Illu's knives were gone but she still had her glaive which was aimed at Rose while she was airborne.

"Thank you but my friend is still trapped in your illusion." Illu said.

"I wouldn't worry about that if I was you." Rose raised a hand that was covered with a cleansing aura. "What I would worry about is what will happen next!"

Illu then cried out in pain as her body then was covered in the same aura. The purifying aura was working its magic on her now demonic body. Illu then fell to the ground and let out fits of pain as the aura weakened her.

**(Makkai no Chikai/ Buso Renkin OP end)**

"One down, another to go." Rose said.

(Scene Change)

**(Insert Fukkireta)**

Ravena continued to walk down the alley but stopped when she figured out she was heading nowhere.

"Nya, I've been running forever and I still saw that same trashcan." Ravena then heard a sound from up ahead and look at the large tiger that was in front of her.

"Aaaw a kitty nya!" Ravena purred in excitement. "What are doing here?"

The black tiger answered her by suddenly pouncing forward, Ravena quickly jumped back to avoid an unfortunate end."

"Fighting cats, that's cruel nya." Ravena then saw the tiger prepare for another pounce. "But I'm not getting Punnya just standing around nya!" Ravena then focused her magic.

**Neko neko nekoko…**

The tiger then saw its prey was immobile and jumped into the air to strike. Ravena then pointed her hand forward.

**Hana hana Hanabi!**

Flower like fireworks then met the tiger midair, the tiger roared as his sight was blinded and its fur was now singed at the end. Ravena moved as the tiger hit the ground with enough force to knock it unconscious.

"Sorry nya but I have to go!" Ravena then ran forward.

Ravena kept running until she saw Rose waiting while petting Punnya.

"I never expected someone to take down Mazareth so quickly," Rose said with a frown. "Oh well, such things can't be helped it seems."

"So it was you nya!" Ravena hissed in anger. "Give Punnya back to me right neow!"

Rose stopped petting Punnya and smirked to Ravena. "Well if that's what you want…" Punnya then covered her raised arm and formed a cat shaped cannon barrel, the barrel then glowed green as wind began to swirl around the barrel. "…then I'll give it to you."

Rose then fired a blast of wind from the Punnya cannon, Ravena stood in shock and the blast of wind connected sending smoke everywhere. Rose then allowed Punnya to return to normal. "Such an amazing pet you have, maybe I'll keep once the cat bitch is dead."

Coughs coming from the smoke gathered Rose's attention. Ravena appeared through the smoke with her arms crosses as she had blocked the blast. The only damage she had was the scratches and dirt marks visible on her clothes; her cat bell however was gone.

**(Insert Black Paper Moon)**

"My turn nya…" Ravena's hair was now suddenly straight and she disappeared in a burst of speed. Ravena then appeared in front of Rose suddenly. "How about a gift?"

Ravena then struck several points on Rose's body and rendered her immobile; Rose was about to fall under her own weight but Ravena had her own plans before that. Ravena suddenly swung her body on Rose's head and drives her knee and elbow in both sides of Rose's head. Rose fell as blood flew out her mouth.

**Elbow Knee Whammy**

Ravena saw Rose fall to the ground unconscious, she then walked to Punnya who was now in control.

"Punnya!" Punnya hugged Ravena.

"I missed you to Punnya," Ravena purred alongside her pet. "Now let's go help Illu nya."

"I'm afraid it's too late for that."

Ravena then saw several gas pellets explode along her feet. Her vision became hazy as she was now fighting to stay awake. "What happened?"

"Have to be careful fighting animorphs or beastkins have to have some gas handy to knock them out." Rose then appeared in Ravena's vision.

"Don't worry…" Three Rose's now appeared in Ravena's sight as her world went dark. "All will be over soon."

**(Black Paper Moon end)**

Shadow arrived to where he had heard the noise only to find the area empty. Shadow looked and saw things like one of Illu's knives and Ravena's gold bell.

"There was a battle here." Shadow then saw that imbedded in the wall was a rose.

(Scene Change)

"Perfect, just perfect." Rose said as the two females of Kurotsubasa were now clad in maid's clothing. "Excellent my plan is almost done, now just for the guest of honor."

As if someone had answered her prayers Shadow then landed in the square of Tokyo City. Shadow looked and saw Rose had an unconscious hybrid-Illu, Ravena, and Punnya. Shadow looked and saw someone he thought he would never see.

"Rose, it's been awhile." Shadow saw the girls' state of dress and blushed a bit. "What's with the outfits, finally quitting being a rouge and running a maid's café?"

Rage appeared in Rose's eyes but she hid her emotions well. "Joke around all you want, they are here to make sure your defeat is all the sweeter for me."

"And how are two unconscious girls going to do that?" Shadow asked.

"Unconscious, really…" Rose raised a hand into the air. "We'll just have to fix that." Snap.

Illu's and Ravena's eyes then opened and they dashed towards Shadow. Shadow made certain to dodge Illu's talons as she flew and Ravena's claws as she pounced.

"Well this is new, last time you could barely control monsters now you can control players?" Shadow said.

"After five years you have no idea what I am capable of!" Rose said. "But I know you, you wouldn't raise a hand on someone you call a…"

**(Insert All Hail Shadow by Crush 40)**

Shadow suddenly jumped and met Illu halfway, Shadow flipped over her aerial strike but made sure to strike several key chakra points. Shadow then sent a blast to her forehead and she went unconscious. Shadow landed on the ground and then caught the fallen girl.

When he saw Ravena now charge towards him he placed Illu on the ground and used his Scythe to try and block her. Ravena however leaped over him and connected a kick to Shadow's back. Shadow slid a small distance.

"That's right; I don't really know what Ravena is capable of." Shadow then saw Ravena get into a dancer like fighting stance. 'Taijutsu is too risky but…' Shadow looked to the bell in his pocket and then to Ravena.

By some silent symbol Ravena then charged with her claws raised. Shadow stood still and watched the cat girl continue her attack. Shadow's right hand was covered in an evil aura.

**Hell's…**

Shadow's quick strike left Ravena disoriented. Instead of finishing the two hit wave Shadow grabbed the front of her dressed and pulled Ravena's bell out his pocket.

"Let's hope this works!" Shadow then hooked the bell back on the collar and watched it glow. Ravena's hair then regained its bouncy curls and her eyes loss their dazed expression.

"Nya, Felis is done already, Shadow what are you…" Ravena noticed Shadow was still holding her and her new apparel. "I didn't know you were that kind of guy Shadow nya."

"Shut up!" Shadow then let go of the dress as if it was lava and Ravena then hit the ground. "It wasn't me ok." Shadow's said with a giant blush.

Ravena got off the ground and then looked to Rose and hissed. "That's the girl that attacked us."

"I figured…" Shadow looked to Rose as his blushed died down. "Now what were you saying?"

"What you were, you were SUPPOSED to let your friends kill you!" Rose yelled in rage.

"There's that famous temper I remember." Shadow said. "Now while this reunion is fun and all, give up Rose."

"Never do you hear me!" Rose then drew her daggers.

Ravena was about to start her attack but Shadow held out a hand. "Let me take care of this."

"What, but…" Ravena started.

"Watch over Illu and don't get involved, this is my past, my battle." Shadow then walked forward.

"You really want to fight me Rose!" Shadow then got into a gentle fist stance. "Then come on and fight!"

**(End All Hail Shadow by Crush 40)**

Rose screamed in rage as she ran forward with her daggers, Shadow just stood and aloud the girl to rush in. Shadow dodged and sidestepped every slash and stab. Rose's frustration was apparent as her moves became choppy and sloppy.

"Haven't I taught you not to let your emotions guide you in a fight?"

"Shut up!"

Ravena watched as the two continued their battle. Ravena could sense the tension running through the air as she watched Shadow basically criticize and mock all of Rose's attacks. Rose then jumped back and this time her anger wasn't hidden.

"I've had enough of you puissant! Die!" The rinnegan appeared in Rose's eyes, this caused Shadow's to widen.

**Almighty Push!**

A wave of gravity collided with shadow and his form was covered in smoke. Ravena coughed and watched the smoke cleared and she and Rose were surprised at what they were seeing. Shadow was standing still as if gravity hadn't affected him. The only evidence of Rose's attack was a crater.

"You think you can beat me with gravity?" Shadow raised his hand in a chop position. "Big mistake!"

**Gravity Wave!**

Gravity intensified as Rose was pushed into the ground by the increase of gravity. Rose slowly rose to her feet, tears ran down her eyes and she then focused and used her rinnegan to negate Shadow's attack.

"Every time, every time it's not enough!" Rose screamed.

Shadow watched this as memories played in his head.

_(Flashback)_

_ "It's not enough; it won't be strong enough to match yours!" A ten year old Rose complained as her crater was small compared to Shadow's._

"_You're just leaning to use gravity, now focus." A thirteen year old Shadow said. "Gravity I shared to master you have to put effort into it!"_

"_Alright let's start again!"_

"_Ok, Shadow-sensei."_

_(Flashback end)_

"You really haven't changed." Shadow said. "You're still that small little girl I saved from the canyons."

"Shut up." Rose then recomposed herself. "I'm not that meek little girl that relied on you, that followed in your shadow." Rose then suddenly pulled out a chain and used it as a whip.

"I'm not that same girl who you had to train and protect!"

Shadow then caught then whip and threw it to the side. "Then show me then! Show me the real Rose, the one who by herself took the world by storm!"

Gravity intensified as Shadow raised his hand for another attack. "Show me the power you've gained on your own!"

Rose was happy to oblige as she raised her hand to prepare her own gravity attack. Ravena sensing what was about to happen scooped up Illu and Punnya and backed a few distance away.

**Almighty Push!**

**Gravity Wave!**

The two pulses of gravity collided and power filled the air. The many players that were watching the battle were awed at the two gravity based attacks. Ravena watched and saw the emotions that were running through the attacks.

The attacks ending in a tie but Rose suddenly used the wind to reached Shadow. Shadow was able to block the dagger aimed at his heart and moved his face to dodged a blade to the head. Shadow held both hands firmly.

"You really have grown, you learned well…" Shadow pulled her in to speak in her ear. "Except the last lesson I taught you."

Rose's eyes widen in shock. Shadow then pushed Rose away; blood escaped the new cut on Shadow's cheek. Shadow's eyes were filled with a new emotion Ravena had never seen, sadness.

"I'm sorry if what I did made you feel that way, but from the things you lost looked what you gained." Shadow said.

Rose then thought back on her life. The many things she saw, the treasures, the adventures, Mazareth and reaching her ranking. Rose then concealed her weapons and turned around to walk away.

"This isn't over; I won't stop until I can beat you."

_(Flashback)_

"_Someday!" Rose said as the two ate at the small campsite. "One day I'm going to beat you Shadow!"_

"_That will be the day." Shadow said after finishing the smoked fish. "Yeah the day you beat me is the day I acknowledge you as an equal."_

"_I will beat you, and then you will acknowledge me!" Rose groan as she felt Shadow began to ruffle up her scene girl style hair._

"_Yeah who knows, someday you'll leave a scratch n me."_

_(Flashback end)_

Rose then left the area, Shadow then noticed the people staring and he then used the Yamato scary face app.

"Leave already!" The players instantly cleared the area.

"So is it over nya?" Ravena asked.

"It's over for now at least." Shadow said, he then went into his bag and pulled out smelling salts.

After about a few seconds Illu finally regained consciousness. "What happened? Where is?"

"I'll tell you two the story later." Shadow then moved to carry Illu. "In the meantime let's get you back to base and out of those clothes."

Illu then looked and saw her new attire. "What happened to my clothes?"

(Time skip)

Key and D.B. we're staring at Shadow and the two maid clad girls that walked (and carried) into the base. Key walked away as if saying he didn't want to know and D.B. began to laugh his ass off.

"Wow man, never took you into the S &M type! Matter of fact, never picked you as the harem threesome type!" A smack and punch later and D.B. were left lying on the floor.

"Long story short, bounty hunter." Shadow said as he sat down. "So where is Bella?"

"She went to get something very important for tomorrow." Key answered.

"What's happening tomorrow?"

D.B. somehow returned to the land of the living and pulled out a poster. It showed a picture of tournament ring and a sun and moon.

"We've been invited to this event!" D.B. said.

"An open tournament," Shadow said. "What business will we have with a tournament?"

"This tournament is hosting a lot of guilds and teams, heck even individual players to come and fight. It's to encourage some fighting thing the Admin is doing." D.B. explained.

"And how exactly did you guys find this out when only Bella left the base?" Shadow asked.

Key and D.B. then got ready to tell the story.

(Flashback)

"_Hello, is this Kurotsubasa?"_

_ Key and D.B. looked and saw the person who had entered the shop was a young girl._

_The girl had light skin, light skin, pink eyes, and long light cream-pink hair that curled down her back all under a black headband. She wore tan white wool styled tank top with a large opening that showed her cleavage, big neck, un-attached sleeves, red plaid skirt, a black choker with a small heart on it, and matching styled boots with black kneesocks._

"_I have something important to give you." The girl then pulled out the tournament poster._

"_Is this supposed to be a request?" Key asked._

_ The young girl nodded. "Please I want you enter this tournament and find a man named Deus, tell him that Yuna is fine he should understand." Yuna then turned around and left the shop._

"_Hay wait!" D.B. chased after her but saw nothing, no player that looked like her walking the streets. D.B. went back inside and looked at the poster with Key until Bella called in._

_(Flashback end)_

"So a girl who's basically a cosplay from Hyperdimensional Neptunia gave you this poster and a message to give to some guy named Deus?" Shadow summed up.

"That's what she looked like; I thought she was off of another anime!" D.B. slammed a hand into his palm.

"Not the point," Key said. "But yeah, I didn't accept or deny because I wanted to wait to see what you had to say."

"I say we should do it nya!" Ravena offered.

"You're technically not a member so you can't decide; besides Shadow's the main man in charge so it's up to him." D.B. said.

Shadow sighed as he looked the poster over. Shadow saw it shimmer in the light and he saw something interesting.

"We'll accept this request, and fight in the tournament." Shadow decided.

"Wow this is a first; you don't usually rush into things where you don't have a clear story." Key said in surprise.

"Whatever, let's just say something on this poster caught my interest." Shadow then put the poster in his nag. "Plus we can really use the price money."

Shadow then stood up. "Do you know when Bella will be back yet?" A honk from outside answered his question. All of Kurotsubasa came outside to see a large carrier now parked in front of the building. **(Think a huge van with Kurotsubasa's symbol)**

The windows rolled down to show Bella's face. "Roadtrip anyone?"

"Yeah, to Battle Coliseum tomorrow!" Shadow said. Shadow then turned to Ravena. "Ravena I need to talk to you really quick."

Ravena ended the teasing battle she was having with Bella and Illu and followed Shadow back into the base.

"So what do we have to talk about nya?" Ravena asked.

"You said it was wrong to keep everything bottle up right?" Shadow asked. "Well you were right."

"I told you nya." Ravena smiled.

"Well don't get used to that." Shadow joked. "You'll probably be the only one in the guild who will know anything close about me 'cept Key."

"Wait you mean…" Ravena started.

"Welcome to Kurotsubasa, Ravena Felidae." Shadow said.

Ravena screamed in joy and hugged Shadow. Shadow's blush returned as Ravena was still in the maid's costume.

'Not like it matters whatever she wears with that body.' Shadow thought.

**TBC…**

* * *

><p><strong>Well I was able to give you another chapter just as Spring Break ended. All this means is that I won't be able to update as soon as I can but now I'm motivated to update stories at least once a week if not make them like Saturday specials. I hope you all return for another exciting chapter as long as you…<strong>

**REVIEW**

**REVIEW**

**And…**

**REVIEW!**

**(Authors who appeared)**

**BloodxForxMyxRose**

**Naenia**

**Yuna (by extension Deus-Rasengan2)**

**Amaterasuice**

**(Insert announcer voice here)**

** Kurotsubasa right now are used to attacks showing up one at time. Now in a grand tournament they have to deal with potential enemies in all directions. At a large fighting event as soon as Shadow enters all teams gun after him and his friends. Many are there for the bounty or the fight but who is this strange person who's eager to fight Shadow. What forces are watching as storms rise on the tournament's stage…find out next time on Fanfiction World!**

**Next time: Enter the Tournament's Stage**

"**So you're Shadow, Mistress' sister will be very happy to meet you!"**


	6. Chapter 6: Ecilpse Tournament

** Welcome back to another chapter of FFW! I know for a fact that everyone is excited about this chapter because I plan on bringing up characters right from the messages you all sent me. Be prepared for intros, excitement, and for the most part badass fighting! In this exciting tournament arc a lot of people are making their cameos here!**

**Announcements:**

** First I want to say that if this story is getting its own artwork! I've already started on some of the art and it will take a while to get them all on (best I can do without a traditional scanner." Also, one of the authors has started artwork for this fanfic. The link to it is: **

**.com/#/d4vncv4**

**.com/#/d4vsqim**

**I would again like to thank Ravena Felidae for drawing it, the picture it is great!**

**Reviews:**

**Demonhelper007: You never know, you never know. All you have to do is keep reading to find out!**

**BloodxForxMyxRose: You are welcome.**

**Illusionist Owl: Stick around because that may be a special chapter.**

**PrankK1ng: Ask and you shall receive.**

**Orihara-Heiwajima Sakuya: I live to please.**

**Now ON WITH THE SHOW!**

"Aaaa"-Speech

'Bbbb'-Thought

'_Cccc'-Flashback_

"**Dddd"-Attacks**

**Disclaimer: I own the plot, the locations, and some of the characters. What I don't own are things taken from anime, shows, movies, games, books, online RPGS, etc. I also don't own any character I didn't create. Put your lawyers away!**

* * *

><p>"<em>There's always that calmness, that calm feeling in the air that lets you know sh*t is about to hit the fan."-Shadowlight0982<em>

_"They say when warriors of great strength clash; they can understand one another on a whole other level through their fist. I wonder what your fists will tell me."-Deus-rasengan2_

* * *

><p>Ch.6: The Eclipse Tournament<p>

* * *

><p>"This is so boring!" Bella complained as the van continued its journey.<p>

"It would be less boring if you guys hadn't broken the radio." D.B. complained as he leaned in his seat.

"Nya, it's not my fault flatty doesn't like my choice of music, nya." Ravena said while petting Punnya.

"What did you call me?"

"Enough!" Shadow yelled as he put down the tournament poster. "Don't make me have Key turn this thing around!"

"We don't have a radio so you reap what you sow" Key said as he continued driving, after much debating it was determined Key was the best one to drive.

"What if we sing, it's a good way to pass the time." Illu suggested.

"That's a great idea and I know just the song." D.B. looked to Bella and Key and they both smiled and looked to Shadow.

"Don't even think about it." Shadow said as he received those looks.

"What song nya?" Ravena asked.

"That's a good question, D.B. if you please?" Bella asked.

D.B. then pulled out his drumsticks and began to play a beat, the beat soon evolved into a song everyone in the vehicle knew.

"I swear to god if you…"

**(Insert City Escape by ****Ted Poley and Tony Harnell)**

_D.B.: "Woo! Oh yeah!"_

_Key: "Rolling around at the speed of sound,_

_Got places to go, gotta follow my rainbow."_

_Bella: "Can't stick around, have to keep moving on,_

_Guess what lies ahead, only one way to find out!"_

Illu and Ravena quickly saw what the others were planning and seeing Shadow's struggling form they decided to join in too.

_Ravena: "Must keep on moving ahead,_

_No time for guessing, follow my plan instead."_

_Illu: "Trusting in what you can't see,_

_Take my lead I'll set you free."_

_Shadow: "Follow me, set me free,_

_Trust me and we will escape from the city._

_I'll make it through._

_Follow me (Follow me), set me free,"_

_D.B. "Trust me and we will escape from the city._

_I'll make it through prove it to you._

_Follow me!"_

_D.B.: "Oh yeah!"_

_Key: "Danger is lurking around every turn,_

_Trust your feelings, got to live and learn."_

_Bella "I know with some luck that I'll make it through,_

_Got no other options, only one thing to do!"_

_Illu "I don't care what lies ahead,_

_No time for guessing, follow my plan instead."_

_Ravena "Find the next stage, no matter what that may be._

_Take my lead, I'll set you free."_

_Shadow" Follow me, set me free,_

_Trust me and we will escape from the city. "_

_Kurotsubasa: "I'll make it through._

_Follow me (Follow me), set me free,_

_Trust me and we will escape from the city._

_I'll make it through prove it to you._

_Follow me!_

_Follow me!_

_I'll make it through, oh yeah!"_

**(City Escape by ****Ted Poley and Tony Harnell end)**

Mukurowl continued to fly after the van as the guild continued the on the path towards the tournament and the new challenges ahead.

(Eclipse tournament stadium)

"Are you sure everything will be ready Rina?" Cast asked her co-host for the tournament. The Admin decided the best way to relieve the building tension around the server was to hold a tournament to showcase other players' strengths. Cast herself wanted to be on the teams that were still exploring the problems but she was especially requested for this job.

"Come on cousin, everything is prepared and many of the participants are arriving now." RinaMelody said.

Rina was the tournament's director and host along with her cousin Cast; it was her decision to go to the Admin to have the tournament. Rina looked a lot like Cast that many thought they were sisters, only Rina had white hair appose to Cast's silver hair and wore a white shirt with a blue skirt and black sneakers. Rina also had a sun hair pin and star earrings while Cast had a crescent moon hair pin.

"Besides there may be a chance the guy you told me about will show up." Rina said.

"Who?" Cast asked.

"His name is Shadow isn't it; maybe he will come and fight at the tournament." Rina said.

"Maybe, I'm sure the notice was sent to everyone in this server." Cast said.

Rina nodded as they both watch the crowd of spectators and fighters arrive. "So how are things, are the problems getting worse?"

"No not worse but not better, we haven't found a way to contain the sites or find the program that are deleting areas." Cast answered. "I can only wait until the next meeting to…"

"Excuse me!"

Rina and Cast turned around to see a boy had walked into their booth. The boy had short spiky dark hair, tanned skin and red eyes, he was physically fit, like a martial artist, and he had a scar on his left cheek. He wore sleeveless black shirt under a white tattered cloak, bandage tape wrapped around his arms and hands, black pants and steel toed boots. The boy had a carefree aura around him.

"When do you guys think the tournament will start?" The boy asked.

"Calm down Deus, most of the stadium is are still empty and some participants haven't registered yet." Rina scolded the older player.

"Fine but I don't think I can wait any longer!" Deus complained. "There's this feeling, I know there are going to be some strong fighters here soon."

"Well until then you can wait until the tournament starts." Cast said. Deus saw he was getting nowhere with the two officials so he gave up and left the booth.

"Why is he…?" Cast started.

"Don't be like that; the Arena Master is just impatient…who owns that vehicle?" Rina pointed to the smoking van with a familiar symbol to Cast.

Cast laughed a bit as she saw the guild exit the smoking vehicle. "Well Rina you are about to get your wish."

(Kurotsubasa)

"What the hell D.B.!" Shadow yelled as he made sure he wasn't on fire.

"Don't blame me blame Ms. Cross dresser here!" D.B. yelled.

"Who are you calling a cross dresser!" Bella yelled.

"Anyone could tell you it isn't safe to have potion items loose in your bag when you're traveling!" D.B. yelled as he pointed to the smoke cloud that was now changing colors.

"Look at least we're here" Illu directed their attention to the large stadium in front of them. Everyone then heard a loud cough as Key finally got out the driver's seat.

"Good news and bad news." Key said.

"What's the bad?" Shadow asked.

"We're walking home." Key said blatantly.

"What's the good news?" Illu saw D.B. and Bella glaring at each other with lightning shooting from both their eyes.

"I can have it fixed up later." Key said.

Shadow sighed and then pulled out his scythe and slammed both a chibi Bella and D.B. into the ground. "Let's go sign up then."

Shadow walked into the stadium along with the rest of Kurotsubasa. As the guild watched they didn't see they had gained a lot of attention.

"Is that the guy Mistress was talking about?" A girl asked.

"Maybe, we will have to find out during the tournament." A man said.

"I just hope this isn't going to be boring, I want some fun!" A young boy pouted.

(Scene change)

"It's him alright, Shadowlight0982" A boy said as he saw Kurotsubasa enter the stadium. The boy had short bluish-black hair and heterochromatic eyes with his left blue and his right brown. He was wearing a black cadet cap, navy blue high-collar polo under a zipped up vest, black fingerless gloves, a silver armband that wrapped around his right bicep, and black cargo pants  
>with work shoes. If one looks closely they could see bandages underneath his clothing.<p>

"This is the chance I have been waiting for." The boy then picked up two objects, a Chinese Wu Jian and a massive Zanbato (Rouroni Kenshin style).

'Sis, hold on for just a bit longer.' He sealed his blade away and placed the Wu Jian on his back and walked away.

(Scene Change)

"Leave it to Shadow to come to an event like this." Rose said as she and Mazareth looked at the competition.

"Oh great you're here too." A voice said as he saw Rose.

"Yes Grim I am here, what's it to you?" Rose asked the older mercenary.

Grim or Mister Grim let out a yawn before he decided to answer the thief. While he had the air of laziness about him people can sense a power surging from him. Grim was average height for his age, pale skin, skinny build, with white hair wrapped in a topknot at the end, white goatee, and light red eyes. He was wearing an open Akatsuki cloak, white sleeveless collar shirt, blue pants, black boots, and three bags (one strapped to the right side hip, another on his left and the final on the back of his waist).

Grim yawned again showing his sharp pointed teeth. "I'm here because I thought I wouldn't have to fight serious, just walk in fight and walk out."

"Of course you would think this competition would be easy, you do know the Arena King is the final fight of this tournament." Rose reminded him.

"I thought he would be my only competition, but you're here not to mention a lot of heavy fighters. Also I here that your former teacher is here as well Rose." Grim said.

"Shut up!" Rose snapped. "It doesn't matter; he will fall just as everyone else will fall."

"Then how about a partnership?" Grim offered.

"I'm listening," Rose said.

"I just need some money to get by and it seems you want to beat this Shadow guy, if we're on the same team chances are we both will survive longer. And if we win I'll take my cut of the price money and you get the satisfaction of beating your teacher." Grim explained.

"What about the bounty for Shadow's item?" Rose asked curiously. Mazareth was growling at Grim's shadow as if he sensed a presence.

"You can keep it if you want; the bounty doesn't concern me unless I'm hired." Grim said. "So what are you in?"

"Oh what is this?" Naenia appeared. "A little mercenary alliance?"

"But out you hag!" Rose pulled out her daggers.

"Hold on before you go starting a fight." Grim said. Rose let out a humph before sheathing her knives.

"Are you in the competition too?" Grim asked.

"Of course, one of the easiest ways to get munny is to enter tournaments." Naenia explained.

"And you're going to fight by yourself?" Rose asked hoping for a chance to battle the older huntress.

"I'm afraid not, sad really that this competition is too violent to enter alone." Naenia answered. "However…"

"No, absolutely not!" Rose all but screamed.

"Rose…" Grim started.

"No, you honestly can't expect me to fight alongside that hag! I would rather go in alone!"

"And risk not having another chance to battle Shadow?" Naenia asked.

If looks could kill Naenia would be dead ten times over. "How did you?"

"Have you forgotten already?" Naenia raised her hand and water from the air cooled and formed what looked like a mirror. "I have seen two outcomes to your choices, fight alone and you will not make it pass the first round…"

Naenia saw Rose was still glaring but took her silence as a signal to continue. "However if all four of us were to unite our power we will face Kurotsubasa."

"Us four?" Rose asked. Grim took a small look to his shadow before showing a confused look.

"I think she means me." The three looked to the fourth member to arrive.

"Looks like this tournament is getting interesting." Grim said.

(Scene Change)

"Is this what it feels like to be a target?" Shadow asked himself as he saw most if not all the contestants were looking at him with looks of greed.

"Maybe all of this isn't worth it." Shadow said.

"Don't think like that, all we have to do is bust some heads and talk to this Deus or whatever and then we leave." D.B. said.

"We'll also have a large bag of munny nya." Ravena added.

"I know I know it's just that I have a bad feeling about all of this." Shadow said.

"Maybe you should listen to those feelings." A voice said that caught Kurotsubasa's attention.

The voice came from a feminine looking man with tanned white skin, hazel eyes, dirty blondish brown straight hair that reached his shoulders and curled on the left. He was wearing what seemed to be a eufiber suit.

"Muroshi, what are you doing here?" Shadow asked.

"Last I checked you got lost in Ba Sing Se a month ago." Key recalled.

"Well let's just say a simple things like Fire Nation army raids can't keep me down or Earth Kingdom prisons." Muroshi said.

"Hey Blondie are you related to flatchest over here?" Ravena pointed to Bella.

"Want to repeat that!" Bella yelled.

"Of course nya, flat chest." Ravena repeated.

"Enough!" Shadow warned as he made a motion to his scythe.

"I see your guild is still as lively as ever, though I see you finally added women to your little group." Muroshi's face soon met Bella's fist.

"Did you seriously have to do that?" Illu said as steam rose from Muroshi's caved-in face.

"He was asking for it." Bella said.

"Back to my question, why are you here?" Shadow asked again.

"Can't you tell?" Muroshi rose back up as if nothing happened. "I'm the stationed medic for the tournament."

"I thought the Admin were supplying medics." Key said.

"They are, it's just I wanted a good seat to watch the fight without actually fighting." Muroshi said.

"Or messing with people." Shadow commented.

"Now why would you say that?" Muroshi suddenly morphed into a young crying girl.

"For that reason alone, your transformations! Not only that, you mess with people more by having something extra while you're like that!" Shadow yelled.

"Oh is that your only reason?" Muroshi blatantly said.

Shadow had to force back his anger to stop from harming the hermaphrodite. "Whatever…Muroshi."

"Yes?" Muroshi said.

"Know anything about a group called Chaos?" Shadow asked.

"Hmmm, nope sorry doesn't ring a bell. Why should I know?" Muroshi asked.

"No it's nothing" Shadow then walked away. "Let's go guys."

The guild then left the man alone and went to prepare for the start of the tournament. Muroshi made a sigh as he watched the group leave.

"Something tells me Shadow's going to get banged up again."

(Scene Change)

"Ah come on boss, why can't I get my hands dirty?" Amaterasuice said to an older man.

"I know I'm the last one to be saying this but calm yourself down Ama-chan." The man said. "Let our other comrades handle the actual fighting."

"I still say just let me fight in the tournament alone." Amaterasuice said.

"Even so we won't learn as much as we can with you massacring everyone in sight."

"What this is nothing, that town we visited a couple of days ago, not THAT was a slaughter-fest!"

"Yes yes I know, there still investigating that place. I'll only say this once." The man then placed what looked like a scouter in Amaterasuices' hand. "Stick to the plan, you know what to do."

"Of course" Amaterasu made a smile that could break windows and curdle milk.

(Scene Change)

"So what's the plan?" Leon asked as he and Speed hid in the many shadows of the stadium. The two members of the Admin had a perfect view of the tournament stage.

"The plan is to observe all players here for signs of abnormality." Speed began explaining. "This tournament is more than a way to broadcast one's skill."

"It is a trap to match a signature to the one's destroying the many areas." Leon finished.

"Got it in one." Speed said.

"How do we know the cause of the problem is here?" Leon asked.

"The same way we know the problems all have the same signature." Speed said cryptically.

"Meaning?"

"Cast's Admin ability allows here to sense abnormalities in the system, if she senses anything she'll send me a signal." Speed explained.

"So all we do now is…" Leon started.

"Watch and enjoy the show." Speed said as he leaned against a wall to get comfortable.

(Scene Change Eclipse Tournament Stage)

In the middle of the tournament stage smoked began to appear from the center and clouded the arena from view. Out of the smoke many people soon saw a girl with fox features holding microphone.

"Hello everyone and welcome to the First ever Eclipse Tournament!" The foxgirl Kyoto yelled into the mike. The crowd roared as if following her enthusiasm.

"As you all know this tournament is being hosted by the Administration, but more specifically two members of the Administration! Please give applause to the SUN of our Eclipse, activities director RinaMelody!"

Rina then rose from her seat and stood out in the booth towards the audience. "Thank you all for coming and participating, this is my first time hosting a tournament so I hope that you all give me good reviews."

"Now give it up for the MOON of our Eclipse, Admin Personal Director Cast49!" Kyoto introduced.

Cast then stood next to her cousin and took a bow. "I look forward to seeing how this tournament starts and finishes!"

"You heard her ladies and gentlemen, personally being a demon myself I'm happy as long as this stage gets a nice new coat of blood know what I'm saying!" Kyoto then held out her mike and let the roar of the crowd be amplified.

"Now before we begin anything let's begin with the preliminary rounds, this round will be used to reduce all of these wonderful contenders into the top eight to battle. Teams are required to send only one member! Now everyone who's participating step into the ring, the final eight will be the ones to move onward!" Kyoto explained.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Do us proud D.B." Shadow said as he patted D.B. on the back.

"Alright then" D.B. took a second to switch into his battle form.

"Any advice?" D.B. asked as he drew his claymore.

"Don't go all out or use any power just yet, you just need to fight until eight are standing." Key said.

"Other than that, go wild." Bella added.

"Noted" D.B. then walked into the stage followed by a multitude of other fighters.

"Think D.B. has this one?" Illu asked.

"You and Ravena never seen D.B. battle before, watch and have faith." Shadow said.

(Tournament Stage)

"Ok everyone looks like the fighters have all arrived on the center stage! The rules are all those defeated, knocked out of the ring, or vaporized lose!" Kyoto said from a safe distance away. "Now fighters ready!"

D.B.'s eyes flashed crimson before they returned to normal and he assumed a fighting stance. One fighter summoned a zanbato and rested it on his shoulders. Another pulled out a small fan and placed it in front of her face. Rose's eyes morphed into the famous Rinnegan.

"And…begin!"

"Out of the way weaklings!" D.B. yelled as he sent out a shockwave from his sword and sent ten people flying outside the ring. D.B. then blocked a strike from behind and sent him flying as well.

"Is this all you got, then this is going to be a short fight!" D.B. said.

"Nice opening, on player have sent many flying with just the force of his power!" Kyoto commented.

While D.B. continued his rampage he spotted one person speaking an incantation and water particles forming in the air. D.B. then pulled out his magnums and sent a wave of bullets out towards the attackers.

"What happened to following our advice?" Shadow asked.

"He's following Bella's by going wild." Key said as they heard an explosion as D.B. sent many others flying and slamming into the ground.

"Hey what's that nya?" Ravena asked.

The rest of Kurotsubasa looked and saw what looked like a massive spinning sword, wind forming around its wielder.

"You think you're so good just because you can lift that massive sword?" A player taunted as the boy continued to spin his zanbato.

"No, I think I'm good because I'm about to send all of you flying." The sword wielder said as he stopped spinning.

"Oh really!" Many blast of energy were sent towards the one boy. The boy suddenly disappeared and the shockwave blew and blinded most of the others. The sound of spinning filled the air and the zanbato slashed through many contestants.

The boy caught his blade and continued to block and parry other attackers. He then pulled his bead necklace and somehow formed a metallic whip and sliced through his enemies.

"A brilliant strategy by the solo fighter Renchard19! Who knows what other tricks this guy has?"

"Renchard nya," Ravena said.

"Punnyaaa" Punnya meowed along with her owner.

"A silver claimer here," Illu said surprisingly.

"Shadow" Key said as he saw Shadow staring at another participates.

"Yeah I saw, I also see we have some strong competition." Shadow said.

Shadow then motioned the team to look at the large cloud of pixels that filled the air as the girl with the paper fan just stood there with a bored expression.

"I finally understand Aka, these humans are so boring." The girl said silently to herself. A fighter tried to score a cheap shot from behind and was surprised to see his attack just phase through her. The girl then closed her fan and a blade of wind formed around it.

"So boring…" Those were the last words that player heard before her was slashed by the blade of air.

"Whoa, I turn my eyes for a second and half of the competition disappeared into her incredible technique, who is this mysterious girl and her team?"

"Think she could be with Chaos?" Key asked.

"No something different…something darker." Shadow said.

"The numbers have dropped to twenty and it looks like a few are forming an allied strike against that one girl, I hope she has a good defense for this strong offensive strike!"

"Weaklings" Rose then closed her eyes and concentrated her power.

**Almighty Push!**

The force of gravity pushed away the rushing attackers outside the ring and into the walls of the stadium.

"Amazing, one attack and they all were sent flying! I wasn't gory or bloody like the others but it was effective!" Kyoto said.

"She always had no sense of restraint." Shadow sweatdropped.

"Can you blame her you were her teacher nya." Ravena said that was a shocker to everyone.

"Long story, I'll tell you guys later." Shadow said.

"The eight teams are chosen!" A large screen then appeared and displayed eight names. The eight names shone boldly on the widescreen.

Team Renchard

Team Mercenary

Team DarkBlade

Team Kurotsubasa

Team Blockbuster

Team Wave Storm

Team Striker

Team Destiny

"These eight teams and fighters have been the lucky survivors of the preliminaries! Now as I let the stage clear let me bring the mike to our main battle M.C.!" Kyoto then pointed and then above the screen a booth appeared.

"Thank you foxy foxy Kyoto, I'll take it from here!" The teen wore stereotype street clothing and had a TV. Helmet on.

"All the way from the world of AT's it me DJ Plugman, that's right recognize beyotch!" Plugman said and earned an applause form watchers and fans of the anime.

"All of that battle was cute and all but now we about to spin into the major league, I hope you got yo popcorn and yo kids already peed because you don't want to miss a second of this! Let the Eclipse Tournament BEGIN!"

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><p><strong>TBC…<strong>

** Well this chapter is done, and you can tell things are about to get interesting soon. I'm soon going to start arc chapters and other things after these few chapters. Hope you all stick around to see all the amazing fights and story to come. Now remember to…**

**REVIEW**

**REVIEW**

**And don't forget to REVIEW.**

**(Authors who appeared)**

**Renchard19**

**Muroshi**

**Mister Grim**

**RinaMelody**

**Deus-Rasengan2**

**(Insert announcer voice here)**

** The Eclipse Tournament has begun and Kurotsubasa is opening the event against Team Striker. Team Striker believes their power is enough to advance and show it in battle with their unusual tactic of striking the five senses. Kurotsubasa's members are going to have to keep their minds sharp or else risk losing before the event even start. Will Kurotsubasa lose or will they show some surprises of their own.**

**Next Time: Strike the Mind and the Body! Kurotsubasa vs. Striker!**

"**Let me show why the key chose me!"**


	7. Chapter 7: Kurotsubasa vs Striker

** Sorry for not updating for a while but with projects, exams, and all of the things happening in my life I find little time to sit at the computer and type stories. Anyway is may be awhile for me to update this fic seeing as its unfair to my other fics and my other readers. So expect this chapter and maybe another before I start working on other things.**

**Announcements:**

** The last time I looked on Deviantart I saw some fantastic images of this story. Thanks again Ravena for all your creative work. Also like I put up before I may just update this until the tournament arc is over or I may just stop to update my other stories to a certain part before continuing this story. I don't know yet I will think it over tonight.**

** Also I like the fact that others have taken some things away from this story, if I could I would make a section just for this story. Well here are some stories based off mine that are good:**

**Adventures with Kurotsubasa by Generalhyna**

**Rav, Bella and the Hyna Squad by Generalhyna**

**And, Fanfiction World Bellas story by Generalhyna**

** These three are good and funny to read and I encourage anyone to make their own idea of FFW as long as they PM me to give them consent. (I love that this idea became so popular, I might just even start a wiki for this just because.)**

**Reviews:**

**I'm surprise seeing all the people who got in the same situation in a car ride (minus the explosion). I did as a joke to see if anyone was in the same situation XD.**

**DrummerBoy4life: Thanks and I hope it makes up for what happens next.**

**Cast49: Here you go enjoy, and tell your cousin about the good news!**

**Renchard19: I need to think that over but I have a far way for you to continue in the tournament, it's all going in with the character you sent me.**

**Illusionist Owl: In an exciting coincidence those two things are going to happen in the same chapter when Kurotsubasa fights again! I just need you to wait for it ok.**

**Now that all of this is over ON WITH THE SHOW!**

"Aaaa"-Speech

'Bbbb'-Thought

'_Cccc'-Flashback_

"**Dddd"-Attacks**

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: I own the plot, the locations, and some of the characters. What I don't own are things taken from anime, shows, movies, games, books, online RPGS, etc. I also don't own any character I didn't create. Put your lawyers away!<strong>

* * *

><p>"<em>I hate to lose, but I hate anyone who messes with my friends even more." Shadowlight0982<em>

_"The most predictable thing about people is, they are unpredictable." Mister Grim_

* * *

><p>Ch. 7: Strike the Mind and the Body! Kurotsubasa vs. Striker!<p>

"You see it right here folks, the line ups of the tournament!" D.J. Plugman introduced to the spectators. The giant screen showed a tournament bracket with team symbols displayed.

"As you all know this is an all or nothing event, every round a field will be opened to protect the spectators so feel free to go all out! Also there are a few rules I need to lay down on ya! If you fall out the tournament ring you're out! If you're K.I.B. then see ya latta! Also this tournament has a few special rules to it!"

"Special rules?" Cast asked her cousin.

"Just a few things to help spark up the competition and I didn't even create all of the rules." Rina explained.

"Rule 1, this is an elimination style tournament, the team with the most wins advances. Rule 2, if the Team's leader is eliminated the whole team loses by default!"

"Did you come up with that Speed?" Leon asked.

"How'd you know, just something interesting to have; besides a little pressure is good for situations like this right?" Speed said.

"And finally Rule 3, if you were eliminated there will be a special loser's bracket to determine the wild card! The wild card team then has a chance to participate back in the tournament if they can defeat one of the two finalists!"

"Rina, really?" Cast said.

"People will get excited for more fights, besides the crowd seems to be enjoying these rules." Rina looked to the cheering crowd.

(Team Kurotsubasa)

"These rules are a pain." Shadow said.

"There's nothing we can do about it now, all we can do is win." D.B. said.

"Yeah, Shads we'll win for sure." Bella reassured everyone.

"I don't know some of these guys give off a bad vibe." Illu said, Mukurowl hooted an agreement as he rested on her shoulders.

"All we have to do is try our best and give our all." Key said to everyone.

"We're going to beat them all and take the prize nya!" Ravena cheered.

"Punnyaaa!" Punnya cried out as well.

Shadow let out a sigh. "Well we're here anyway we might as well give them a show." Shadow put his hand in the center and everyone placed their hands on top.

"Kurotsubasa!" Shadow called first.

"Kurotsubasa!"

(Team Mercenary)

"Such troublesome rules, so who is the leader?" Grim asked.

"Isn't it obvious it you isn't it?" Rose asked sarcastically.

"I have to agree with my inexperienced friend here." Naenia said and ignored Rose's hateful insults. "Out of us four you are the most powerful."

"Whatever, whatever, when will the fighting start!" The fourth member complained.

"Calm yourself Wolf, don't get too excited." Naenia scolded him.

"You're like 30 or something, act your own age." Rose added. Grim just let out a sigh.

"I'm 25 if you must know and I'll act the way I feel like acting." Wolf shot back to the two females.

The fourth member of this mercenary team was Wolfey141 (Wolfey or Wolf as he was called by others). He was a shady, even amongst other thieves, as he felt the need to steal from everyone especially those of higher rank than him. He wore a black leather jacket, black  
>baggy jeans, and brown work boots.<p>

"Besides I'm not acting like a brat acting like a tsundere about her old teacher." Wolf said to get under Rose's skin.

"Why you…" Grim put a hand in front of Rose as if saying to say hold off for later.

"Now is not the time for this, save all that rage for the tournament. Naenia how are our chances?" Grim asked the diviner.

"This is strange." Naenia said as she tried to peer into the future with her ice mirror. "The future became clouded somehow."

"What do you mean by clouded?" Grim asked curiously.

"Many things are going to happen in the tournament. Somehow it got even harder to predict the future here." Naenia answered.

"Harder, so the prediction you gave me was a lie?" Rose asked.

"No it is still a possibility, but right now it's one of many." Naenia explained.

"Let's just hope the future for right now is us winning." Grim said.

"Yep win big or go home." Wolf said.

(Team Renchard)

"This is going to tough, seems like I'm one of the only single fighter teams." Renchard said as he looked over his odds of winning.

"I know I still have a shot, all I have to do is challenge the team leaders to a match and win. All I have to do is make it to fight Shadow." Renchard then looked to the tournament stage. 'I need to win for my sister.'

(Team Destiny)

"So what's the plan huh, what's the plan?" Aka yelled excitedly.

"You are such a child." The girl opened her fan.

"Ah you don't mean that Sakura, besides I want to battle someone!"

"That's not the plan." The man reminded Aka. "The plan is to follow Mistress' orders to the letter."

"But one of Nee-Chan's orders was to send Shadow a message; can it be me please please PLEASE!" Aka shouted which started drawing attention to the team.

"Fine, do not fail then." The man gave in.

"Yay, thanks Sen I won't let you down!" Aka said with a large smile.

"Remember if it comes down to it use your special move but don't forget the plan." Sen said again.

"Got it, got it!" Aka did a mock salute.

(Team Wave Storm)

"So that's Shadow?" The one in a blue cloak said as they looked to Kurotsubasa.

"Yep, sure has been a while since we have seen each other. I wonder if he's gotten any stronger." The one in the yellow cloak answered.

"We still have to make it that far, don't forget about the other competition L.T." The blue cloaked boy reminded his temporary teammate.

L.T. or Lightning Thief was an "explorer" as he called himself. He loves to see the new sights and areas of FFW every day. Under his yellow cloak he wore a basically Desmond Miles outfit (Assassin's Creed Brotherhood). He had short spiky blond hair with red highlights at the tips of the spikes, red eyes with flicks of orange and had a scar over right eyebrow and eye.

"I know Meteo, I know." L.T. said.

Meteo or Meteorthundrus, unlike his acquaintance, was a wanderer. Meteo never liked to stay in one place for a while and likes to continue on what he calls his boring existence. He had spiky black hair up to his shoulders, dark brown almost black eyes. He was tall and had a swimmer's body. Meteo wears a skintight Shark-skin short sleeve t-shirt under a grey vest, a tattered fingerless glove on his right hand, indigo colored cargo pants and Cerulean blue boots.

Meteo then lifted up a large anchor that lied next to him on the ground. "You know now I'm just reminding you so you won't forget, remember we are here to win as well." (Tournament Stage)

"Now kiddy's it's time for this party to begin, let's start by checking out the first two teams to battle!" DJ Plugman directed everyone to the screen.

On the large flat screen teams names shifted randomly on the screen. When the names on the screen finally shifting stopped two names shown blazingly for all to see.

Team Kurotsubasa vs. Team Striker

"Well folks we're going to have an interesting first matchup!" The two teams then walked onto the stage. "Now let's go over to the foxy Kyoto for the Team info!"

"Well like you said we have two interesting teams meeting up!" Kyoto raised her hand and a red light hung over Team Striker. "Here in the red zone, the infamous master assassins, the reality crushers, the sense striking, Team Striker!"

The crowd then began to cheer to the three man team. The team had two boys and one girl; they all had the ninja theme but still had different style of clothing.

A blue light then shined over Kurotsubasa. "And in the blue zone, they're the guild taking the world by storm, the place to go for any emergency, the Black Wings soaring into the heavens, Kurotsubasa!"

The crowd began to show their support but some also tossed some boos hoping they would lose and get their chance to attack the now wanted leader. Kurotsubasa began to gauge their standings with the crowd.

"Looks like we're the favorite to lose." Key summed up what they all were thinking.

"It doesn't matter what they think, we're going to give our all." Shadow said.

"How do we decide who goes up, there are six of us and three of them nya?" Ravena asked.

"Leave that to me." Shadow said with a knowing smirk.

"Ah sweet, you actually brought it with you?" D.B. asked excitedly.

"I always bring it with me when I'm expected to enter a tournament." Shadow then walked to the center of the stage.

"And now the team leaders will decide the order of type of battle that is going to take place!" Kyoto announced.

"I'm sure you can agree with me that we can't have a full team battle with the number of people on each side." The leader of Team Striker said. He was average height for a teen with average muscle build, blond hair and red eyes. He wore a blood spattered navy blue shirt and grey sweatpants with tennis shoes.

"Actually I have a special kind of match if you aren't scared to try." Shadow baited his opponent.

"Oh and what is it if I may ask?" The teen asked curiously.

Shadow then put a hand into one of his jacket pockets and pulled out a large dice. "My team is going to use this to determine our order, in return we choose first and you can choose your fighter, sound fair?"

"Like an expert Shadow places his bait." D.B. said.

"Now let's see the stupid fish take it." Bella said with Key agreeing. Ravena and Illu looked at the scene confused.

"What are you guys talking about?" The two newer members of Kurotsubasa asked.

"Just watch, and see how this turns out." Key said.

"So what do you say?" Shadow asked again.

"I see no problem with this, we accept." The teen said.

"You heard it here folks, the leaders have agreed to a one on one elimination style battle! Kurotsubasa has agreed to choose their fighters first, best of two matches wins!" Kyoto said.

Shadow clutches the dice in his hand and then threw it onto the stage. "Go dice-roll!"

The dice hit the ground and continued to role until it landed on a symbol, the symbol of the omnitrix with an "H" on top of it.

"Looks like you're up Bella make us proud." Shadow said as he walked back to his team's waiting area.

"Okay, leave it to me Shads!" Bella said.

"Just try not to be too ridiculous and remember the edges of the ring." Shadow said.

"Hai, you can count on me!" Bella waved off Shadow's advice and walked into the ring.

"Looks like Kurotsubasa has chosen their first fighter look at that boy…" A rock then hit the center of Plugman's screen and cracked it. "…I mean that girl is Kurostsubasa's wildcard, GeneralHyna!"

"So do you know why this team is called striker?" D.B. asked.

"I think I have heard of this team before but I can't really remember." Illu then took a time to think it over.

"All we can do is cheer Bella on and see if she wins." Key said.

Shadow took the time to observe the other teams. 'Team Striker huh.'

(Tournament Stage)

"Fighting for Team Striker is Shino! Watch out folks, he's none for destroying people's minds and turning brains to jelly! All I know is I'm ready for blood to fly!" Plugman announced.

"So I'm fighting you huh, you aren't even worth it." Shino said.

"Excuse me?" Bella asked.

"I can tell most people's intelligence based on how they looked, and you…let's just say you don't look very bright." Shino said.

"Well sorry to disappoint you but I am very smart and I'm smart where it counts." Bella said.

"We shall see." Shino readied himself.

"Okay, Bella vs. Shino!" Kyoto then backed out of the ring. "Ready…FIGHT!"

Shino quickly sidestepped a punch from Bella that left a medium sized crater on the stage. Bella brushed off the debris from her hand as she stared down her opponent.

"Well you're physically strong if that is any indication." Shino said as he got back in his stance.

"I'm not only strong but I see you care about smarts." Bella then set her omnitrix and slammed it down. A large crustacean like alien now appeared out of the green glow.

**Brainstorm!**

"We can continue on with or battle of wits after I have eradicated you from this stadium." Brainstorm then opened his massive shell and fired an arc of electricity from his massive brain.

Shino quickly ran around the stage as he dodged wave after wave of lightning bolts. "Super strength and the ability to transform…"

'I can't wait to pear inside her mind and crush her.'

(Kurotsubasa)

"This guy isn't a problem, I was expecting better seeing he's a copy of Shino from Naruto." D.B. said.

"Never judge a book by its cover man, you never know." Shadow said. "What I'm trying to figure out is why he's only dodging Bella's attacks and not counterattacking."

'Turn people's brains into jelly.' Illu then realized something. "I just remembered something!"

(Team Striker)

"How long is Shino going to play around?" The girl asked.

"Patience, what that girl doesn't know is that he's easing her more and more into his trap." The teen leader said.

(Tournament Stage)

"I have had enough of your insistent maneuverings." Brainstorm then slammed a claw onto the omnitrix and shifted forms again.

The alien morphed into a tall and lanky figure that was wearing an open tattered dark green trench coat over a lime green turtle neck sweater, a dark grey dirty patched wizard hat, and a light green and black stripped scarf that seems to hide his face in the shadows except for his lime green eyes. He had giant metal claws that could transform into any gadget or tool and metal cybernetic cleat-like legs. What gave this being his name was a long worm-like tail, which was wrapped around his legs. On his right wrist was the omnitrix symbol, this was Omi-Wormtail a Hyna original.

**Omi-Wormtail!**

"Now let's try something new!" The shapeshifter then made a mad charge towards Shino.

No one could see Shino's expression but if they could they would clearly see a large smirk on his face.

"Bella no don't get close to him!" Illu yelled.

Shino dodged a punch and then placed a glowing hand on cyborg's forehead. The warrior's form then shifted back into Bella and the two's eyes then became blank.

"Illu what's happening?" Key asked.

"I remember now, Team Striker, they known for the way to defeat their opponent using mind, body, and spirit." Illu started. "They are find different ways to destroy enemies from the inside out.

"So this guy is mind, Shino of the Mind." Shadow said. 'Come on Bella I know this isn't enough to take you down."

(Bella's mind)

"Well, this is more empty space then I thought it would be." Shino then pulled his shades off of his face and opened his eyes to reveal the Sharingan.

"Now where is her mind?" Shino started to look around.

"Hello there!"

Shino stopped and looked at a hologram of a chibi Bella. "I'm sorry but you seem to have entered here without an invitation."

"Like I need an invitation, do something useful and tell me where her brain's center is." Shino asked.

"Oh that's easy, it's down there." A path then appeared where the chibi pointed. "But I wouldn't go there if I was you."

"Please, there is no mind in the world that is a match for Shino." Shino then walked the path and didn't see the evil expression on the chibi's face.

"He's heading towards MCP General!" Bella then appeared and landed next to her chibi self.

"Good, now the fight can really begin." Bella smiled.

(Kurotsubasa)

"So what's you're saying is this guy is trying to wipe out Bella's brain." D.B. said.

"That sums it up." Illu said.

"Then we got nothing to worry about." Shadow said.

"What do you mean nya, who knows what that psycho could be doing inside Bell's head?" Ravena said.

Punnya then landed on Shadow's head, Shadow then started petting the neko and its purrs filled the air.

"Trust me, we have been to some exciting and dangerous places before but one place I never want to go to again is Bella's mind." Shadow said.

"Whatever Bella has cooked up in Bella Space is not going to be good for Shino." Key said.

(Striker)

"What is going on, he should have finished that changeling by now." The girl said in anger.

"Patience, maybe he got carried away with destroying her." The leader said.

"Or maybe her mind is so empty he's having problems…" The girl was cut off by a kunai that nicked her on her cheek. Team Striker looked and saw Shadow's hand stretched forward.

"No one insults my friends or teammates got that!" Shadow yelled.

"Such rude behavior" The girl then wipes away the blood that began to flow from her wounds. "I'm looking forward to putting you and your friends in their place."

"Oh really, first you have to beat Bella to even get a shot at me!" Shadow said.

"Not a problem for Shino." The leader said. Everyone then turned their attention back to the arena.

"What is going on seems like ever since Shino placed his palm onto the shapeshifting spitfire they seemed to be trapped in some kind of trance! Usually Shino's opponents are finished off quickly after this but it seems something is happening inside the toongirls' noggin!" Plugman said with a question mark displayed on his screen.

"All I know is that they better do something soon before the crowd begins to pour out the stadium!" Kyoto said.

(Bella's Mind)

"Seems like I finally found it." Shino said as he walked off the path. Shino was curious why he saw a large computer terminal in the center. Shino wondered for a second why everything was so quiet but placed as Bella being empty minded.

"To each their own mind, now it's time for me to win this match."

"Oh I don't think that is going to happen!"

Shino was surprised to find himself surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of warriors.

"What the hell?" Shino panicked as he was clearly outnumbered.

"Welcome to my mind but you won't be staying long." Bella said as she cracked her knuckles.

"I hope you have a good healer on your team you're going to need it." Omi-Wormtail built blasters from his hands.

"Let's show you what happens when someone messes with Bella's head without our permission." Four-Arms cracked all of his knuckles.

"How about we scrambled that mind of yours." Hyna-Wolf snarled and readied its claws.

Shino looked in fear as many humans, robots, and creatures began to close the circle he was standing in. Shino raised his hands to try and release his technique but found that he couldn't leave.

"I have put a powerful ward around this area of Bella's consciousness; no one may enter or leave without authorization." MCP spoke.

"Now let's have some fun." Bella said with a sadistic smile.

(Tournament Stage)

"Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Shino let out an agonizing scream as he then fainted on the spot.

Bella then regained consciousness and put a hand on her temple. "Wow that was intense."

"What just happened, for no reason at all Shino is on the ground passed out and Arabella is still standing?" DJ Plugman said. "Well according to the rules of the tournament Shino isn't able to battle so Arabella wins, its Kurotsubasa 1 Striker 0!"

"Shino…" The leader said.

(Kurotsubasa)

"What did I tell you, no one messes with us!" Shadow said. Bella walked over to her team and slapped Shadow's hand.

"Got that right Shads!" Bella said.

"I have to ask but what did you do to him?" Key asked.

"Let's just say he had a long chat with a few of my friends." Bella said.

"Would a few mean a few hundred or a few thousand?" D.B. asked.

"Few hundred thousand!" The men let out a sigh at Bella's lack of restraint.

"It's time for the second match nya!" Ravena reminded them.

"One more victory and we advance." Illu said.

"Well let's see whose fighting." Shadow threw the dice again. "Go dice-roll!"

The dice once again rolled on the battered stage. The dice stopped this time on an image of two guns and flames.

"D.B. you good for another round?" D.B. answered by once again shifting to battle form.

"Just leave it to me, will win this thing in no time." D.B. then walked into the ring.

"I hope so" Illu said.

"You know a lot about this team don't you Illu nya?" Ravena asked.

"When someone specializes in illusions they tend to know people in the same element, they tried to recruit me a long time ago." Illu said as she calmly stroked Muku-chan.

"Why did you refuse?" Bella asked.

"Keep watching and you'll find out." Illu said and they paid attention to the match.

"Ok everyone it's time for round 2! Fighting for Striker is the scarlet sorceress, the queen of illusions, the beauty that destroys all the beasts in her way…Himiko!" The crowd then cheered as the female of Striker took the stage.

"Queen of illusions?" Bella said.

Shadow then noticed the hateful aura around Illu. "I take it you met Himiko before."

"If by met you mean where she tried to destroy me after I kindly refused their offer then yes, we met." The symbol on Illu's forehead pulsed and her already red eyes started to glow.

Shadow then took a few steps to the side. "Right, so how are D.B.'s chances against her?"

"It all depends on how he interprets what's real and what's not." Illu said.

(Tournament Stage)

"Versus the extreme heat, the vampire of fire, the weapon of mass destruction, from Kurotsubasa…D.B!" D.B. then took the stage.

"You know normally I don't feel right beating up girls." D.B. then drew the claymore on his back. "But a fight's a fight."

"Oh no speech about how it isn't right to hit a woman, you seem like one of the types to take that into consideration." Himiko said.

"Don't get me wrong I would never purposely beat up a girl but things like quests and tournaments kind of take first over that." D.B. then got into a stance. "We are players after all."

"Yes and like players I play to win." Himiko then got into a stance of her own.

"It looks like both players and ready to go, let's hope this won't be as dull as the last match I wanted to see some blood flying!." Kyoto said. "Ready…FIGHT!"

Himiko then put a hand in her hair and took out a rosebud, the rose then fell apart and grew into a large whip with thorns.

"Ladies first!"

**Rose Whiplash!**

D.B. created a wall of fire and the energy infused plant bounced off and began to smoke.

"You're using plants against me; you might need a miracle to win this." D.B. then began his own charge unaware of Himiko's smile.

"Just a little while, Himiko likes to play with her prey." The leader said.

"I don't like this nya." Ravena said.

"Why Shorty D.B.'s winning." Bella said.

"Just look at her face nya, it's like a cat that's playing around with a mouse." Ravena said with a growl.

"That sounds like Himiko." Illu said.

D.B. slashed the whip again and again; Himiko tried harder to regenerate the whip but by now D.B. was already in front of her.

"Game over!" D.B. went to pierce her though.

Himiko however smiled and suddenly burst into many sakura petals, D.B. looked around and tried to find his opponent.

"What the, how did she?" D.B. looked around.

"What's the matter?" Himiko's voice echoed through the ring. D.B. then noticed that he was surrounded by multiple Himikos. "Am I too much for you?"

"This is bad!" Illu said as they saw D.B. looking in multiple directions and Himiko slowly walking towards him.

"Is this one of her illusions?" Shadow asked.

"Yes it is." Illu said as she continued to view the match.

"I don't care what's going on but" D.B. then pulled out his revolvers. "All that matters is that I hit the real one!"

D.B. let loose hit barrage that seem to pass through all the Himikos, the real Himiko however sidestepped all the bullets. The crowd watch as D.B. fired wildly and bullets bounced off the wall protecting them.

"It looks like we see why she's called the Queen of Illusions, D.B. trying his hardest to hit the real one but can't seem to find her!" Kyoto said.

"That's it!" D.B. let loose a wave of fire in all directions. All the Himikos jumped, the real Himiko however clutch her arm as a bullet clipped her arm.

Himiko saw blood forming at the wound. "So he hit me, so what it's not like…" A wave of power flowed through the air.

D.B.'s eyes now were glowing red and his fangs lengthened in his mouth. "If you want to play tricks fine, I'll just follow the smell of your blood!"

Himiko noticed D.B. running to her; she rolled from the sword that now created a crack in the stage floor. D.B. fired with his other hand and Himiko used her whip to deflect the bullets.

"Now this is a fight ladies and gentlemen, D.B. somehow overcame his disadvantage and is now using Himiko's own blood as a means to track her down!" Kyoto said.

"You got that right Kyo; Himiko didn't know that with just a few drops of blood D.B. would be all over her like a shark to meat! How is she going to handle this onslaught?" Plugman added.

(Kurotsubasa)

"How did he beat the illusion?" Illu asked.

"D.B.'s using his vampire powers to follow the smell of blood." Key explained.

"But how nya?" Ravena asked.

"Remember when I launched my kunai as a warning." Shadow reminded them. "Not only did she draw blood, she wiped it away on her own hands, also D.B. got a lucky shot against her arm and drew more blood."

"So he's relying on his nose?" Ravena asked.

"In a way yes" Shadow said.

(Tournament Stage)

"I have had enough of this!" Himiko let out a wave of power that pushed D.B. away.

"Let's see how you fight when all of your senses are against you!" Himiko then gathered vapors around her.

**Sensory Destruction!**

D.B. was hit by the vapors as they surrounded him. D.B. started to cringe and scream in pain, his body, his mind were being overloaded by whatever the vapors were doing to him.

'It's like my body is on fire, my eyes, and my lungs.' D.B. then focused all the fire he could around him.

**Great Explosion!**

A large blast emanated from D.B. and flew outwards and Himiko was caught in the blast. The crowd watched as smoke and flames filled the air.

"What just happened, did D.B. decide to suicide, did they both go up in smoke, what is going on here?" Plugman yelled. "Wait the smoke is started to clear!"

Everyone looked in suspense as the smoke started to fade and their vision cleared. Himiko's clothed were badly burned and so was some of her skin but she floated in the air by some psychic force.

"It looks like…Himiko! She's still up and standing but where is D.B.?" The two announcers then saw the blast center.

On top of a large circle of ashes was D.B. passed out with several wounds and burns on his body, hit top was burnt away to show the skin underneath.

"Looks like his ash is grass, using a move like that he took himself out as the vapors were flammable as well! The winner of round 2 is Tram Striker!" Plugman announced.

Several medics arrived to take D.B. to the medical wing. Kurotsubasa watched as their friend was healed on the way their by the medics on duty.

"Poor D.B. nya" Ravena said.

"Punnyaaaaa" Punnya let out a sad meow.

"It's ok, Muroshi will make sure D.B. gets the best treatment, but now we have to focus on winning." Shadow said.

"That Shino guy was mind and Himiko was body…so that means the last guy is spirit right?" Bella asked.

"And this last battle will decide if we advance or not." Key said. "Shadow let's roll the dice."

"Right" Shadow threw the dice for the final time. "Go Dice Roll!"

The dice skipped and rolled along the tournament's stage. The dice then stopped rolling and landed with a symbol face up. The symbol was a shield with a keyhole in the center and staff and sword crossed behind it forming an "X".

"Looks like it's your turn Key." Shadow said.

"Yep, don't worry I'll win this thing for D." Key then walked into the ring.

"You know now that I think about it I never seen Key actually battle before or at least full strength." Ravena thought out loud.

"I know what you mean; sometimes it's hard to be a member when you guys have so much history." Illu said.

"I'll have to show you two the archives later then but for now just watch." Shadow said.

(Striker)

"That was reckless what you did but it worked to our advantage." The leader said.

"Shut up, besides I won didn't I?" Himiko said as she pulled out salve to treat her burns.

"Barely because of your psychic barrier and the fact your vapors were flammable but it won't matter." The boy walked to the stage. "I will win and show the power of Team Striker."

"Whatever you say Spirit don't mess this up." Himiko then sat down to watch the match.

(Tournament Stage)

**(Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep "Boss Battle")**

"Oh yeah while these battles have been exciting and breathtaking the fun has got to end somewhere, fighting for Kurotsubasa…the Twin Keybearer, the Twilight Blades, the one who may hold the "key" to his team's victory…Keybladedude!" Plugman announced.

Key walked to his side of the stage while the roaring crowd was reassuring all he had in mind was avenging his teammate. Key summoned Infinity and Oathbreaker and took his dual sword stance.

"His opponent from Team Striker…the Spirit Crusher, the Ghostly Ghoul, the Soul Eater…Spirit!" Spirit walked into the ring as Plugman's finished his début, Spirit held out his arm and a scythe blade appeared.

"I look forward to beating you and wining this tournament." Spirit said with a smug grin.

"That's my line; I look forward to wiping that smug look off your face." Key glared.

"Alright let round 3 commence, Key vs. Sprit, FIGHT!" Kyoto called.

The sound of metal clashing metal signaled the start of the battle, Spirit's scythe arm was battling against Oathbreaker; Key then shot Infinity forward causing Spirit to jump back. Key took advantage and threw Oathbreaker towards the airborne demon weapon.

"Whoa, what's he doing sacrificing his weapon for a chance at a direct shot!" Kyoto said surprised.

Spirit blocked with his Scythe arm but still landed on his back. Key held out his hand and Oathbreaker appeared in a dark light. Spirit then rise to his feet.

"Impressive, not many keybearers learn skills like that." Spirit said.

"I'm not like most keybearers; I'm in a whole different league." Key said.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Hey Shadow, how strong is Key?" Illu asked.

"Very, he's one of the Betas." Shadow answered.

"Betas as in The Betas, nya?" Ravena said. Punnya mimicked her curious expression.

"Yep, one of the original ten testers of FFW, the first people besides the Admins to walk upon these lands. Betas are incredibly strong." Shadow said.

"Yep Key's is one of the strongest guys I know." Bella said.

'If it comes down to it Key will have to use that power, let's see if he can win without it." Shadow thought.

(Tournament Stage)

"A different league, just because you're not like others who slash around with Ultima Weapon doesn't make you any stronger than others." Spirit then raised his hand and made a gun.

"You're pretty good up close so let's see what happens when you fight from a distance." Spirit energy then concentrated on the tip of his finger.

**Spirit Gun!**

Key rolled to the side to above the blast of spirit energy, he soon was forced on the defensive to doge the spirit "bullets" aimed at him. Spirit just last as he continued his barrage.

'Spirit blast, partial transformation, I wonder what his other two powers are.' Key then used Infinity to knock a spirit blast off course and into the barrier. Key took the opportunity to charge at Spirit.

"You really think I'm going to let you get close to me!" Spirit readied spirit energy in his fist and threw it forward.

**Shotgun!**

A large hail of spirit blasts were sent in Key's direction. Key allowed the blast to continue until he disappeared in a flash of light.

"What?" Spirit then sensed Key was behind him. Spirit tried to move away but found he moving in slow motion.

'The hell, why am I moving so slow?' Spirit thought as he saw Key move at regular speed.

"Now get ready!" Key readied his blades

**Faith…**

Key points Infinity in the air, causing pillars of light to suddenly appear and slammed on Spirit, the light rotates around Key, as he moves away from him.

**And…**

Key starts a spin attack while glowing; when his hit connected he unleashed the beams of light on Spirit's slow moving form.

**Salvation!**

"And the Keybearer really does know his stuff, he achieved a beautiful combo on the Striker leader, let's see of Spirit has a way to counter after this!" Plugman said.

Spirit let out a small laugh as he felt his speed return to normal and his pain begins to dull. "You're a fan of Pokémon are you…?" Spirit's eyes held black light and shadow energy formed along his arms. Key was shocked and saw he wasn't able to back away in time.

**Night Shade!**

Key tried to use the light as a shield but the ghost type move hit him full force, as he rolled along the hard tournament floor the beams of light disappeared. Spirit then stood up tall and a white ring appeared around him.

"Let's finish this little game shall we…going GHOST!" The ring split into two and moved around spirit's body.

His muscle build grew to that of a weight lifter, his blond hair turned silver and red eyes became neon green. Spirit's blood spattered navy blue shirt, grey sweatpants; tennis shoes were now a sleeveless black jumpsuit with the kanji for ghost on the front in white and white boots. Spirit's pale skin became sickly green.

Not taking a minute to admire his ghost form Spirit powered a ghost ray between his hands (Hadoken Style). "Good bye Key, it's been fun battling you while it lasted." Spirit released his blast against the downed Beta.

"Key you have to move, you have to dodge!" Illu yelled.

"Slag it move Key!" Bella yelled.

"You have to move nya!" Ravena yelled with the females.

"Puuuuunyaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Punnya joined in.

"Stop holding back Key you're going to have to use it, use it now!" Shadow shouted.

Key steadily made his way to his feet and began to concentrate. 'I guess there's no point in holding back anymore.'

Key then took Oathbreaker and slammed it onto the ground; a wave of dark fire energy rose up and formed a wall that absorbed the ecto-energy. If looks could kill Key's glare could have killed Spirit ten times over.

"I'm possible, you shouldn't have been able to stop that attack let alone absorb it!" Spirit yelled in outrage.

"I guess I'm more powerful than you thought." Key then crossed his blades. "Now let me show you some real power."

**(Play Final Fantasy XIII "Born Anew")**

The people in the crowd stopped cheering as they felt the power increase in the air. A shockwave almost blew Spirit away as he saw energy rise out of Key like a waterfall. Key then began his own transformation.

Key's Org XIII cloak became a white sage's cloak with a pale yellow hue. Key's grey hair then became blond and his brown eyes became a crystal blue. Oathbreaker disappeared in a white light and then Oathkeeper took its place in Key's hand.

**Angelic Forme**

"Whoa what's with all the costume changes around her, just like before with Spirit going ghost, Key has became some sort of sage like warrior, let's see if this is enough for him to pull out a win!" Plugman said.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Angelic Forme nya?" Ravena asked.

"Punnyaaaa" The neko meowed in awe.

"This fight is serious now." Bella said.

(Infirmary)

A recovering D.B. was watching the last fight as he rested in a medical tent. As he quickly healed he looked and saw Key's transformation.

"Oh yeah, kick his ass Key!" D.B. said to the screen.

(Tournament Stage)

"Let me show you why these keys chose me." Key then ran towards the halfa.

"You really think a weapon, even a keyblade, can cut me? Spirit then went intangible as a method to block Key's strike. To Spirit's surprise the keys didn't pass threw him but struck dead center on his chest. It was now Spirit who was rolling on the hard stone floor.

"How, I was intangible." Spirit said.

"I would stop asking questions if I was you!" Key allowed light to build up on his hands.

**Holy!**

Spirit then flew to try and avoid the beams of holy energy. As several got closer and grazed his ghostly skin Spirit cried out in agony. Six beams of life then pinned him down on the tournament stage.

While exhaustion was visible on Key's face he readied himself for his final attack. "I can tell that someone like you gets joy out of breaking other people, you and your whole team, now it's your turn to be broken!"

**Holy Salvation!**

Spirit tried to move out of fear of dying but not only did the beams hold him in place, for some reason he was also paralyzed. Spirit could only watch and endure the devastating attack.

Out the back of Key's cloak celestial wings sprouts out and he then takes flight. Once airborne Key let go of his two blades and then began to he releases his keyblades and they begin to float around him similar to the hands off a clock. The blades suddenly point to the ground and shoot rays of light at the frozen phantom.

Spirit's cried were heard as several rays of light connected and began to purify his ghostly being, after so much pain he reverted back to his normal form. At the end of the light shower, Key took Infinity and Oathkeeper and combined it into a large sword of light.

"This is for my team!"

Key dashed to Spirit's weakening formed and then stabs the gigantic sword into the ground, causing a large explosion. The smoke covered the view of the winner as only one figure was standing in the smoke.

"Whoa, an epic explosion shakes the arena and it looks like from these stats I'm receiving from our hostess one of the fighters has died!" Plugman announced.

"Oh my dead you say, let's watch the smoke clear to see the winners of this exciting final round!" Kyoto once again commented.

The smoke then when fades Key is still standing tall over a large crater. Key's wings then fades away into particles and his clothes and features returned to normal.

"It's over, it's over the winners of the first round is Team Kurotsubasa!" Kyoto announced.

"You got that right, this fight was rolling from start to finish but in the end the guild with everything to prove stands tall over the smoke! Kurotsubasa is going to the semifinal round!" Plugman said.

Key staggers out of the rind and then fell to his knees. The guild then runs to check on the exhausted Beta.

"Key, Key, and how many claws am I holding up nya?" Ravena asked.

"I'm not that dizzy just tired and your hands right now not claws Rave." Key said.

"Well that was a good fight, now we just need to go check on D.B. and then check out the other battles." Bella said.

"Well we better get going then; D.B. may be impatient now because he may have healed by now." Illu said. The group helped Key to leave and begin to walk to the medical tents.

Shadow then felt a presence watching him and turned around to see that Team Destiny was watching over the Guild. The man, Sen, made a symbol in the air with his energy, a symbol very familiar to Shadow and the team walked away.

"Shadow, is everything okay?" Illu asked as she saw Shadow stop moving.

"No, it's nothing." Shadow then walked with the group.

(Infirmary)

"It's nice to see you guys win even though I had to blow our winning streak!" D.B. said as he started taking the bandages off his arms as his burns had healed.

"It's ok you didn't know the vapors were flammable and the force of the explosion could knock you out." Key said as he sat on the bed next to D.B's.

"Besides we still won and we have a shot at the semi-finals!" Bella cheered along Ravena and Punnya.

"I wonder what happened to Himiko or Shino wherever they are." Illu thought out loud.

"Before we worry about that let's see who's fighting next round." Shadow motioned the team to look at the screen.

"Well folks after taking a minute to repair the damaged stage it's time for the next round! Let the wheel of fat turn everyone!" Kyoto said.

"You got that right; let's see who the next lucky bastards to fight are and who will join Kurotsubasa in the semi-finals!" Plugman then started up the randomizer.

Names began to shuffle through the large screen and the remaining six watched for their turn to fight. The names then stopped and two names made themselves known to all.

Team Mercenary vs. Team Blockbuster

"Now we are in for a treat everyone, it's Team Mercenary versus Team Blockbuster! Let's see what these two powerhouses are going to dish out for us to watch everyone, don't leave your seats yet and if you have to pee sucks for you!" Plugman let the teams walk to the stage as their names were called.

"So it's Rose's team's turn to fight." Shadow said.

"Rose, oh you mean MAID FETISH nya!" Ravena said in realization.

"Do you really have to keep calling her that?" Shadow deadpanned asked.

"Well she has one nya unless what she did to me and Illu was a one-time thing nya." Ravena said.

"Punnya!" Punnya agreed as she remembered her experience with the bounty huntress.

"I wouldn't know but if you want to blame anything blame Evangeline from Negima for giving her that idea." Shadow said.

"Ok, ok enough with the crazy talk…" The team gave a look to Bella that said really, which caused her to become embarrassed and scratched the back of her head.

"Let's just watch the matches." Illu said.

(Tournament Stage)

"These are our opponents, two of them are weak women and the two only warriors don't even look that tough!" The bulked up leader of Blockbuster complained.

"We will see who's tough after we show you our power." Rose said with a tick mark to show she didn't like the women comment.

"Whatever, all this means is we get richer after we beat you!"

"I would have to disagree with that, the future is not on your side right now." Naenia said.

"Let's get this over with, how about best of three." Grim said trying to get the match over with.

"Three on three plus a joint battle!" The only thin and smart member of Blockbuster added.

"Fine by us, let's do this thing!" Wolf said and the teams left the stage except for two members.

"Alright everyone it's time for the second match to begin! Round 1…Rose versus…Andreas!" Kyoto announced.

"That's right everyone, the Beast Tamer, the Deadly Rose, the Beautiful Destroyer…Rose!" The light shined on Rose who paid no attention to the calls of the crowd (especially the male cat calls).

'Shadow I hope you're watching, what you see is only a sample.' Rose thought.

"For Blockbuster, the Living Boulder, the Muscle Massacre, the Raging Bull…Andreas!" The light shined on the shirtless teen with large steroid pumped muscles, white sweatpants with a belt made of iron and leather and white wristbands. Andreas had short hair and beady brown eyes.

"I'm going to crush you little girl." Andreas cracked his knuckles.

"Oh my look at your muscles, someone is overcompensating." Rose took a book from her former teacher. Rose's playful look then took another direction as she pulled out her daggers, Mazareth growled as he sensed the battle was near.

(Kurotsubasa)

"It's like David vs. Goliath!" D.B. said.

"More like Diana vs. Goliath." Bella said.

"Do you think she has a chance Shadow?" Illu asked.

"Right now I'm worried she's going to go overboard over how to humiliate Andreas, the poor steroid chomping dumbass." Shadow said. Kurotsubasa then got seated and watch the battle that was about to begin.

(Eclipse Stadium Outskirts)

"Do you think the rest have fought yet?" A voice said after he crushed a familiar pair of black goggles.

"Can't say, I just hope they finish Mistress' plan." A man with violet eyes said after he lit a rose whip up in black fire.

"The time will be coming soon."

**TBC…**

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><p><strong> You can't say I don't deliver a dramatic ending, this may be a while before I update again and also this computer I'm using is acting up, let's all pray that it isn't a virus. So for all of you wish me luck and all I have to say is…<strong>

**REVIEW!**

**REVIEW!**

**And REVIEW!**

**(Authors who appeared)**

**Lightning Thief**

**Meteothundrus**

**Wolfey141**

**(Insert announcer voice here)**

**The next few round of the Tournament are heating up as Team Mercenary start their battle with the jock happy Tea Blockbuster. Also several things are happening in the Tournament that not only catches the Admin's attention but shadow's as well.**

**Next Time: Another Goddess exist, who is Kusanagi?**

"**Who are you guys and tell me what this symbol is!" Shadow yelled.**

"**Oh you're talking about Nee-san!" Aka cheered.**

"**Neesan?" Shadow said.**

"**That's his way of addressing our Mistress, Lady Kusanagi." Sakura said.**


	8. Chapter 8: Another Goddess exists?

** Welcome all to the next exciting chapter, the internet at my house has finally been repaired but unfortunately that means everyone else at my house can go on the computer too so my updating times will be limited. I decided to finish all my stories to certain arcs starting with this one because it will be easier to write and update. So be proud the Tournament Arc will continue to its conclusion before I update my other fics. Also from some reviews and messages I have created the wiki for this story, didn't know it would be complicated to make but I will have some of the pages up and running. Look to the Announcements to see what information I need from you for your wiki page.**

**Announcements:**

** The wiki is set up but it is still a little under construction. Anyone who wants the link just PM me and I will send you the link. For images the lovely neko Ravena Felidae is supplying me with wonderful artwork. I just hope that this wiki can be completed before the story does.**

** Also I want to acknowledge two authors who just created their own stories. I read both and they were both really good and funny at the same time so here are the stories:**

**Fanfiction World: Illu's Beginning by Illusionist Owl**

**A Hunter's Tales by Mister Grim**

**Now it's time for the reviews!**

**Reviews:**

**Mister Grim: Like I said I planned on doing the wiki after a few things but with how my computer is behaving it will take a while.**

**Ravena Felidae: Down kitty, down girl.**

**Deus-rasengan2: The final fight won't come for a while but I may give you a freebie.**

**Orihara-Heiwajima Sakuya: And that fight begins now, enjoy.**

**Illusionist Owl: Here's the next chapter and a preview of your new power.**

**Now that all of this is over ON WITH THE SHOW!**

"Aaaa"-Speech

'Bbbb'-Thought

'_Cccc'-Flashback_

"**Dddd"-Attacks**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any anime/game/cartoon or things of that nature; they belong to their original creators. I also do not own any OC character that I did not create, they are owned by their original authors. All I own is the idea, the plot and anything else with my name on it.**

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><p>"<em>They say that absolute power corrupts absolutely, obviously that doesn't work if you aren't already corrupted." Shadowlight0982.<em>

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><p>Ch. 8: Another Goddess exist, who is Kusanagi?<p>

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><p>(Tournament Stage)<p>

(Play YuYu Hakusho PS2 Dark Tournament Theme)

"These are our opponents, two of them are weak women and the two only warriors don't even look that tough!" The bulked up leader of Blockbuster complained.

"We will see who's tough after we show you our power." Rose said with a tick mark to show she didn't like the women comment.

"Whatever, all this means is we get richer after we beat you!"

"I would have to disagree with that, the future is not on your side right now." Naenia said.

"Let's get this over with, how about best of three." Grim said trying to get the match over with.

"How about a three on three fight plus a joint battle?" The only thin and smart member of Blockbuster added.

"Fine by us, let's do this thing!" Wolf said and the teams left the stage except for two members.

"Alright everyone it's time for the second match to begin! Round 1…Rose versus…Andreas!" Kyoto announced.

"That's right everyone, the Beast Tamer, the Deadly Rose, the Beautiful Destroyer…Rose!" The light shined on Rose who paid no attention to the calls of the crowd (especially the male cat calls).

'Shadow I hope you're watching, what you see is only a sample.' Rose thought.

"For Blockbuster, the Living Boulder, the Muscle Massacre, the Raging Bull…Andreas!" The light shined on the shirtless teen with large steroid pumped muscles, white sweatpants with a belt made of iron and leather and white wristbands. Andreas had short hair and beady brown eyes.

"I'm going to crush you little girl." Andreas cracked his knuckles.

"Oh my look at your muscles, someone is overcompensating." Rose took a book from her former teacher. Rose's playful look then took another direction as she pulled out her daggers, Mazareth growled as he sensed the battle was near.

(Kurotsubasa)

"It's like David vs. Goliath!" D.B. said.

"More like Diana vs. Goliath." Bella said.

"Do you think she has a chance Shadow?" Illu asked.

"Right now I'm worried she's going to go overboard over how to humiliate Andreas, the poor steroid chomping dumbass." Shadow said. Kurotsubasa then got seated and watch the battle that was about to begin.

(Tournament Stage)

"Ok everyone, Rose versus Andreas…ready FIGHT!" Kyoto then dashed outside of the ring.

Rose decided to start offensive and ran towards the bulk behemoth with her daggers drawn. Mazareth was running alongside her.

"I'll crush this little girl and her kitty!" Andreas made a massive jump and slammed down back to earth.

**Rock Wave!**

The attack sent of wave of rock and debris of the stage right into Rose and Mazareth's path. Rose then jumped on Mazareth's back and the tiger leaped high into the air.

"I think we should give him a sample of our skills Mazareth." Rose then started to create air currents around Mazareth's claws.

The tiger roared and acknowledged his master and slashed his claw through the air and sent of multiple blades of wind.

**Tiger Gale Claw!**

Andreas crossed his arms and endured the tearing wind, but the wind blades only bounced off his body. The only evidence of the attack was the light amount of scars missed in with Andreas' own scars.

"Whoa now, Rose's plan was to bend the air around her kitty's claws and used a tearing wind attack but all it did was bounce off of Andreas' hard bulk and added a few scars to his collection!" Plugman yelled.

"I wonder how Andreas will respond; does he even have a strategy at all?" Kyoto asked.

Red aura glowed around Andreas and his muscles seem to bulk up even more. Andreas was now looking at Rose and Mazareth as they descended from their fall.

"You think some puny wind can beat Andreas!" Andreas then clapped his hands and sent a sonic boom towards the two.

Rose gave Mazareth the mental order to separate and the pair once again split apart to avoid the attack. Andreas focused his attention on Rose and charged for her.

"I got you now girly!" Andreas would soon ram his body through Rose.

Rose raised her hand and a small ring on her hand glowed to create a shield, Andreas hit the shield head on and sparks started to fly as the shield began to push against Andreas' force.

"Well would you look at that, Andreas planned on running through our little flower when she put up a barrier. The shield is holding out against Andreas' muscle but who will be the first to break?" Kyoto said.

(Mercenary)

"So how are her chances?" Wolf asked.

"If you are worried don't be, Rose will win this battle." Naenia answered.

"Are you sure about that, didn't you say before it was hard to read the future here?" Wolfey asked.

"She isn't reading the future" Grim said as he sat down and looked like he was about to take a nap. "Rose has this; she can't lose because she has a desire to be fulfilled."

"And what is that?" Wolf asked.

"To prove her power to her teacher, and then defeat him." Naenia summed up.

(Kurotsubasa)

"How long do you think the shield will hold?" Illu asked.

"It looked like the same power she used against us, is that how she survived our attacks nya?" Ravena asked.

"From what we can see the shield is powerful, a rare item to say the least, but what are its limits?" Key asked.

"Its limit is strength" Shadow caught their attention.

"Strength nya?" Ravena asked.

"Yes, strength, Rose's shield can only be broken by a move more powerful then Rose herself. That's why my Gravity Wave was able to destroy it easier than an attack from claws or a glaive." Shadow explained. "But right now I'm surprised the shield is holding up as long as it is."

"Does that mean she got stronger?" Bella asked.

"Could be" Shadow continued to watch the battle.

(Tournament Stage)

'Come on just a little longer!' Rose mentally told her ring as the shield began to form cracks.

"Time to make little shield go bye bye!" Andreas was about to give the shield one final push before he was struck from behind.

Andreas let out a roar and turned around to see Mazareth's claws covered in blood, his blood. Andreas complete forgot about Rose and walked towards the tiger.

"Time for the kitty to die!" Andreas then charged.

Mazareth leaped away but by some boost of intelligence Andreas held out his arm and caught him by the throat. Andreas could easily destroy the struggling big cat but he took time to gloat about himself.

"Little cat thought he could cut Andreas and not suffer, I'll crush you then the little girl!" Andreas was suddenly sent flying by an invisible force, Rose then ran to her pet, her bangs blocking her eyes.

Andreas got up from the crater in the ground he made. "Now the girl moves, I'll destroy you both in one blow!"

Rose then stood up and turned to Andreas. "The first mistake you made was calling me weak."

Andreas' body was once again covered in a red haze, Andreas concentrate on bulking up his huge muscles.

"The second mistake was hurting Mazareth."

Andreas finished his charging moment and proceeded to rampage towards the two, the crowds all watch with anticipation.

"Oh no, Andreas is using his technique Ultimate Rampage, will the bounty huntress get out of the way, no she's just putting a hand up! The match could be over here everyone!" Plugman shouted.

"It's over" Shadow said as Kurotsubasa continued to watch the climax of the battle.

"The third mistake" Rose's eyes revealed an awakened Rinnegan. "…Was standing in the way of my goal!"

**Ultimate Rampage!**

**Almighty Push!**

Andreas was stopped dead in his tracks, the juggernaut was no match for the force of gravity around him. Andreas was then blown away to the edge of the stage, the behemoth panted as he tried to think of how he was stopped.

"What happened, I am Andreas, and no one can match my power!" Andreas howled.

"Then let that power be your downfall" Rose raised her hand in the aim in the shape of a sword. Rose then slashed her hand down, delivering judgment.

**Almighty Push!**

Andreas crossed his arms to block but the gravity around him became intense, Andreas was forced on his knees before he slammed face first on the tournament floor. Andreas felt the weight of his own muscles slamming against him but couldn't open his mouth to scream.

"This would be the time to say 'oh how the mighty have fallen' but really you're just a muscle head that charges first hoping to destroy me in one hit."

Andreas looked fearfully as Rose walked towards him with her diamond blades.

"I will use you as an example as to not underestimate me." Andreas looked into the cold purple pupils of the girl. Andreas' soon felt a new pain, the pain of the dagger entering his skull and he was dead.

As the data begins to fly Rose takes her dagger and walks to her wounded pet, but not before one last look towards the crowd.

(End YuYu Hakusho PS2 Dark Tournament Theme)

"There you have it everyone the winner of the first match, Rose!" Plugman announced and the crowd went wild. Team Mercenary sees the winner walks back to the booth.

"None of you better lose." Rose said as she led Mazareth to the medical tents.

(Kurotsubasa)

"That move that pose nya" Ravena then looked at Shadow. "Did she copy that from you?"

"It's not that hard a technique to learn if you can already use gravity, as for the pose she was sending me a message." Shadow said.

"A message?" Illu asked confused.

"Yeah, to use all I got when we fight again." Shadow said.

(Team Destiny)

"Is she the other human Oneesan sent us to get Sen?" Aka asked.

"No, there is the desire in her heart but she is not who we are looking for." Sen said.

"So when do we make our move?" Sakura asked.

"Just wait and see what fate brings us." Sen continued to watch the battle.

(Team Darkblade)

"You think Lord Chaos would be interested in her?" One of the team members asked.

"Please, why would Chaos bother with a little girl?" Another member asked.

The team continued their discussion until Amaterasuice appeared before them. The boy looked over the team before a huge grin was plastered on his face.

"None of you need to worry about recruiting anyone for Chaos, what you need to be concerned with is Kurotsubasa, that is all." Amaterasuice reminded them.

"Oh really, what's stopping us from doing what we want?" A large man towered over Amaterasuice.

Amaterasuice just smiled at the large fighter. "For two reasons, one I am Chaos' second in command and two"

Amaterasuice summoned a katana out of nowhere and proceeded to stab the rebelled warrior. The man however caught the blade before it reached his heart.

"Hah, you have to try better tha…" The man stopped as a spiked burst from Amatersuice's chest and through his heart. The spike retracted and the man hit the ground, he began bleeding out before he crumbled away into dust.

"Anyone else want to go against orders?" Amaterasuice asked the remaining six. After hearing no objections Amatersuice left to check the readings on the scouter Chaos gave him.

'This thing was made to read the levels of darkness in people's hearts; well I see why Shadow is so special it's over 9000!' Amaterasuice laughed at his joke.

(Team Mercenary)

"So who's next?" Grim asked.

"This is supposed to be a joint battle right, 2 on 2?" Wolf asked.

"Yeah" Grim answered.

"How about you and I fight and Naenia can have the final battle." Wolf suggested.

"That seems like a good strategy for once, you two can secure us a win and then…" Naenia started.

"No thanks" Grim said as he sat down.

"No thanks, what does that mean?" Wolf asked.

"I don't feel like fighting just yet, and fighting with another person will get in the way of my style of fighting, you guys go ahead." Grim waved them forward.

Wolf looked to Naenia but the bounty huntress only shook her head, when Grim got this way there was almost no way to convince him.

"Let him be, I hope your skills are as good as you say they are." Naenia warned him.

"Don't worry about it; all you need to do is give me some range leave the frontal attacks to me." Wolf said confidently.

(Tournament Stage)

(Play YuYu Hakusho PS2 Dark Tournament Theme)

"Alright everyone t is time for the next round, Kyoto tell them how this game is going to be set up!" Plugman announced.

"You got it; this battle is structured differently than all the battle we have seen so far it is a joint battle!" Kyoto got the crowd pumped up.

"From Team Mercenary we have the Mistress of Ice, Seer of the future, the Arctic Priestess, Naenia and her teammate, the Earthbound Beast, the Bounty Trickster, and the ever powerful Wolf!"

Naenia and Wolf took their side of the stage. Naenia did nothing but take in the applause while Wolf was waving back at the crowd and was paying special attention to several females in the crowd.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Naenia and Wolf, who are they?" Bella asked.

"Both are some crazy bounty hunters, at least that's all I know." D.B. said.

"Crazy is an understatement, Naenia literally is a psychic, she can predict the future somehow some have called her the Seer of Disaster." Key said.

"Seer of Disaster nya" Ravena repeated.

"Punnyaaa" Punnya said.

"What about Wolf?" Illu asked.

"I don't know much, Wolf has a history as a thief more than a bounty hunter; he makes his living stealing from higher ranked players and selling what he stole." Key answered.

Shadow then noticed a presence behind the team. "I thought you went to the infirmary already Rose."

Kurotsubasa turned around and indeed the bounty huntress was there behind them. Rose just calmly walked and looked at the screen.

"I just dropped Mazareth off, came here because it's more convenient then walking all the way back." Rose explained.

"I bet" Ravena was still in a Bakeneko stance, Punnya was hissing right beside her.

"And how do we know you won't try anything?" Illu asked as she aimed her glaive at Rose. Mukurowl landed on her head with his symbol slightly glowing.

"Alright everyone calm down" Shadow said.

"Shadow"

"But Shadow nya"

"No one is here to fight; besides if we do fight we will be disqualified for fighting in the Infirmaries." Shadow said. While hesitant, Illu and Ravena calmed down and put away their weapons.

"Oh don't see me as a threat?" Rose asked.

"Not really and I caught your little message, we will see when our teams fight." Shadow said.

"What's stopping me from fighting you after the tournament?" Rose asked again.

"Cause I know you, you want to defeat in front of an audience don't you?" Shadow asked back.

"Touché" Rose said and everyone turned to the screen.

(Tournament Stage)

"Their opponents from Team Blockbuster, the Dynamite Duo, the Explosive Force, the Enforcers…Blast and Burner!"

Two twins then walked on the Blockbuster side of the stage. Both were boys about seventeen curly black hair and tan skin with green eyes looked at Team Mercenary. The one Blast was wearing a black no sleeve V-neck shirt, red sweatpants and sneakers. The other twin, Burner, had a red no sleeve V-neck shirt, black sweatpants and sneakers. Both had huge grins that threaten to tear their faces in two.

"I hope you don't mind…

"…If we break this stadium a little bit." The boys spoke.

"Doesn't matter with me, you two will be the ones leaving broken." Wolfey got in a brawler's stance.

"The future says you shall lose this battle." Naenia pulled out her tessen and katana.

"Alright round 2, ready…FIGHT!" Kyoto then fled the scene.

Blast and Burn combined hands and brought them down onto the marble ground.

**Burning Blast!**

A large shockwave of sound and flames went in all directions; several close seat fans shielded themselves as the attack hit the barriers around the booths. Wolfey shifted stances and brought up a wall of earth to block the attack.

"I know why they're called Blockbuster now, they literally level anywhere they want to fight!" Wolf complained.

"This is not the time for complaining" Naenia tried to create ice but it melted away by the heat in the air. Naenia then flipped a secret compartment in the tessen which held senbon.

"Follow my plan exactly" Naenia ordered.

"Whatever psychic lady!" Wolf then placed a hand on the wall he formed and the rock began to surround his form. Wolf now had an armor of rock around him (similar to Kevin from Ben 10 AF/UA)

Wolf jumped over his wall and charges through the flames.

"Amazing, Wolf seems to be covered in some kind of armor that is shielding him from the flames, Wolf is now charging his way to the terrible twins!" Kyoto said.

"Wow first time for everything huh bro?" Burner asked.

"Yes this is the first time someone actually charged through our joint move, but we are not Andreas we will not fall to simple tactics." Blast held his free hand forward.

**Sonic Wave!**

Wolf was blasted by a wave of sound and skids across the stage. Wolf looked to see the twins beginning to separate. Wolf then used earthbending to separate the twins from each other.

"It seems he wishes to separate us brother!" Blast said.

"Then by all means" The brothers released hands and they ran to their intended targets. Blast was running to Wolf while burner was surfing a fireball towards Wolf's rock wall.

"Looks like her plan is working." Wolf then crossed his arms to block another sonic wave. Blast then punch wolf in the center of his chest and a blast of sound exploded on contact.

**Sonic Boom!**

Wolf yelled as his ears ringed and the rocks left his body leaving him vulnerable. Wolf then steadily got back up and absorbed the marble from the stage.

"That's it I'm done playing defense!" Wolf made a shield and sword with his hands and charged.

Burner made it to the wall and prepared a fireball. "I got you now!"

A wave of ice then force Burner's hand and cancelled his attack, Naenia then kicked him in the chest and blew him away with several wind blades. Burner held up his hands to shield his face from the slashing wind.

"Amazing it seems like Blast and Burner was in control until Wolf and Naenia turned it all around, this is looking more and more like Team Mercenary's victory ya'll!" Plugman said.

Blast avoided Wolf' slashes and tried more sonic attacks, Wolf shielded himself as much as he could but marble continued to fall of his body. Wolf then slammed Blast with two aluminum bats. Blast was sent flying from the suddenly summoned weapons. Wolf let the marble shell fall and replaced it with the metal from his bats.

"Time to play ball!"

Naenia sent wave after wave of senbon flying from her tessen, Burner tried to melt all the projectiles but several made their way into his right arm disabling it. Naenia then threw her fan at her target. Burner used his flames to take off into the air.

"Such a beginner's tactic, escaping to the air and leaving yourself vulnerable!" Naenia then sent a combined wave of wind blades and ice.

**Arctic Pressure**

Burner used his flames to negate the attack but he almost a frozen statue in the air. Burner was then saved by a blast of sound. Naenia looked and saw Blast with a hand in the air smoking and blood dripping from his head.

"Enough of these foolish tactics!" Blast then fly away from Wolf. Burner copied his brother's idea and used his flames as rockets and propelled himself away from Naenia.

"Enough of these foolish tactics, Burner it is time!" Blast held out his hand.

"Yes brother!" Burner connected his hand with Blast's.

**Helping Hand!**

The brothers then glowed white and their wounds began to heal slightly, wolf was about to stop their attempt to regenerate but Naenia held him back.

"No, this is just as I have foreseen" Naenia then held out an ice mirror. "They are attempting to fuse together now."

"Fusion, as in DBZ fusion or another type of fusion?" Wolf asked.

"It is as you said, DBZ style fusion" Naenia allowed her mirror to evaporate. "Let us watch."

(Team Mercenary)

"Looks like the finale is here." Grim opened his eyes as he felt the brother's rising energy.

(Kurotsubasa plus Rose)

"Why are they just standing there, they are healing nya?" Ravena said.

"Punnya!" Punnya said.

"One way or another, this fight is going to end." Shadow said.

"And it will be Naenia and Wolf that will be victorious." Rose said confidently.

(Tournament stage)

"Their energy is rising" Wolf warned the seer.

"I know, just focus on your end of the plan." Naenia began of series of one handseals.

"Alright then" Wolf got into the Hung Gar stance.

After recovering from their injuries the two brothers got in position. The brothers then got into a pose familiar to all in the arena the fusion pose.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" The brothers began.

"sion!"

"!"

A bright light engulfed the two and they began to merge into one, Naenia then gave Wolf a signal and he began to sink the fusion warrior down into the earth. The fusion warrior appeared from the light and looked at his sunken feet with an amused look.

"You really think this is going to hold me?" The combined Blastburn asked.

"No it's just supposed to keep you in place." A voice said around him.

The fusion then saw water particles condense in the air until they formed a dome of mirrors. In the mirrors Naenia's image appeared around the sunken warrior.

"Please a technique like that, what makes what you are doing so original?" Blastburn tried to force himself out of the earth.

"Well this for starters" Particles of light then began to gather to the Naenia images. The cage of mirrors was soon surrounded by a cyclone.

"Not only will I skewer you to pieces, I won't have to worry about that little fire power of yours." Naenia said confidently.

"Oh yeah!" Blastburn fired of wave of fire that was immediately snuffed out by a blast of wind. The warrior tried to ready a sound attack but a barrage of senbon stopped him from concentrating his powers.

"Well isn't this a treat everyone, the almighty fusion of Blast and Burner can't even make a move it's like them fusing together was part of Wolf and Naenia's plan, how are they going to counter?" Plugman asked the audience.

(Speed and Leon)

"This battle is over" Leon said.

"It's not over until someone is code, but by all accounts this "battle" is finished." Speed agreed.

(Tournament Stage)

"I have had enough!" Blastburn was ready to unleash a supernova before something sliced through his torso. The downed fusion saw Wolf now in a metal shell, several senbon in one hand and his other hand the blade through his chest.

"As much fun as kicking your ass was, we need to move this along." Wolf slid his arm out and let the fusion disappear into pixels.

"There you have it everyone the winner of round 2 is Team Mercenary!" Kyoto announced.

(End YuYu Hakusho PS2 Dark Tournament Theme)

(Kurotsubasa)

"That's 2 to 0, and unlike you we will make it a complete 3." Rose said.

"Why are you still here, don't you have a team to root for nya?" Ravena asked.

"Punnya!" Punnya hissed.

"They do not need my encouragement nor do we need such things. We are not friends, barely allies; we all have goals that are easy to get by combining our abilities together." Rose explained.

"I just don't get people like you stepping over people because of some goal!" Illu snapped.

"And didn't you once use these people for a goal?" Rose asked. Illu was shocked at how Rose knew that information.

"How do you know anything like that?" Bella asked.

"To find information on a player it's best to start with who they ally with, there are informants who know much about what goes on in FFW" Rose said cryptically.

Key clenched his fists as he knew who had that information. 'R-o-M, I know you are neutral but what you do still pisses me off, beta or not.'

"So I guess you are the pot calling the kettle black." Rose continued.

"Enough!" Shadow interrupted.

"Are you done, because it is obvious that you don't really need to stay here?" Shadow asked after regaining his temper.

Rose was hesitant but she made her way to the exit. "One more thing, don't lose your life is mine to take."

Shadow put a hand on his temple. "She will never get the lesson will she?"

"Enough of your mysterious past the last match is starting!" Bella showed everyone the screen.

(Tournament Stage)

"Now everyone it is time for the conclusion of the second match, let's meet our two final fighters!" Plugman signaled to Kyoto.

"Alright Plug, from Team Mercenary we have a walking legend everyone, the Lazy Hunter, the Phantom Shadow, the Shinigami, the Grim Reaper…Mister Grim!" Kyoto announced.

Grim stood from his resting place and walked to the stage. After a small yawn he looked across to the final member of blockbuster. The final fighter had a smug look on his face as if he had already won the fight.

"And from Team Blockbuster, the Calculative Mind, the Mirror Master, the self-proclaimed Number 1 Genius, Decker!"

Decker stood on his place on the stage. Decker was about 5'4" and was wearing a V-neck no sleeve black shirt under a lab coat, dark blue dress pants and brown boots. Decker's calculative acid green eyes studied Grim as if he was a specimen on a dissection table.

Decker began to play with his short black hair. "This will be interesting, me against the Grim Reaper."

"I already know that look on your face and I'm not interested." Grim blatantly spoke.

"Funny, usually I don't give you much of a choice." Decker then pulled out a set of scalpels.

"Ok time to begin round 3, Grim vs. Decker, ready…FIGHT!"

Grim jumped back and pulled out a clay sculpture of a bird. Grim threw it forward and the bird grew in size and flew towards Decker. Decker just watched they clay creature fly his direction.

"Interesting"

**Katsu!**

An explosion now stood where the bird connected with Decker. Grim watched as the smoke rises in the air.

"It can't be over, that's too easy." Grim said.

"Right you are" Decker walked out the smoke cloud unscathed. "Just to let you know you'll need more than that to kill me." To prove his point Decker slashed an arm off only for a new one to grow in its place.

"Instant regeneration?" Grim asked himself.

"Now let's begin!" Decker then slides and dashes around the whole arena.

"Wow what speed, you would never suspect someone like him to move that quickly!" Kyoto said surprised.

(Audience)

"The Mad Surgeon Decker versus the famed Grim Reaper" R-o-M spoke as his eyes glowed as he memorized information. "What an interesting conclusion."

Decker continue with close slashes only for Grim to dodge each one, Grim then saw he was moved to the edge of the ring.

"I got you now!" His rushing hand was then stopped by something or someone. Decker looked and saw a large shadowed hand reaching from Grim's shadow.

(Play We Are One by 12 Stones)

"Couldn't calm down and rest can you?" Grim seemed to ask his shadow.

The shadow then rises and performed several body gestures that Grim seemed to understand. The monster was basically a black formed, shadow version of Grim almost like that of a heartless. The shadow then pushed Decker back and allowed Grim to walk away from the edge.

"Not that I'm not thankful but you could have timed that quicker, no need to be dramatic." Grim said. The shadow responded with an apologetic gesture.

"What is this, complete animation of one's shadow?" Decker thought out loud. "Oh well more for me to research when I dissect you."

"Don't count on that, Doppelman!" The shadow understood the message and threw Grim towards Decker with surprising power.

"What kind of strategy is this, you trying to self-detonate, and that won't work!" Decker created a transparent wall in front of him.

Grim got himself in position as he flew through the air, in a flash of light chainsaw blades appeared along his legs and the sound of their grinding fills the air. Grim then began to spin as his attack connected to the barrier.

**Saw Foot First Gear: Drill of Destruction!**

The barrier didn't last long as the saw blades grinded through the solid wall. Decker was frozen as he watches the attack continue in slow-motion before he steadied himself. Decker then released a familiar attack.

**Sonic Boom!**

A familiar wave of sound blasted Grim back into the air, Grim saw Decker ignite his hand and he readied another clay explosive. Grim threw his claw birds while Decker unleashed flames.

**Katsu!**

**Burning Blast!**

The attacks canceled each other in a large explosion. Grim landed on the ground and Doppelman rose to his side. Doppelman made rapid gesture and weird shapes with his body.

"I know I know, somehow he can use his teammates abilities." Grim translated.

(Team Mercenary)

"How is he doing that, you only get four powers that's it, what power gives you the abilities of your teammates?" Wolf asked.

"Interesting" Naenia said. Rose appeared back with her team and saw that the battle was still taking place.

"How is he doing?" Rose asked.

"Well he just found out that guy can use his teammate's abilities then there's also the fact that he still has another power he hasn't shown." Wolf summed up.

"So he has no chance is what you're saying?" Rose asked.

"No not that, but I can say this battle will end in a surprising way." Naenia said.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Instant regeneration, copying moves, high speed movement" Key listed out Decker's powers.

"If he can copy moves why not copy Grim's" Bella asked.

"I don't think copying moves is that power, brother bond maybe?" Shadow said.

"So how is the Grim Reaper pulling himself out of this one?" D.B. asked.

"What about Decker's last power?" Illu asked. Mukurowl popped out her long hair.

"This does not look good nya" Ravena said.

"Punnya!" Punnya agreed.

(Tournament Stage)

**Rock Wave!**

A tidal wave of stone and marble crossed through the stage as Grim dashed to the side. Grim used his saw foot to increase his speed as he tried close combat.

**Saw Foot First Gear: Vortex of Carnage!**

Grim stood on his hands and let loose a barrage of cuts. Blood and pixels shot through the air but Decker's regeneration plus Andreas invulnerability kept the mad surgeon alive. Grim stopped his attack when he saw the liquid hitting the ground was silver and metallic but not blood.

"What is this?" Grim asked only to be swallowed whole by the ooze. Doppelman acted quickly to a mental command and covered the ooze, Decker, and Grim inside itself creating a box.

**Magic Trick**

"What the world, not only did Decker burst into putty and swallowed Grim, but the shadow swallowed up Decker! What is going on here?" A large question mark blared on Plugman's screen.

"Whatever happens there has to be a winner, both sides were team leaders! All we can do is watch!" Kyoto added.

(Decker's Body)

"The power of Baby, that's your last skill." Grim replied as he looked to the metallic red eyed Decker.

"Yes, with the help of my leeching power this also helped to get those bums known as Blockbuster under my control." Decker said.

"So what is your reason for entering, not the money I hope." Grim asked.

"Oh no I seek something more important than money, knowledge. Knowledge is the universal key, the answer to all secrets, to all questions; whoever has the most knowledge controls the world." Decker explained.

"My plan was first to absorb an Admin Guard or even an Admin to learn their secrets but with the arrival of the Wings of Creation I couldn't help myself. I found three random fools to become my team to compete." Decker's eyes began to glow. "Now to control your body and win this battle."

"Not going to happen" Grim held up a hand seal. "Have you forgotten my explosives?"

"You wouldn't dare try it, with your shadow keeping us trapped that kind of explosion will kill us both!" Decker exclaimed.

"OH really, let's tests that 'knowledge' then." Grim sent chakra to his remaining explosives.

"Nooooooooooooooo!"

**Katsu!**

(Tournament Stage)

The black box then ignited and a large shockwave rocked the stadium. Kyoto was blown away by the wind while the crowd watches through the barrier. A large smoke cloud and a twitching Doppelman was all that could be seen.

"Can it be, is the battle over?" Plugman asked.

Out of the smoke was Decker barely standing, light flashed from his wounds as his skin grew back. Decker then loses consciousness and hit the floor showing Grim standing behind him. Doppelman then became his shadow again.

"In a surprising conclusion the winner is Mister Grim; the winners of round 2 are Team Mercenary!" Plugman announced and the crowd applauded.

"You ok?" Naenia asked.

"Nothing a little rest can't cure." Grim then left t for a change of clothes as half of his shirt and cloak were turned to ashes by the close explosion.

"What the hell possessed him to try a suicidal technique like that?" Wolf asked.

"Because for Grim it wasn't suicidal" Rose said.

"Except for the heat of the explosion, Grim is never affected by the force or shockwave of his or any explosion." Naenia explained.

"So he planned all that?" Wolf asked again.

"No"

"No"

(Kurotsubasa)

Ravena lay on an open bed. "Intense nya"

"Punnya" Punnya lay asleep next to her master.

"So who all is left?" Bella asked.

"DarkBlade, Destiny, Renchard, and Wave Storm" Key listed out.

"Speaking of storm, who is on Wave Storm?" Shadow asked.

"Don't know, didn't pay attention to who was fighting." D.B. admitted.

"Well like Renchard they and Destiny are outnumbered compared to DarkBlade, chances are we won't face them next round." Illu pulled Mukurowl out her hair and stroked his feathers.

"All of this is too much, I need some air." Shadow stood and left the Infirmary.

(Tournament Stage)

"Alright everyone it is time for Round #3, how you doing down their Kyoto?" Plugman asked.

"I could be better but I like to see how you last down here." Kyoto said.

"No thanks, my warranty doesn't cover explosions, anyway let's run our next two teams! Plugman allowed the screen to show the next two fighters.

Team Destiny vs. Team Renchard

"Here we go everyone the one man team is now against the three unknowns, now let's welcome Team Dest…?" Kyoto and the audience were surprised to only see one member of Team Destiny walking to the stage, Sen.

"Sorry no need to question but where is the rest of your team?" Kyoto asked.

"Does this really look like this is the type of battle where I need my whole team?" Sen gentlemanly asked.

"Well okay, and you are?" Kyoto asked.

"You can just call me Sen." Sen then took his spot on the stage.

"Ok, anyway well there you have it from Team Destiny" Kyoto cleared her throat. "Alright now here he is the Silver Sword, the Aquatic Alchemist, the Supreme master of Seals…Renchard!"

Renchard then took his spot across from Sen. Renchard chose to forgo his Zanbato in exchange for a Chinese Wu Jian. Renchard took his stance and prepared for the battle.

'I can sense the turmoil of his soul; he may just be the thing Mistress is looking for.' Sen then got into a mock stance. 'Let's hop Sakura reminds Aka of phase 1.'

(Stadium Outskirts)

Shadow walked a bit away from the Stadium to the remains of Kurotsubasa's vehicle. Shadow took the time to absorb the damage.

"Definitely totaled, maybe we can have Bella use Upgrade to fix it." Shadow said out loud.

"Hiya!"

Shadow turned around and saw the little boy from Team Destiny. Aka had both hands behind his head his eyes closed and a wide smile. Shadow took the time to observe the mysterious character.

Aka looked now older than twelve with spiky blond hair that spiked in all directions, wearing what looked like a black shirt under a red vest, orange pants, and blue ninja sandals. Over all his clothes was a dark blue nearly black cape with a yellow gem broach keeping it pinned. Aka opened his energetic green eyes as he asked another question.

"Hey hey, you're shadow aren't ya?"

"Yes I am what off it?" Shadow asked. It may just be instincts but he didn't want to trust the little boy.

"Then you are the guy, you must be really strong huh?" Aka said excitedly.

"What do you…?" Shadow began.

"I mean handling those reinforced monster, that hole in the system, not to mention keeping Oneesan's symbol!" Aka continued.

"Who are you guys, what does that symbol mean?" Shadow got into his scythe stance.

"You want to know?" Aka's gem began to glow red. "You have to play with me first!"

**Zaker!**

(Tournament Stage)

"What is this, your whole team is gone and you're here all by yourself, are you toying with me?" Renchard asked.

"Nothing off the sort, actually quite the opposite." Sen said. "What happens next depends on what you show me in battle."

"Oh really, then I'll show you my power!" Power flew from Renchard in waves as he proved he was no one to underestimate.

Sen felt the power flow through the air and he let a large smirk light up his dark face. 'He is definitely what we need.'

(Stadium Outskirts)

Shadow dodged another blast of lightning from the mysterious youth. Every time he tried to find opportunity to summon his scythe he had to move quickly to dodge bolts of lightning.

"Is this all you can do, this is BORING!" Aka then put his hands together.

**Zakeruga!**

Shadow then saw his lightning blast travel in a straight line this time. Shadow took a few seconds to think before a plan flashed into his head. Shadow summoned his scythe right as the blast connected and smoke filled the area.

"Come on; don't tell me the fun is over already." Aka said as he watched the smoke rise.

"Actually it's just starting."

Aka froze as a voice spoke from behind. Shadow was standing behind the youth with his back turned and his scythe raised. Shadow opened his eyes as he was free of Aka's shadow. Shadow turned and slashed with his scythe and Aka blocked with a kunai but was sent flying by the strength of the strike.

"Wow how did you do that, I was sure my attack hit?" Aka asked.

"A little magic and your shadow helped." Shadow said and then vanished in a flash of black.

"My shadow?" Aka said to himself.

"Yep" Shadow slammed a palm in Aka's chest and he slid across the ground. "A little speed trick of mine I call it **Shadow Step**."

"Shadow Step huh, this is really starting to get fun." Aka rose to his feet. "I can see now why Oneesan is interested in a human like you and you know how to fight too!"

"Who is this Oneesan, and you called me human as if you're not?" Shadow said. "You're not human are you?"

Aka just smiled large as he got into a stance and cuffed his hands together. A blue sphere shined in-between his hands.

(Tournament Stage)

Sen dodged strike after strike of the Chinese weapon. Renchard continued his attacks as the amused look on Sen's face stayed plastered. Ren tried to calm his rage but something about that look was if he was just testing him.

'He hasn't made a move once, time to show him I mean business!'

Sen dodged another thrust but saw something slide along the sword edge and slashed clean through his left arm. Sen jumped back and saw the metallic slide solidify into nine silver marbles that Renchard held in his other hand.

"Ahaha, that is an amazing trick, show me more!" Sen said happily.

"You want more?" Renchard pulled out a scroll and unrolled it. Renchard slid his hand across the seal and water shot into the air.

"Water, what can water do to defeat me?" Sen asked.

"This" Renchard then somehow touched a drop of water and began a chain reaction. The water released began to glow a bright blue then turned to ice and rained down the stage.

Sen saw what happened and summoned a shield to repel the shards of ice now raining from the sky. Sen was so distracted with defense he didn't notice Renchard closing in or he lowered his guard to allow Renchard a close range attack.

Ren made a grab and caught Sen in the shoulder. "It's over" Ren used alchemy to dry the water in Sen's body, his arm began to shrivel as he started to become a husk.

(Tournament Outskirts)

Shadow dodged the giant blast of Ki and took the time to quickly cross the field.

**Hell's Fang!**

Shadow used the dark move to quickly move across the ground and disorientate the young fighter. Shadow then charged his hand with chakra to deliver the final blow.

"It's over!" Shadow then sensed another power and jumped to avoid a beam of light. Shadow turned and saw a girl straight from one of the Magical Girl Universes.

"What the eff, who are these guys?" Shadow asked himself rather than them.

"Aka, you were supposed to have your assignment complete, Sen is almost done do you want to get in trouble?" Sakura asked.

"Sorry Saku-neesan, but Yami-niisan over here was so much fun to fighting I completely forgot! But he was so~~~~ much fun, SO MUCH FUN!" Aka cheered.

Shadow saw a sign that the battle was over and returned his scythe back into his dimension arm. Shadow then approached the two members of Team Destiny.

"Now answer my questions, who are you guys?" Shadow commanded.

(Tournament Stage)

"You think it's that easy boy?" Sen asked as his arm returned to normal.

"What?" Ren soon locked eyes with Sen and suddenly the world stood still. Renchard looked and saw everything around them was frozen.

"Now we have some privacy to talk." Sen said as he got some distance away.

"Who are you?" Renchard asked.

"I am just a messenger from my master here to fulfill your wish." Sen said.

(Tournament Outskirts)

"Well I say he earned some answers don't you Aka?" Sakura asked the bouncing boy.

"Yep yep, Shadow is definitely fun; we should tell him some stuff." Aka said.

"I can answer one question you may already know, we are not human, we are ancient programs from the time of this world's creation, and feel free to call us NPC's if that is too much for you." Sakura said.

"We work for our Mistress Oneesan to get rid of all the humans who are making our world stinky, Oneesan want's all humans gone so we can have our world back." Aka said.

"Yeah I got that part already." Shadow held up his left arm and his sleeve slid to reveal the Wings of Creation. "If you know Izanami she already told me your history."

"Iza-neesan is alive! Yes Oneesan will be please to here that" Aka yelled excitedly.

"Since the boy is too hyper I'll ask you," Shadow pointed to Sakura. "Who it this Mistress?"

"Our Mistress is…" Sakura began.

(Tournament Stage)

"I come from the goddess of this world Mistress Kusanagi to grant your desire." Sen said.

"Goddess Kusanagi, wait who is that and what do you know about my desire?" Renchard held his sword defensively.

"I know you fight for someone you care for."

Renchard was so surprised by that statement he let his sword drop just a bit. Sen took his surprise as a will to continue.

"You have a family member, no a sister, who is in need of medical care. You her faithful brother has been fighting hard turning Munny into currency in the Real World to afford her medical operation." Sen summed up.

"How, how did you know that?" Renchard said with fear in his voice.

"Do not fear me child, I merely extend an invitation." Sen said.

(Tournament Outskirts)

"Our Mistress is Lady Kusanagi, the Goddess that now governs this world." Sakura said.

"What are you talking about, your Goddess is still sealed somewhere isn't she?" Shadow asked.

"Yes unfortunately Mistress is still sealed, but her influence extends far and wide." Sakura answered.

"The glitches, the destroyed areas, the powered up monsters" Shadow brought out the symbol he kept. "This symbol, you guys are behind all of this."

"Whatever it takes to get the nasty humans out, you guys are just like bugs that keep crawling over and spreading germs." Aka said.

"But does that justify sending people into comas?" Shadow said.

"Comas, what are you talking about?" Aka asked.

"All we are doing is expunging them from the world; we do nothing to them in reality." Sakura said.

'These guys aren't behind the comas.' Shadow thought. Shadow was surprise as the symbol he was holding began to glow.

"What is this?" Shadow dropped the glowing rune but found out he couldn't move.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Hey Shads has been gone a long time." Bella said.

"You're right, where do you think he went?" Key asked.

"Just leave it to me, I'll find him!" Ravena volunteered.

"Punnyaaaa!" Punnya flew in excitement.

"How will you find him Ravena?" Illu asked.

"When we first met I could feel Shadow's aura, I can use it to track him nya." Ravena explained.

"Punnya!" Punnya added.

"Oh, and Punnya knows the scent of his hair!" Ravena and Punnya left the tent. "We'll be back!" The two nekos waved to their teammates as they ran to find their missing leader.

"Hey Key is Shadow far?" D.B. asked.

Key closed his eyes and focused on the signatures around the stadium. "No he's still close by, and Rave's already found his location already."

(Tournament Outskirts)

Ravena and Punnya jumped and flew through the trees and saw Shadow with the other members of Destiny in a clearing. Ravena's cat ears were able to hear all they were saying.

"Huh, goddess, Kusanagi, NPC's, this is big nya!" Ravena said quietly.

"Punnya" Punnya agreed.

The two nekos continued to listened and watched the seal glow and Shadow become trapped.

"What's happening now nay?"

"Punnya!"

Aka turned around to the trees behind him. "Hey did you hear something?"

"I heard nothing but you and him and it seems he has an audience with Mistress." Sakura said.

"Hey you guys nya!"

The two programs looked at Ravena and Punnya as they entered the clearing.

(Shadow's mindscape)

"Where the hell am I?" Shadow looked and saw he was I an almost pitch black room. The only like came from the glowing crystal balls that flew around the room and the full moon and stars the shone through the skylight.

"So I'm in my mind." Shadow said.

"I believe the term is we." Shadow turned and saw that he was not alone in his mind.

"Izanami?" Shadow saw the goddess. The girl could be Izanami or her twin.

"Izanami, so you do know my sister, let me introduce myself." The girl looked exactly like Izanami only this girl had a darker silver hair and instead of a silver dress hers was as black as night.

"I am Kusanagi" Kusanagi introduced herself.

"You can be a real deity for all I care get out of my head!" Shadow demanded. A dark wind blew through the room as if representing his mood.

"So you do have a dark power inside of you." Kusanagi said. "I guess that's why she chose you; she always had a thing for balance."

"I said get out!" Shadow clutched his head as he felt himself overtaken by a dark power. "Not now, not after all these years."

"Oh I see you are suppressing your own power." Kusanagi then saw the room glow a tainted purple. She looked and saw a massive cage that was just hidden in the darkness. The silhouette of creature was flapping about as it was chained from all directions.

"You just get more interesting don't you?" Kusanagi asked.

The creature stopped struggling and Shadow gained control though his breath was labored. "What do you want, you goons already told me your plan?"

"What I want is simple; I came to give you a gift." Kusanagi said.

"A gift?" Shadow said.

"It looks like you have enough power with this thing struggling inside of you." Kusanagi raised a hand and a seal appeared. "Shall I free you from your bondage?"

"Stop it right now!" A scythe appeared in Shadow's hands. "That thing is sealed for a reason."

"And with it a sizable chunk of your power, you will need all you can handle to even stand as a threat to me." Kusanagi said.

"Oh really, I think I'm doing well enough." Shadow said.

"Two areas and one monster does not even make you a threat, right now you are just a nuisance I could destroy at any time." Kusanagi said. "However, what point would it be if I destroy you now?"

"Enough of this crap!" Shadow dashed forward and slashed. The scythe blade only passed through the girl as if she was just a specter.

"I'm afraid I am not truly free, you can't touch me in my present state." Kusanagi then focused on the seals. "Now about your power."

The first of the chains began to crack, then other. The creature opened its large crimsoned eyes and the chains shattered under its power, Shadow clutched his head in pain while Kusanagi was stunned by the wave of power.

"Incredible, to think that a human had this much power." Kusanagi then saw her image was fading; Kusanagi then left a symbol in the corner of Shadow's mind.

"Till we meet again, Shadow." The Goddess vanished.

(Tournament Outskirts)

Ravena saw Shadow hit the ground and rushed to his side. Punnya flew next to the fallen boy in worry.

"Hey Shadow, Shadow, wake up nya!" Ravena said.

"Punnya!"

"Looks like the meeting is over." Sakura said.

"Aw done already, let's go see if Sen is done." The two turned to walk away.

"Hey who are you guys nya!" Ravena asked.

Sakura turned her head and gave her a dark smile. "We are the Bringers of Destruction."

(Tournament Stage)

"So what do you say, forfeit and join our team, we will go to the finals. Not only will the prize be yours but also the bounty on that warrior's head." Sen bargained.

'If I do this, my sister will finally get the treatment she deserves.' Renchard clenched his fists. 'What should I do what should I do?'

Renchard then thought back to his sister. How she was always there for him, how he would take care of her while she was stuck in bed. To Ren he slowly watched his sister's condition seem to get worse.

"Yes, I'll do it."

"Perfect" Sen snapped his fingers.

Time returned to normal and the Sen turned to Cast and Rina's booth. "Attention Hostesses, I would like to speak something!"

"What is it?" Rina asked the man.

"There was no rule saying we couldn't recruit from other teams, I invite Renchard to Team Destiny if he accepts." Sen offered.

"Whoa, did I just here that right, Sen has extended an offer for Renchard to join Destiny and still have a shot at the finals!" Plugman yelled.

"Rina what are you going to do?" Cast asked her cousin.

"He is right there is no official rule." Rina then walked to the balcony. "I will allow this as long as Renchard agrees!"

Sen smiled and turned to Renchard. "Well, last chance."

"I accept" Renchard said.

"Well there you have it folks, in a shocking battle and ending the winner is Team Destiny!" Kyoto announced.

"Team Renchard us gone but Renchard joins Destiny's roster, don't worry folks he isn't going home yet!" Plugman added.

(Speed and Leon)

A signal rang from Leon's gauntlet, a strange signature was detected. "Speed."

"Alright let's go" Speed and Leon left the hall to investigate the energy signature.

(Audience)

"This is getting out of hand." A voice said. "Those two teams, the Admin Guard, and this new guild."

The boy ran a hand through his multicolor hair. "This tournament might as well be a battleground."

"Open"

A symbol glowed off his jester like clothes and a portal opened or him to walk through. The jester like man then walked through to another location.

(Shadow and Ravena)

"So what was all of that, who are those guys, and what about goddesses?" Ravena asked as Shadow now regained consciousness.

Shadow was petting Punnya's fur but even Punnya can sense his stress. Shadow looked to the catgirl.

"I can't tell you the whole story yet, but it looks like this tournament is more than meet the eye." Shadow said.

**TBC…**

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><p><strong>Well that is it for now and I hope everyone keeps enjoying this. Also one more thing I didn't add to the announcements is the idea of pairings. At first I didn't believe it was important with all the conflict and all but what really makes things interesting are the bonds and relationships overtime. Anyway that's my thought I just don't really know if I should go with it. Well until next time…<strong>

**REVIEW**

**REVIEW**

**REVIEW!**

**(Authors that appeared)**

**Fool**

**(Insert announcer voice here)**

** The Goddess Kusanagi has revealed herself and her goals but she isn't the only one with people watching the tournament. Shadow meets up with an old friend who is also entering the tournament; they are against Team DarkBlade the last remaining team who has secrets of their own. Will Wave Storm be able to survive a team whose motto is Total Annihilation? Also what is this power Shadow has locked away?**

"**Hey Light, be careful out there!" Shadow said.**

"**When have I ever not been careful?" Lightning asked.**

"**Don't make me answer that."**

**Next Time: The Chaotic Storm, and the Darkness Within.**


	9. Chapter 9: The Chaotic Storm

**Welcome to the next chapter, I'm sorry if this took a while but I have so much on my plate and I am only human. Well enough of these excuses you all came for an exciting chapter and I'm going to give you one. It is time to end this round and get to the real excitement.**

**Announcements:**

** Well the wiki is up like I said in the author's note last time, you can both join and add your own changes or you can just PM me what you would like on your page because I may just use the profiles you all have sent me.**

** Also since it was unanimous that pairings be allowed, there will be some fluff and love here and there. Actually creating pairings when everyone doesn't care who they are set up with will be tough try not to hate me when you see the possibilities.**

**Now it is time for the reviews:**

**Renchard19: Sorry it had to be done, but don't worry about you may be surprised about your character in the end.**

**Illusionist Owl: The only one specific about a pairing XD, let's see how I spin this along.**

**Orihara-Heiwajima Sakuya: You're welcome.**

**Wolfpakersson09: I may have more people appear in the stands and later on much more people will be introduced. All I ask is to be patient.**

**Ravena Felidae: Well that's enough to convince me to add pairings.**

** By majority rule it seems people would like the dramatic and secret revealing path instead of the dark and destructive path so everyone will know the first fight of the semifinals. Well since all of this is done ON WITH THE SHOW!**

"Aaaa"-Speech

'Bbbb'-Thought

'_Cccc'-Flashback_

"**Dddd"-Attacks**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any reference to any anime/game/show/book, etc. that appears in this story. I own the original plot (at least I hope its original) and my own characters and OC's. All other characters and references belong to their original creators.**

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><p>"<em>I see my power like a nuclear reactor, you can only control it for so long before something bad happens and millions die."-Shadowlight0982.<em>

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><p><strong>Ch. 9: The Chaotic Storm and the Darkness Within<strong>

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><p>"What was all of that in the woods nya?" Ravena continued to pry information out of Shadow.<p>

Ever since the confrontation with Aka and Sakura Shadow seemed to get more silent, Ravena saw Shadow eye the treasure attached to his wrist every now and again. Shadow sighed before he decided to finally say something.

"How much of the conversation did you hear?" Shadow asked. Punnya's ears twitched to the conversation as she enjoyed the ride on Shadow's head.

"Around the time when the seal appeared around your feet and you fainted nya?" Ravena answered.

"Passed out, I don't faint!" Shadow made that clear. "So you missed the part where they basically ambushed me after I checked our ride."

"Ambush, is that why only one guy showed up the fight, the others came to talk to you?" Ravena asked curiously.

"Punnya!" Punnya was surprised to hear the word ambush.

"In a nutshell yah" Shadow said.

"Then what was the seal about and who is Kusanagi nya?" Ravena wondered.

"The seal, not so really sure myself, maybe an intervention seal" Shadow answered the first question. "As for Kusanagi, maybe she's their team leader or something."

Ravena tried to read Shadow's emotions but he hid them well. 'He's hiding something nya.' Ravena thought.

'He's not exactly lying, but he is not telling the whole truth either.'

Ravena stopped mid walk and clutched her head. 'Why are you up, I thought you went back to sleep after last time the bell was off.'

'I got tired of the long catnap routine, besides your new friends seem interesting like the boy you're walking with.' The voice in Ravena's head continued.

'Shadow?' Ravena asked.

'Yes the last time I was released I did sense a dark power from inside him and now that power has grown. Maybe you should continue asking questions.'

"Rave, Rave, Felidae, earth to Ravena!" Shadow got Ravena out of her stupor.

"You can have your conversation later; we need to check out the final match." Shadow said.

"So you know?" Ravena asked. Punnya saw how quickly the mood changed between the two. Punnya then flew next to Ravena just in case.

"I have an idea but you can tell me whenever you want, god knows I'm the last one to be asking about others secrets." Shadow said.

Ravena agreed with that logic and let out a sigh. "So why do we need to hurry to the last match nya?"

"I need to see an old friend of mine." Shadow then started to walk again a little faster now. Ravena then continued after him.

"Hey wait for us!"

"Punnya!"

(Kurotsubasa)

D.B. was out of the bed and did a few light stretches. After a while he stopped to pick up his weapons and equipment and to change modes to make up for his lack of a shirt.

"You sure you should be moving D.B?" Illu asked.

"Of course, I heal much faster anyway and besides after this last battle the next rounds are tomorrow right?" DB asked.

"If they want to consider everyone's health and the chance of a better performance yeah, the Admin may just allow it to continue tomorrow." Key said. "The last battle is about to begin."

"DarkBlade, anyone else get a bad vibe from those guys?" Bella asked.

"Now that you mention it they do seem a little weird." D.B. admitted.

"A little, most of the guys on that team have committed several felonies, it is a miracle they were allowed to compete." Key said.

"What, shouldn't they be imprisoned or out of Server then?" Illu asked in fear.

"Maybe they did their time I don't know, but the tournament allowed anyone to fight, no discrimination." Key said.

"Either way let's hope they don't do anything too dangerous."

The rest of the guild turned and saw their missing two members. Ravena and Punnya took their original spots yet Shadow just walked and looked at the screen a little at DarkBlade.

"Shadow, Ravena you're back." Illu said. Mukurowl landed on Punnya and the two animals began to play around the room.

"Yeah sorry to make you guys worry" Shadow said sincerely before he gained a serious look. "Key did you see it?"

"Yeah I saw it" Key answered.

"Saw what, care to enlighten us?" Bella asked.

"DB where's the remote to this thing?" D.B. looked around his bed and handed the control to Shadow. After a rewind and a pause Shadow showed a familiar symbol that was on one of the members of DarkBlade.

"Chaos" Ravena said with a hiss. Punnya mimicked as they remembered the organization.

"What does Chaos want with this tournament?" Illu asked.

"We're talking about a group that wants to spread chaos and destruction, I think they can do plenty of that in a public event like a tournament." Bella said.

"I feel bad for Wave Storm, only one of them looks like he can actually fight the other…" D.B. then pointed to L.T. on the screen after Shadow hit play.

"That idiot" Shadow said silently.

"Shadow" Illu said.

"I'll be back, there's something I need to do first." Shadow then walked through the nearest shadow and disappeared.

"Magic nya!" Ravena said in surprise.

"You can say that, but what is he doing?" D.B. asked the others.

"We're about to find out." Key directed everyone to the screen and saw Shadow appear in the tournament.

(Tournament Stadium)

"Hey LT!" Lightning stopped walking to the stage as he heard a voice appear from behind him and Meteo. Shadow appeared out of their shadows and walked to them.

"What are you doing here, you already fought don't you?" Meteo asked.

"Don't worry about it Meteo, it's just a friend needing to talk to a friend." Lighting said.

"Yeah whatever you say, you aren't actually going to fight are you?" Shadow asked.

"And why not, we made it passed the preliminaries alright and I think we got a chance." LT said. "A small slim chance but we still have a chance."

"You idiot, not only are you outnumbered but these guys are bad news they will kill you if given the chance." Shadow tried to warn them.

"You are talking about the Chaos logo aren't you?" LT asked to Shadow's surprise. "Yeah you aren't the only one to know about them, don't worry if things get bad we'll get out of the battle."

"Light" Shadow then turned his back to them. "Fine, don't say I didn't warn you guys."

"Thanks for the fair warning." Meteo said after a while.

"Hey Light, be careful out there!" Shadow said.

"When have I ever not been careful?" Lightning asked jokingly.

"Don't make me answer that." Shadow then "stepped" away from the stage.

"Well now that that intervention is over let us begin the final round!" The crowd cheered as they already placed their bets on the winner, this fight seemed to be as one-sided as it gets.

(Audience)

"This seems a little unfair, six members against two." An Irish woman with bright red in a long dress said as she watched the battle while holding a book.

"Actually I think they have a good chance." The man next to her said.

"Moron, they are horribly outnumbered, they might just decide this with just one battle." The girl yelled back.

"Hey hey calm down Libra." The man calmed the woman down. "Special things always happen to the underdog just wait and see."

"Whatever BB" Libra turned to the battle.

(Scene Change)

"Man I can't believe Bunji and Phantom are missing this." A man said around the medical tents at one of the screens.

"Oh well their loss, this might be interesting considering the odds." The man said.

"Hey Wolfpack, hurry up and do your part!" A voice called.

"Coming!"

(Scene Change)

"This fight is unfair." A girl said as she watched the battle. She fiddled with the star shaped key that hung from her neck on a silver necklace as she continued to watch.

"I hope this won't be too harsh a battle." The girl said.

(Tournament Stage)

"Well everyone let's start this party, on one side we have the clear underdogs of this fight, the colliding elements, the forces of power and stealth, Team WaveStorm!" Plugman announced.

LT and Meteo walked on the stage and accepted the people that applauded them. They then looked at their opponents.

"On the other side of the ring we have these gruesome fighters, their motto Total Annihilation…Team DarkBlade!" Plugman announced.

After the noise from the crowd calmed down Kyoto took the time to begin what she thought to be a short match. "Ok team leaders decide the setup for the battles."

"Since we only have two people let's settle this in only one battle." LT offered.

"What fun would that be?" A member of DarkBlade asked and the rest laughed.

"How about this" Amaterasuice offered. "Let's make it interesting, you two against one of ours to make it fair."

"What is this, the leader of DarkBlade is allowing both of Wave Storm to fight just one of their members!" Plugman said in shock.

(Team Mercenary)

"What kind of an offer is that?" Wolf asked.

"Not really much of an offer." Rose said.

"They know Wave Storm has no chance so they are simply toying with them." Naenia said.

Grim was silent as he watched the watched the battle, every now and then he would look to the logo on every one of DarkBlade's members backs.

'Chaos huh' Grim thought.

(Kurotsubasa)

"What kind of game are they playing toying with people's pride?" Bella shouted. The rest of Kurotsubasa agreed with her outburst as Shadow appeared just in time to hear it.

"You expect much less?" Shadow asked.

"It is still up to them whether they accept the challenge." Key reminded them.

"Please let this be the one time LT uses his brain." Shadow hoped.

(Tournament Stage)

"If that's the way you want to play it, we accept." LT agreed to the terms.

In the distance almost everyone could have heard a loud outburst.

"Son of a bitch!"

(Kurotsubasa)

"That idiot, I hope he at least challenges the leader and ends this." Shadow said.

(Tournament Stage)

"So who are we going to fight?" Meteo said as he lifted a large anchor.

"Good question, Zane you are up." Amaterasuice walked out the stage and another teen took his place.

"With pleasure" The boy said. Zane stood tall, average built and dressed like Ike from Fire Emblem except his armor was black and red and he had red spiky hair with green eyes.

"Well you heard it from here everyone; it's Lightning and Meteo versus Zane!" Kyoto announced. "Can the Silent Thief, the Ignis Flame, the Great Assassin and the Aquatic Master, the Ocean Spirit, the Blue Demon defeat the Burning Sword, the Swift Blade, the Elemental Fiend Zane?"

"Well we are about to find out, Wave Storm vs. DarkBlade for the final round…ready FIGHT!"

Meteo suddenly pulled out what looked a surfboard and took to the air. Lightning started to run circles around Zane. Zane looked at the tactic with an amused look.

"What are you insects up to?" Zane asked out loud.

LT kept running and running until it looked like multiple LTs were running around the stage. Meteo looked from his hover board and waited for his signal.

"Fall for the bait, fall for the bait." Meteo said silently.

"I think I have seen enough!" Zane pulled out a broadsword and slashed clean through Lightning. Zane was about to gloat about how useless their plan was until the Lightning he cut puffed into smoke.

"What but I could have sworn!" Zane blocked a Lightning that came after him with several knives.

Zane pushed him back and readied his blade. "So you are the real one!" Zane cut through that on and the copy puffed into smoke.

Meteo took advantage of the situation and focused his power. Out of nowhere the word water appeared over his head and was shot into the sky. Meteo then went through a series of hand seals as he watched Lightning distract Zane.

After slashing through his third clone Zane looked at the six smiling copies all around him. Zane thought they were afterimages but when they stopped moving they stood plain as day, solid clones.

"Shadow clones" Zane said through gritted teeth.

"And you know the good thing about solid clones?" All of the LTs held out their right hand and a seal flashed. "Their attacks are also real."

Zane blocked himself as best he could as all the copies snapped their hands and wave s of fire surrounded the swordsman. A shield appeared around Zane that was holding off the flames, Zane struggled through the burning onslaught.

"You really think this will work?" Zane shouted.

"We'll see" The clones kept the fire going and forced it into a burning dome around Zane's barrier.

"Meteo now!"

Zane looked up and saw a massive dragon made of water in the sky. The dragons burning yellow eyes glared at him as Meteo finished his jutsu. With a silent command Meteo unleashed the beast.

**Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!**

The dragon slammed into Zane's burning barrier, steam was sent everywhere as scolding hot water broke Zane's barrier and the man screamed in pain as the dragon hit its mark.

"Amazing using fire alchemy and water dragon to break through Zane's shield and unleash a powerful joint move, these underdogs aren't pulling any punches people!" Plugman said in excitement.

(Kurotsubasa)

"A scolding water dragon?" Bella asked what many in her mind were thinking.

"How did they focus it so that the dragon didn't just evaporate?" D.B. asked.

"Who knows, what matters are that the fight could be over now." Shadow said.

(Tournament Stage)

LT looked as the steam clouded the arena to where Zane was standing, Meteo continued to stay topside and survey the damage. Out of the steam they heard loud groans of pain, out the steam was a Zane with second degree burns holding his sword.

"Is that all you have?" The swordsman asked.

"Not yet" Lighting dashed and then disappeared.

Meteo then prepared his massive anchor and launched at Zane. Zane jumped away and dodged the anchor that left a large crater in the ground.

"Left you wide open!" Lightning reappeared with a revolver in hand and fired his six shots.

Zane blocked all the bullets with his sword and then sent a slash of wind towards Lighting. Lightning rolled away and disappeared again, Meteo used his magic and returned his weapon and got ready for a frontal attack.

"Now it's my turn!" Meteo then launched his hover board down and towards Zane.

"You are going to charge me, think again." Zane readied his barrier again.

Meteo continued forward and focused all his power into his fist. Meteo continued until he was inches from the barrier and readied his punch.

**Asura Strike!**

The explosion against the barrier sent Meteo and his board flying in on direction and Zane and his tattered clothes in the other. Lighting then appeared with knives drawn in each hand.

"Let's finish this!" Lightning made the attack but Zane rolled at the last second. The stab that should have went between his eyes online cut his cheek slightly.

"Oh so close, Zane barrel rolled at the last second to avoid that devastating combo, wait what is he doing?" Everyone wondered as Zane was covering his face and twitched slightly.

Zane removed his hand from his cheek and saw that small amount of blood. "You, you cut my face."

The audience was silent as they looked at the scene. Lightning helped Meteo up as they were wondering what the deranged swordsman would do next.

"You cut my face, my beautiful face"

Everyone in the stadium felt a surge of power. Amaterasuice shook his head as he saw Zane was about to lose it.

"As much fun as the battle was, it's over." Amaterasuice looked at the scene.

A dark aura appeared around Zane as his eyes became red voids.

"My face, my face..."

"MY FACE!" Power then exploded from Zane's body. A large wind blew around the arena and fire appeared across the stage. Meteo created a wall to shield him and Lighting from the flames.

"Oh my, it seems Zane is going through some kind of transformation, the power is incredible!" Kyoto used her tail to shield her face from the wind.

(Destiny)

"Those guys never have any self-control." Sakura said.

"Why can't we just get rid of them now Sen?" Aka asked.

"Patience, for now we only watch." Sen said as they watched the battle.

Away from the group Renchard looked to the field as soon as he felt the dark power. "What the hell is that?"

(Kurotsubasa)

D.B's eyes flashed red as he sensed the evil inside the power Zane was releasing. "What is that?"

Punnya was shaking in fear as she hid in her master's arms. All of Kurotsubasa watched as even from where they were they could feel that dark power.

"What the hell is that nya?" Ravena asked as well as she tried to comfort Punnya.

"Is this the power of chaos, completely mindless power?" Key asked.

Shadow watched the scene in shock and with a little fear. 'It's almost like...' Shadow had a small flashback in his head.

"Shadow?" Illu asked and shook Shadow out of his thoughts.

"I'm fine; I just never thought I would feel an evil aura like that." Shadow said.

Illu seemed to accept his answer but she still couldn't believe the expression she saw on Shadow's face. The one emotion she thought Shadow never had…fear.

(Tournament Stage)

Zane stepped through the flames with his sword ablaze. Zane's evil red eyes stared into Wave Storm's souls as he slowly crossed the stadium.

"I'm going to destroy; I'm going to turn you to ashes!" Zane then suddenly vanished.

A kick was what sent Lighting into the air only to be repeatedly slashed by Zane's sword.

"Die die die die die die die…DIE!"

Meteo was shocked by the display of power and speed but Lightning's screams was what got him out of his shock. Meteo looked up to the scene and knew what he had to do.

"Looks like I have no choice, we may lose, but no one deserves this!" Meteo's body then became a large wave of water that shot upwards.

Lightning was unconscious from the onslaught, Zane continued to attacking his already pixelated body but a wave of water slammed him down to the ground and turned his flames to steam. The remained water turned into a weakened Meteo who caught Lightning's injured and bleeding body.

Meteo called his board and carried them both into the air. Meteo then raised a hand into the air and said with a heavy voice.

"We forfeit, we lose!"

Silence was what went through the stadium before one of the announcers regained their senses.

"Yes…WaveStorm has forfeited so the winner is DarkBlades' Zane!" Kyoto announced.

"No!" Zane said as his aura appeared again. "No this fight is not over, NOT OVER!"

Zane dashed faster than anyone could see and appeared in front of a shocked Meteo. Zane was about to attack before a pillar of like and several black and white meteors slammed him back to earth.

"That is enough!" Rina announced." DarkBlade has already won the battle, take your win and leave before I am forced to disqualify you!"

Cast stood by Rina's side ready to give the girl back up. Zane looked like he was about to attack again before he struggled to calm himself down. Green eyes once again took Zane's face as he smiled.

"Sorrow, I just lost control of myself there." Zane said.

(Kurotsubasa)

A loud sound of metal hitting the ground got the guild's attention. Shadow had punched the ground with his right hand and several spider web cracks were left behind.

"Dammit, if only I could have convinced him not to fight." Shadow said to himself.

"Hold on their mister, don't think in any way that this is your fault!" Bella said.

"They knew the risk when they accepted the challenge." Key said.

"I know that but…" Shadow then felt the darkness stirs inside his body. 'Dammit'

"Shadow are you alright nya?" Ravena asked.

"Fine, just a small migraine" Shadow lied. "Did they announce the listings for the semifinals yet?"

"They are just about to start" D.B. said. All of Kurotsubasa looked to the screen as the four winning teams' logos were displayed.

(Tournament Stage)

"Alright, whether or not the fights were pretty or not we have our four teams going to the next round!" Plugman announced. "Now to let the computer do its thing and select the smack downs for tomorrow!"

The logos were shuffled together rapidly for a while until they began to slow down. The computer stopped and the teams were matched against each other.

"Look like we are in the mood for some interesting matches, first off tomorrow is Team Kurotsubasa versus Team Mercenary and Team Destiny versus Team DarkBlade! You want to get here early tomorrow because sparks are going to fly in the semifinals!" Plugman announced and the crowd cheered.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Alright, finally some payback nya!" Ravena said with fire in her eyes.

"Mercenary is full of thieves, mercenaries, and assassins right, they aren't going to be a hard team to beat." Illu said.

"Doesn't matter really, we're going to win, I know it!" D.B. said confidently.

Shadow got to his feet and looked at the screen, from a distance he could feel Rose's presence and knew what she was thinking.

"Alright, what are the pairings for tomorrow?" Shadow asked.

"We don't control it." Key said. "They are putting members on a randomized board for the semifinals; we don't know who will fight or who we are fighting."

"Hmm, that doesn't matter." Shadow said. "We'll all use the time to train and try some strategies before meeting back tomorrow."

"Where are we going to train without us being spotted?" Bella asked.

"Leave that to me, come on." Shadow then walked out the tent as the rest of them followed.

(Mercenary)

"I don't care if the board is randomized, I am fighting Shadow regardless!" Rose yelled as Naenia told her the news.

"I know that and I told you before you will fight Shadow so do not worry." Naenia said.

"Calm down girl, besides we have to worry about the rest of his team too remembered." Wolf reminded them.

"They got a guy who can control flames, a keyblade master, a shapeshifter, and we have no idea what the other two girls can do." Grim said.

"I know what they can do and I already have a strategy for them." Rose said. "And of course we all have an idea about how Shadow fights."

"You know more than us." Wolf said. "Care to enlighten us?"

"No because you won't get a chance to fight him." Rose said.

"Alright you guys let's call it for now and meet back tomorrow." Grim stood up and left the booth.

The rest of the group said nothing but left after the shadow user.

(DarkBlade)

Zane was slammed against the wall as Amaterasuice looked down at him with an amused look. Before Zane could stand up again a large sword was held to his neck.

"What did I say about using that power; you could have jeopardized our mission by giving the crowd a sneak peek." Amaterasuice said calmly.

"I'm…sorry, they they…" Zane said with fear.

"You think I care about that ugly face of yours, remember who is supplying you the power to keep that form." Amaterasuice took the katana away and sheathed it into the sheath on his back.

"Doesn't matter, we have all that we need we don't really need to advance further in the tournament." Amaterasuice said.

"What, I thought the point of all this was to win!"

"Why are we fighting in the tournament if we are not going to gain the prize for all our efforts?"

"Fools!"

Everyone stopped the argument as a man walked into their meeting spot. The man was wearing what looked like a purple tattered tux, green dress shirt and purple pants with dress shoes. Everyone watched the joker-clad man walk to Amaterasuice.

"So Trysten, I see the plan is going well." Chaos said.

"I don't know why you call me that but yes; I got the scans you requested." Amaterasuice or Trysten handed the scouter to Chaos.

Chaos began to skim through the data. "Hmm, excellent and this is just data from the competitors."

"If you mind me asking sir what is that data for?" Zane asked as he got off the floor.

"A little surprise ending for the tournament." Chaos then let out a maniacal laugh.

(Destiny)

"So what is this power you are going to give me?" Renchard asked as Sen and the rest of Destiny dragged him to the forest outside the stadium.

"The power, the power of our mistress, our leader, is an intense power" Sen began. "Not many people can handle the strain that it puts on the body."

"As far as we know one person survived with a not intended result." Sakura said thinking back to Shadow.

"So what do you say now, gonna chicken out?" Aka then began making insulting clucks noises.

"No, if this power is enough for me to win the tournament, I'll take all the pain that comes with it!" Renchard said.

"Suit yourself, first we need a medium, your sword will do." Sen pointed to the zanbato.

"My zanbato, a medium" Renchard said.

"A little something to help channel the power into your body" Sen placed a hand on the large sword and a seal appeared on the center.

"And now, you will receive your wish."

Renchard suddenly fell to the ground as he felt power course through his body, Ren began to twitch and convulse as he started rejecting the foreign power.

'I need this power' Renchard then thought back to his sister, he then rose to his feet and a dark aura appeared around his body.

"Aaah!"

'Excellent, simply excellent' Sen thought as he watched Renchard accept Kusanagi's power.

"Hey Sen, when are our other two guys coming?" Aka asked.

"One is on their way here; the other said he wanted to observe something before meeting us." Sen said.

(Tournament Outskirts)

"Alright this looks like a good spot." Shadow then pulled out one of his kunai and placed it in the ground, a translucent "X" shone on the ground before it faded. "When we next log on we will appear in this spot."

"So how are we going to get a lot of training done nya, its getting dark here and let's not talk about home?" Ravena asked.

"Punnyaaaa" Punnya agreed.

"They're right, we won't get much done just training in this forest." Illu agreed.

The three founding members of Kurotsubasa nodded to each other with frowns before they braced themselves. Shadow let out a small chuckle before he held out a hand.

"Trust me we'll have enough time, now I usually don't do this but with this tournament we'll need an edge." Shadow readied his hand. "Try to land softly…"

With a snap of his hand a portal appeared under their feet. While the others knew what was going on Illu, Ravena, and Punnya all screamed as they fell through the portal. Shadow looked at the portal before he turned around.

"How long you gonna be watching us?" Shadow asked.

"Impressive, that a mere human could sense me." A figure then lowered their camouflage.

The person or machine had a large body wearing a large tattered blue cloak that covered his form. The head however was visible, it was like a human size Gundam head, Burning Gundam's head, and its red metallic eyes glowed menacingly.

"So you are the one Mistress has set her sights on." The metal giant said.

"So you're with Team Destiny or Kusanagi." Shadow reasoned.

"I see the conference between you two was successful, what I do not understand is why she did not want me to execute you now." The monotone voice said.

"Maybe she has something planned in that little black heart of hers if you guys can have hearts." Shadow said. "Now if you excuse me, we need to train to beat you in the tournament." Shadow put one foot into the portal.

"The darkness in your soul."

Shadow's eyes widened a bit.

"Like a human, you reject what you do not understand; you reject your own power growing inside you."

"So you're the big expert on humans huh?" Shadow said.

"Yes, humans are predictable and stubborn, even if you say that you are all unique and individual you all have the same thoughts, the same wavelength to me." The machine continued. "And you for example hide away a power that is too much for you to control."

"Maybe you right" A dark aura surrounded Shadow. "Or maybe I don't want the thousands players at the Tournament's blood on my hands if I use this power.

Shadow looked at the man with glowing red eyes which even caused him, a machine, to slightly flinch. "Don't think you know about humans, just when you think you know about us, we humans like to surprise you."

Shadow then went into the portal and the portal vanished. The man's Gundam helmet then developed a crack and was split down the middle and fell to the ground. A Halo Mk IV helmet looked at the fallen mask.

"Humans like to surprise you, huh"

(Training Space)

Out of the sky several screams filled the air. A large impact hit the streets of the mysterious area as Kurotsubasa was now a jumbled mess of limbs.

"Punnyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Ouch watch where you're poking!"

"Get your but out of my face!"

"Owe, Muku-Chan are you okay?"

"Hooot!"

"Owe, I think I broke my everything!"

"Hey who touched my breast?"

Shadow dropped from the sky and landed on his feet and stared at his fighting teammates. "Well at least they're in the mood to fight."

It took a few minutes to unscramble everyone before they looked at the massive dimension they were in. Stadiums, lots of them located all around at every street and corner. When everyone was settled Shadow decided to start the explanation.

"Welcome to Training Space, a massive dimension inspired just for training." Shadow said briefly.

"Oh so this is how we train, is it like a time chamber nya?" Ravena asked.

"Not really, but training in here adds forces to our bodies." Shadow said. "This is the best place to master skills and train with our powers."

"What are we going to train in?" Key asked so they could get started.

"I say we can talk about team training." Shadow said.

"Team training, why would we need that nya?" Ravena asked.

"Joint moves right?" D.B. said answering the question.

"Right, for all we know the other teams know who can fight well with whom in case of a two on two fight." Shadow began. "That said we need to create some team moves."

"Um if I could ask something can I please ask to train alone?" Illu asked.

"Huh but why Ilu, we're going to need everyone here to see who is compatible." Bella asked.

"It's just that…compared to everyone else I feel I'm the weakest, while I have a lot of support skills and I'm not a frontal attacker…" Illu paused. "I want to test something out something new I have."

"Illu no one here thinks you're the weakest." Key tried to reason.

"Yeah owl girl, get all that negative talk out your head!" Bella said.

"Just because you're not a frontal person doesn't mean anything, where would we be if you weren't around without you're herbs and things?" D.B. said.

"Meow, come on we need everyone together to win!" Ravena said.

"Punnyaaaaaaaaa!"

"When this guild was formed we thought nothing of strength, we are all equals." Shadow said. "I don't care who can do what, we are a team and we will conquer anything in our path!"

'Everyone' Illu thought as they saw how they supported her. Mukurowl landed on her head and hooted which caused her to smile. "Ok, let's do our best everyone."

"Since you brought it up, let's see this new skill you have Illu?" Shadow asked.

"Alright, let's find a large arena first." Illu agreed.

In one of the empty arenas Kurotsubasa watched as Illu got into form. She then reached into her jacket and pulled out a scroll and held it outwards. As she unrolled it she began the technique.

"I summon you, ye who encircle the world and bear its fangs…" Illu started her chant.

"Is that…?" Key asked.

"Hold up, what's that power I'm feeling?" Bella asked.

"This is making my fur stand on end nya." Ravena said.

"Punnya!" Punnya agreed.

"The serpent god huh" Shadow said.

"Poison and blood come together and heed my summons!" The scroll glowed and Illu slammed one hand and the scroll on the ground.

"**Yamata no Orochi!"**

The white light surrounded the scroll grew into a colossal ball. Eight tendrils spread from both sides, one side form eight tails that began to slither along the ground. The rest became eight snake heads who all roared and bared its fangs.

"A summon, when did Illu get a summon?" D.B. asked.

"Now here comes the hard part!" Key yelled.

"**Who is the one that summoned me?" **One of the heads asked mentally.

Illu and Mukurowl looked in fear but answered the spirits' questions. "That would be me, I summoned you."

The eight heads then peered down at the one holding their scroll. The heads then went down to Illu's level.

"**It seems you are indeed speaking the truth, do you feel that you are strong enough to be my master?" **All eight voices spoke in unison.

Illu thought back to what her friends said and shook her head. "Yes, I know I am and my friends believe I am too, I hold your scroll and I am your master!"

Deep hissing that sounded almost like a chuckle escape the spirits jaws. **"Interesting, finally a master with a strong will and a pure spirit."**

All sixteen red slit eyes stared at Illu's equally red eyes. **"Very well, as long as you hold my scroll I accept you as my summoner."**

The large demon spirit then faded away, the scroll stopped glowing and Illu then fell to the ground. Mukurowl was shocked and grew in size to put Illu on his back.

"Is she alright?" Bella asked.

"First summoning can tire you out." Key said. "Especially summoning a demon spirit."

"So that's the scroll she had that day, personally I'm surprised she had enough stores of energy to summon." Shadow said. "But I'm not complaining, always knew she had something hidden."

"Speaking of hidden, what are you hiding about that Team Destiny nya?" Ravena asked.

After Illu recovered everyone looked at Shadow after Ravena brought up the topic.

"Couldn't leave it alone could you?" Shadow asked. "Alright everyone listen up because I don't want to repeat myself."

After repeating the experience minus a few key things Kurotsubasa began to think about the new threat at the tournament.

"So this Team Destiny is up to no good too huh?" Bella said.

"Let's not forget about Chaos' DarkBlade." Key reminded them.

"Regardless of who we are up against we'll defeat them like anyone else." Shadow said. "Now back to training!"

(Time skip-tomorrow)

"Welcome back everyone to the semifinal round of the Eclipse Tournament!" Kyoto announced. "From the massive crowd of fighters down to the eight starting teams we now only have four teams fighting for us now!"

(Admin Booth)

"Four guys now huh?' Deus said. "This is taking too long, when do I get to fight!" A chibi Deus complained.

"Calm down Deus, we still have the final round before you can fight." Cast said as she sweatdrop at the older teen's childish act.

"Even so just watch, the way these fights are going we can have the final fight today." Rina said. "They will be using all they have in these last few fights."

(Tournament Stage)

"You got that right Kyoto, we saw a lot of asskicking and destruction but all of that led to the four badass teams in front of us now everyone!" Plugman then displayed all the teams on the giant screen.

Team Destiny!

Team Mercenary!

Team DarkBlade!

And…Team Kurotsubasa!

The crowd cheered as the four teams were on the stage. Everyone began to size up the others; they all seem to notice the three new members of Team Destiny.

'Three new guys and one of them is the guy from yesterday.' Shadow thought.

"Great, more unknown factors." Key said. "This tournament is more trouble than it's worth."

"Let's just pray for an easy match-up" D.B. said.

"You forgot we're fighting Mercenary right." Bella said.

"Oh yeah I forgot that." D.B. said dejectedly.

"It doesn't matter" Shadow said. "All we can do is fight and hope our luck is with us."

"Yeah and this time we can get payback nya!" Ravena said.

"Punnya!" Punnya hissed.

Rose saw their stairs and gave them a smug look that sent the two nekos' furs on end. They would have fought then and now had Shadow not hold on to the two.

"Rave please calm down." Illu said.

"Come on Ravena, if you start anything now we're disqualified." Shadow said.

"Now let's have the two leaders meet center stage!" Kyoto said.

Shadow and Grim then walked forward. Destiny and DarkBlade both went to their booths to watch the battle that was about to begin. Grim let out a yawn before getting serious about the match up.

"So you're Shadow, lots of talking about you in the mercenary world." Grim said.

"I'm sure there are, who knows I may have a fan club somewhere." Shadow said.

"Hehe, funny guy huh, maybe you should have taught Rose more sense of humor." Grim laughed.

"Handful right" When Shadow saw Grim nodded he let out a sigh. Shadow then turned to Kyoto. "How are we supposed to do this, I thought the battles were randomized."

"Yes but the issue is about a special condition Team Mercenary has added!" Kyoto answered.

"Condition?" Shadow looked to Grim.

Grim let out a tired sigh. "The condition is we have five matches, the first four will be randomized but the last one…"

"Will be you and me." Rose said as she walked forward.

"What you expect Shadow to agree to that nya!" Ravena argued. "That's low Maid Fetish!"

"What did you call me?" Rose took a minute to calm herself. "If your team and your leader are so strong they shouldn't have a problem with this set up."

"So what will it be, will you accept or are you not confident in your guild's power?" Rose said as she laid her own bait.

"Laying out bait, don't forget who taught you that style of strategy." Shadow said. "Since you're so serious about this…I accept."

"What!" Bella, Ravena, and D.B. yelled.

"Did Shadow just accept that challenge?" Illu asked in shock.

"Yeah he's strange like that, but shadow must have a reason to do this." Key said.

"It seems that Kurotsubasa has accepted Mercenary's battle request, well now that all the chitchat is over let us start the semifinal round!" Plugman then began the randomizer to select the first two fighters.

"The first two in the ring are…Illusionist Owl versus Wolfey141, let see if these two can start out the semifinals with a bang!"

"Ok Illu you're up!" Bella said.

"You got this nya!" Ravena cheered.

"Punnya!" Punnya said.

"You may want to be careful, Wolf and you are about as opposite as you can get." Key said.

"Remember what we said Illu, and don't forget that speed of yours!" D.B. said.

"You might want to keep moving, his earthbending could give you trouble, other than that, good luck you can win this!" Shadow said.

"Right, I'll do my best everyone!" Illu then walked towards the stage.

"Try not to screw this up and give us our first win." Rose said.

"This one has some strange aura about her, I advise to end this quickly." Naenia warned him.

"Please, like I'm gonna let it end that quick but look at her she won't last long." Wolf said as he walked to meet his opponent.

"Don't get cocky out there." Grim said.

"Whatever" Wolf then stood and looked to his opponent.

"Try not to make this a boring match ok" Wolf pulled out two baseball bats.

"Fine, just don't complain when you lose." Illu brought out her glaive. Mukurowl then took off to the skies.

"There you have it everyone, Illu vs. Wolf…ready…FIGHT!"

**TBC…**

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><p><strong>REVIEW<strong>

**REVIEW**

**Favorite…then REVIEW!**

** I know what you might be thinking but to me it seemed right to end it right here. What other way to have you all come back than to make sure you all comeback for the next exciting chapter. Closing note, Ravena created more new art and some of them are hilarious and funny, I thank her for more of her skills and artwork. Also if you would want to add extra things to your character don't be afraid to PM me, of course the four power limit and everything else is constant but maybe you left some things out you want to add.**

** Also on a random note I don't know why this popped up a theme song or opening for this whole thing. I don't know why maybe it's my crazy anime sense of thinking but that's what on the top of my head. Well now that is over, see you guys next time.**

**Shadowlight0982-out!**

**(Authors that appeared)**

**Blood Brandy**

**Turquoisepeanutbutter**

**Wolfpackersson09**

**(Insert announcer voice here)**

** The Semifinals have just begun, its Illu versus Wolf! Both fighters' battle styles are as different as night and day, can Kurotsubasa overcome Team Mercenary's challenge! Meanwhile Chaos is plotting something that may put everyone in the stadium in danger, will someone discover this plan and stop him or will his evil plan bear fruit. And what was the signal that Speed and Leon picked up.**

"**Is that…?" Leon asked in surprised.**

"**Yes, this is Chaos' residence." Speed said as the stood outside the large barrier over the area.**

"**So what do we do now?" Leon asked.**

"**Shut this area down for now; let's see if we can find the other mysterious energy." Speed said.**

**Next Time: The Semifinals begin: Illu's Determination!**


	10. Chapter 10: The Semifinals Begin

** Hello everyone, I can't believe this story continued to the double digits, I loved that everyone shows their support. Anyways now it is summer and I have all the extra free time, not to mention I now have a faster way to update this story and all my other ones when I continue them. Like I said I want to at least finish the arc with this story before going back to my others stories and updating them. Now on to the announcements:**

**Announcements:**

** A lot of people want the pairings and there will be pairings, they may be so small you barely see it or I will display it as plain as day, I have ideas for a few pairings but I have to make sure they work, not many female profiles for this fic so for some if you want to add an OC then you can or you can trust my judgment.**

** Also with the wiki, it looks like it is coming together perfectly, I haven't finished all the pages but it is public enough that you all can add the information yourself or wait until I get to it, all the people that sent me a profile has their own page, just something I wanted to say. Any extra character stuff you want to send me, PM me anytime.**

**Reviews:**

**BloodXForXMyXRose: I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long, and thank you for reading.**

**Illusionist Owl: You haven't seen (read) anything yet, the exciting things are just about to show up.**

**Ravena Felidae: If I didn't tell you before, thank you for the Brain Blast message, one of your request will show up, maybe both.**

**GeneralHyna: I hope you remember that, that will come in handy soon.**

**Wolfpakkersson09: That was just a cameo, like I said I promised everyone a whole chapter.**

**Mister Grim: I hope you enjoy who you'll have to fight, and don't be mad about the outcome.**

** Bonus message, I don't do Yuri or Yaoi pairings unless that was sent to me as a request. I know some of you were specific about your characters' orientation but if I had a say, there may be no Yuri or Yaoi.**

**Now ON WITH THE SHOW!**

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><p>"FFW"-Speech<p>

'FFW'-Thought

'_FFW'-Flashback_

"**FFW"-Attacks**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any reference to any anime/game/show/book, etc. that appears in this story. I own the original plot (at least I hope its original) and my own characters and OC's. All other characters and references belong to their original creators.**

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><p>"<em>I have complete trust in my team, my friends, they gave me their trust, and I gave them mine."-Shadowlight0982.<em>

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><p><strong>Ch. 10: <strong>**The Semifinals begin: Illu's Determination!**

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><p><em>-Recap-<em>

"_The first two in the ring are…Illusionist Owl versus Wolfey141, let see if these two can start out the semifinals with a bang!"_

"_Ok Illu you're up!" Bella said._

"_You got this nya!" Ravena cheered._

"_Punnya!" Punnya said._

"_You may want to be careful, Wolf and you are about as opposite as you can get." Key said._

"_Remember what we said Illu, and don't forget that speed of yours!" D.B. said._

"_You might want to keep moving, his earthbending could give you trouble, other than that, good luck you can win this!" Shadow said._

"_Right, I'll do my best everyone!" Illu then walked towards the stage._

"_Try not to screw this up and give us our first win." Rose said._

"_This one has some strange aura about her, I advise to end this quickly." Naenia warned him._

"_Please, like I'm gonna let it end that quick but look at her she won't last long." Wolf said as he walked to meet his opponent._

"_Don't get cocky out there." Grim said._

"_Whatever" Wolf then stood and looked to his opponent._

"_Try not to make this a boring match ok" Wolf pulled out two baseball bats._

"_Fine, just don't complain when you lose." Illu brought out her glaive. Mukurowl then took off to the skies_.

* * *

><p>"There you have it everyone, Illu vs. Wolf…ready…FIGHT!"<p>

"Hope you don't mind…" Wolf absorbed the steel in the bats. "…If I start first!"

Wolf then ran towards his opponent. Illu used her glaive to block both bats and skidded across the stage. Illu's breath was irregular as she felt how much strength Wolf used in that attack.

"Come on, I hope you're not warn out already, I haven't even got to fight yet!" Wolf complained.

'Ok think, you already seen what kind of powers he can use.' Illu thought to herself. Illu then got into a solid stance, her eyes faintly glowing. 'He relies on strength, so he can't beat me if he can't touch me!'

This time it was Illu who was dashed quickly to her enemy. Wolf let out a small laugh.

"Your fast I give you that, but" Wolf let the glaive blade bounce off his chest and used Illu's surprise to slammed a steel fist to her gut. "You're too weak to cut me!"

Illu let out a few coughs but there was an amused look on her face. "Too weak to cut, but smart enough to trick you." The Illu in front of him vanished.

(Play I wish-Fairy Tail)

"What...argh!" Sharp talons sliced through the steel shell on Wolf's back and into flesh. Wolf looked up and saw a now large owl flying the sky. Before Wolf could try anything, several knives hit his now exposed flesh.

Wolf let out grunts of pain as he ripped out the knives. "That can't be the same owl from before, where are you!"

Several beasts that surrounded him answered his question. The beast of miasma began to pounce from all directions; Wolf dropped his bats and morphed his hands into blades to cut through the formless beasts.

(Mercenary)

"What the hell is he doing, that idiot!" Rose yelled.

"I know we have no information about how she fights but this is just embarrassing, not to mention the hidden tactics that girl is using." Naenia said.

"It won't matter" Grim sat against a wall and closed his eyes. "All these battles don't matter, the last match does."

(Kurotsubasa)

"Go Illu Go!

"Go Illu Go!"

Bella and Ravena were now dabbed in cheerleader uniforms and were cheering on their other female teammate. The boys continued to watch as the strategy worked.

_(Flashback)_

"_Ok, now that we got the fun stuff out of the way we need to talk about tactics!" Shadow said inform of a chalkboard as the guild were in a private room._

"_Tactics, nya, why do we need tactics we can beat them easily!" Ravena complained._

"_You and Illu lost to Rose because you have no idea what she can do or really used a strategy am I right?" Shadow said._

_ Both Illu and Ravena were suddenly in the corner with dark clouds over their heads. Their pets tried to console their masters and patted their backs with his/her wing/tail._

"_We were ambushed." The two complained._

"_So how do we plan for this, the battles are random." DB reminded them all._

"_Won't matter, if we remember how they fight and what powers they have we can make a good strategy with anyone." Key said._

"_Or my plan could work and we just ask for a whole team fight and blow up the ring!" Bella said._

"_Not everyone can survive an explosion like you or DB can and you'll likely get us disqualified." Key said annoyed._

"_Regardless, let's start from weakest to strongest" Shadow grabbed the chalk and wrote down several things on the board._

_Wolfey141_

_Earthbending_

_Osmosian_

_Frontline Attacker_

"_These are some of the few things we know about Wolf, since in their team battle Naenia was calling the shots we can assume he doesn't take the time to strategize and will likely attack strong and hard." Shadow then threw the chalk at DB when he heard a soft "that's what she said."_

"_I don't see the problems Shads; we all look like we can take him down." Bella said._

"_You forgot that we don't know two of his powers and his fighting style." Key said._

"_Well, unless he's using earthbending I think he's more of the berserker type." Illu said as she and Ravena finally got out the corner._

_ Shadow took the time to think. "Then he probably won't think rationally if he gets mad enough."_

"_So we just get him angry nya, what kind of plan is that?" Ravena asked._

"_Think of it like a Snake versus a Rhino, a Rhino has all that power but a snake is fast enough to move and strike. While the Rhino is stomping around he won't know he's already been bitten, he'll waste power and finally drop." Shadow said._

"_Oh I get it now nya!" Ravena said happily._

"_Punnya!" Punnya said happily._

_ Illu took the time to think. 'Move fast and strike.'_

(Now)

After slicing through the beasts, Wolf saw his vision get hazy and saw multiple Illus, The Illus suddenly continued to dashed and slice away the rest of the steel shell.

"You have all that power but it means nothing, that power is nothing if you can't hit me!" The sound of multiple knives tearing away steel fills the air, Illu continued the barrage and then brought out her poison knives.

(I wish/Fairy Tail end)

Wolf had enough and as soon as his shell was almost gone he put his two hands together and slammed them on the ground. "Enough of this!"

Illu stopped and tried to look and see what Wolf was planning, the rumble of the ground filled the air and multiple vines sprouted out the marble stage. Illu slices vine after vine until one circled her waist and lifted her off the ground.

"I can't believe this; Wolf is taking the kiddy gloves off and turned the flat stage into a large jungle. The power of Mokuton is incredible and Illu seems to be caught in a bind!"

(Kurotsubasa)

"Mokuton!" Key yelled.

"What happens now, looks attacks from the ground are useless against this guy!" DB said.

"Nya, then how is Illu going to attack and she can't hide in case he can use earthbending!" Ravena said in worry.

"Punnya!"

"Don't worry guys Illu's got this!" Bella said.

Most looked confused so Shadow began to clarify. "You guys forgot already?"

(Tournament Stage)

A blur of white cut through the vines and lifted Illu to the air, Illu rode on Mukurowl as she looked down on the stage. The mark and her eyes began to glow.

"Illu doesn't need the ground to attack."

Wolf lifted a column of earth and rose up to further see his opponents in the air. Wolf used Mokuton again to try and corner them as they appeared to guys hover in place. Wolf made a large tree and tried to uses its branches to bind them until a large blast of energy blew the tree away.

(Mercenary)

"So that's the transformation you were telling us about." Naenia said interested. "That must be why I felt demonic aura from her."

"Doesn't matter, she fell right into our trap." Rose said with a sly smile.

Grim opened his eyes and looked to see the plan about to bear fruit.

(Tournament Stage)

(Play Buso Renkin-Makkai no Chikai)

In the air out of a sphere of energy was Illu in her hybrid form. The Hybrid looked down at Wolf as she appeared to stand on the air.

"You said before I was too weak to cut you!" Illu began her dive-bomb. "How about now!"

Wolf made a wall of wood to try and block the frontal tackle but Illu flew around it to his uncovered back. Wolf then bended a thick wall of earth and tried to block the attack about to happen.

**Acid Barrage!**

(Buso Renkin-Makkai no Chikai end)

The corrosive attack began to eat through the earth and wood barricade Wolf put up. The attack continued until there was just a puddle, a puddle pouring into a self-made hope. Wolf used earthbending to dig to another side of the stage.

"Got to say girl, never thought you would push me to this." Wolf got into an earthbending stance. "I don't like using this but as long as I win who cares."

Large chunks of earth rose from the ground and flew around the arena. Illu flew around and evaded the rocks and saw that they weren't aiming for her, she was in the way.

'What is he planning?" Illu then saw the rocks were flying towards Wolf, making a massive, wide column of earth.

"What does the earthbender have up his sleeve; he basically destroyed the ground to create a column, wait, what's going on now!" Plugman said in surprise.

Wolf began to cut and shape the earth until it had a new appearance, the large torso of what looked like a golem now sprouted from the ground. Wolf used her confusion to absorb the earth.

(Kurotsubasa)

"What the hell, is he doing?" DB asked.

"Nya, it looks like a big rock man." Ravena said.

"Punnya!" Punnya agreed.

"Rock man, that's a golem Shorty…wait Golem!" Bella realized.

"Get out of there Illu!" Shadow yelled.

(Tournament Stage)

Shadow's warning came too late as the Golem began to show movement. Wolf was absorbed into the golem and reappeared in the center of its chest. The Golem began to mimic his movements.

"Like it, a little power off mine I usually don't show off!" Wolf said. "You are now seeing the reason why I am called the Stone Wolf or the Earthmover!"

Wolf raised his fist and the golem raised a fist and aimed it at Illu who flew out of the way. Illu kept her distance as she observed the colossus.

"There are still my corrosive attacks, I can still win!" Illu then launched large spheres of acid.

The golem just raised its hands and blocked the poison. Wolf bended off the melting earth and replaced it with new earth from the ground.

"You're little poison isn't going to work, and as you can see you might as well not try your illusion tricks!" Illu didn't see the pillar of earth that knocked her out the sky and split her back into Illu and Mukurowl.

"Do you see, you can't beat me?" Wolf taunted as he allowed her to lie on the ground in pain.

"Muku-chan" Illu put the now small owl on her lap. The two looked at the stone giant that overlooked them. 'Is this the end, am I really this weak?

_(Flashback)_

"_**Do you feel that you are strong enough to be my master?" **__All eight voices spoke in unison._

_ Illu thought back to what her friends said and shook her head. "Yes, I know I am and my friends believe I am too, I hold your scroll and I am your master!"_

_ Deep hissing that sounded almost like a chuckle escape the spirits jaws. __**"Interesting, finally a master with a strong will and a pure spirit."**_

(Now)

"That's right" A white aura covered Illu's body and she began to stand up.

(Kurotsubasa)

The look of worry left the guild as they saw Illu stand up. Maybe a few could see it, but they saw a shadowed beast loom behind their friend.

"Whatever happens next Illu, at least you're giving it your all." Shadow said.

(Mercenary)

"That's a strong demonic aura she's emitting, and she's not in hybrid form!" Naenia said in surprise.

"What's happening, show us the future what will happen?" Rose yelled.

"No" Grim said as he watched. "Let's not spoil the surprise; this is going to decide who wins."

(Tournament Stage)

"You got to give her credits folks, while knocked down she still gets up, how will Illu fight back, and what is this new sensation I'm feeling!" Kyoto said.

Illu's eyes glowed red through her bangs and seals appeared underneath her. She raised one hand into the air and said only a small sentence.

**Summon, Yamato no Orochi**

A flash of light and eight snake heads rose form the ground attacked to the large snake body. The rest of him seemed to stay within the seal as the snake now stood the same height as the golem.

"Another illusion, this is getting old!" The golem began to throw a punch.

Two of the snakes circled the limb and forced it to stop, with a solid squeeze the limb fell and the snake began to coil around the golem.

"What the hell, this is real, she has a summon like this?" Wolf then saw the other limb and several chunks of his golem fall to the ground.

The snake spirit uncoiled the slowly crumbling golem; the heads came together and formed a small ball of energy. All the snakes hissed as they fired the ball towards the stone giant.

Wolf let out a painful yell of pain as the blast encompassed and vaporized him and the golem.

"My god, ladies and gentlemen just when we thought this battle can't get any more badass, the girl surprises us with the eight-headed snake! Plugman yelled. "Who will win as the smoke clears!"

The serpent demon disappeared and the people watched as the smoke cloud that fills the arena. The smoke started clearing and a burnt and bloody Wolf was wheezing on his knees on one side.

"What the hell is this, Wolf is still alive if barely but what about Illu?" Plugman said.

The smoke was still clearing but the sound of worried hoots reinforced Kurotsubasa's fears. The smoke died and Illu was face first on the ground, unconscious with Mukurowl in worry trying to wake her.

"The fight is over, the winner is…WOLF!" Kyoto announced.

All of Kurotsubasa ran to the stage and went towards Illu, after checking they saw she just passed out from exhaustion.

"All that fighting, she used up all her power on the summon." Key said.

"Poor Illu, nya." Ravena and Punnya were in tears at how hard their friend fought.

"I don't care what they say; this was Ill's victory, no matter what the results say!" DB said.

Bella slammed her fist into her palm. "This is messed up, it's just…after all she did, she tried so hard."

Shadow remained silent and then picked her up bridal style. "I'm taking her to get healed myself; can you guys handle it out here?"

"Yeah we got this Shads, make sure she gets help." Bella said.

Shadow nodded and then shadowstepped out the ring. The rest of the guild left the stage as they began to repair it for the next fight.

(Mercenary)

Wolf stumbled to meet the rest as he continued to walk with his injuries. When he made it to his team he fell to the ground. The medical team following him picked him up and took him to the infirmary.

"That idiot, he only survived due to willpower." Rose said.

"He still won, so we cannot overlook that." Naenia said. "Wolf could have tried not to underestimate her."

"In the end it came down to who had more stores of energy." Grim said. "If Wolf didn't load up his stamina like he did he would have lost."

"The only thing that matters now is who fights next." Naenia said.

(Infirmary)

Illu's eyes opened and saw that she was being carried. Illu looked up and saw that it was Shadow that was carrying her to one of the medical tents.

"Shadow, d-did I…?" Illu asked

"Don't worry about it." Shadow said. "You did your best, that's all we can ask of you."

Shadow then placed his wounded friend on the bed, Mukurowl was on Shadow's shoulder and did what looks like a bow as he flew and landed next to Illu.

"I guess it's up to everyone else now." Illu said with a small smile.

"Don't worry, we're going to win, I know that for sure." Shadow then turned to leave the tent to find Muroshi.

"Shadow!"

Shadow turned around and saw a slightly red Illu.

"Thanks for carrying me back." Illu said.

Shadow turned around and walked to the opening of the tent. "Don't mention it, Illu, get well and rest."

Illu laid on the bed with a finger out for Mukurowl to land on. The two turned on the screen and began to watch the second round selections.

Shadow was outside the tent and walked past a grinning Muroshi. "I here I thought you weren't a player Shads, how is your girlfriend doing?" Muroshi teased.

"Shut up!" Shadow said. "Make sure she gets better Muroshi." Shadow then left the man and "stepped" back to the arena.

(Tournament Stage)

"Alright everyone get ready for the next fight!" Kyoto then turned everyone's attention to the widescreen.

Names moved randomly until two new ones took the screen. "Looks like we have our next two fighters!"

DB versus Naenia

(Kurotsubasa)

Shadow appeared just in time to see the two names get chosen. "Looks like we have the advantage this round, good luck DB."

"I don't need luck, now I'm doing this for revenge." DB then walked to the stage.

(Mercenary)

"I have to fight a fire user every time." Naenia said as she began to walk.

"Better not lose hag, we still haven't had our fight yet." Rose said.

"Just like as if I was fighting you, I find it hard to be serious fighting children, I will win and use it as an example to you." Naenia tried to hide a giggle at the angry look on Rose's face.

"Good luck out there." Grim said.

"Luck, I don't need luck" Naenia turned and gave her team an amused look. "Why do I need luck when I can see the outcome?"

(Tournament Stage)

DB and Naenia both stepped onto the stage. DB was already in battle mode and a hand was on the claymore on his back. Naenia pulled out a katana.

Naenia noticed the glare that DB was giving her. "You have a grudge against me?"

"No not you personally, if your friend wasn't injured himself I'd kick his ass before coming to the ring."

"You must have us mistaken" Naenia said that surprised DB. "We are not friends, not many guilds like yours; we are just separate people with the same common goal."

"Good to know, not going to stop me from winning this!" DB pulled out the claymore and had a revolver in his free hand.

"I already know the outcome of this fight." Naenia got into her stance.

The strategies from last night came back to DB's head.

_(Flashback)_

"_Alright, Naenia" Shadow started. "Whoever fights her is going to lose so let's move past her."_

"_WHAT!" The rest of the guild shouted_

"_What do you mean there has to be a way!" DB yelled. "Like my flames they are more powerful against her ice!"_

"_She may be the top bounty hunter in the world but she is not unbeatable!" Key said._

"_Key you know what I'm talking about, she sees the future, not many can fight against that." Shadow said._

"_Nothing impossible nya!" Ravena said. "If she can see the future all we have to do is change the future nya!"_

"_Punnya!" Punnya agreed._

"_Naenia can see the future, but if she tries to change anything the future will be altered, Ravena is right Shadow." Illu said._

"_Like a future has ever stopped us before, come on Shads stop worrying we are going to win this thing!" Bella yelled._

_ Seeing everyone else in agreement with Bella Shadow sighed and then smirked back to them. "Alright then, he's what we know about her…"_

(Now)

"Ok everyone DB versus Naenia…ready…FIGHT!"

DB took the revolver and fired rounds at Naenia. Naenia dodged and blocked with her sword and then fired a few senbon. DB rolled out the way and then ignited his sword in flames.

"Take this!" DB sent out a wave of fire from his sword.

Naenia controlled the wind and created a barrier around her. Naenia looked and saw a few fireballs fired at her. Naenia sent out sharp slashes of air and cut the balls in two. DB uses this as a distraction and closed the distance.

"Hiya~~~!" DB said with his fist ready to strike. Naenia used her sword as well as made a barrier but watched as DB's fist tore right through the barrier and sent her flying.

"Wow what a hit, one strike from DB and Naenia is sent across the stage!" Plugman said.

Naenia spits out the blood that collected in her mouth and stood up. She looked and saw DB with red eyes and a grin similar to a well-known vampire.

"I already know what you did with my fire; you used the air to cut off the supply of oxygen!" DB yelled. "But as you can see I don't need fire to win this match!"

"Maybe" Naenia exchanged her sword for a tessen. "But this fight has only just begun."

DB smiled at that statement and answered by sending out a wave of fire.

Naenia completed some one handed seals and sent a wave of ice.

Fire and Ice collided and began a battle for dominance in the stage. Both teams watched as the two continued the battle.

"Amazing a clash of fire and ice, this battle may just about be even!" Kyoto replied as she backed away from the stage.

The two attacks canceled each other, DB fired some magnum rounds and Naenia returned them by controlling the wind. As they fought they got closer and closer until fan and sword collided.

(Mercenary)

"This fight is about even, but I thought Naenia has an edge because she can see the future." Rose said.

"Maybe she can see the future, but if she does too much with that knowledge she will change the future." Grim said. "Just watch her fight; maybe you can learn something number 5."

"Shut up!" Rose said.

(Tournament Stage)

As the two clashed they looked into the others eyes and waited for something to happen.

"It appears telekinesis does not work on you." Naenia said.

"Back at ya!" DB said.

Naenia then began to make more seals. "Oh well, there goes the easy way, now for the hard way."

DB was confused on what she was saying but then saw the water in the air began to crystalize. The clashed ended as they pushed each other back and DB saw that he was in a familiar dome of mirrors.

"Perfect, just perfect" DB complained.

**Secret Art: Crystal Ice Mirrors!**

(Kurotsubasa)

"This tactic again" Key said.

"This is looking like a Naruto moment." Shadow said.

"Come guys, DB smarter than to just slam clones against the mirrors." Bella said.

"But how is he going to get if he can't melt the mirrors with regular flames nya." Ravena said.

"Punnya" Punnya said.

"Don't worry, DB's smarter than he looks and he has a reason not to lose this battle." Shadow said with confidence.

(Infirmary)

Illu was watching the battle and saw DB surrounded in Naenia's trap. Mukurowl was on the healed girls head as she watched the screen.

"Come on DB, think of a way to get out." Illu said.

Mukurowl then saw movement outside of the tent, the small owl then tried to get Illu's attention away from the screen.

"What is it Muku-Chan?" Illu asked as she saw Mukurowl tried to again her attention

Mukurowl then hooted to outside the tent where three people were walking by, one was carrying a large machine while two others were talking ahead of him.

"Not that I'm not complaining but are you sure about DarkBlade not going to the finals?" Amaterasuice asked Chaos.

"Yes, though the fight will be a cause to keep a lot of the crowd here, all you need to do is put on a good show and take a dive." Chaos said.

"Those pawns won't like it, aw who cares pawns are pawns!" Amaterasuice laughed.

Chaos laughed as well. "Tell me Trysten, what is CHAOS' objective?"

"To spread chaos across the Server of course." Amaterasuice answered.

"So long as we accomplish that, DarkBlade has served their purpose." Chaos said as they continued to walk.

Illu was speechless at what she just heard. "DarkBlade is working for Chaos!"

Illu stood from her bed and put on her coat and scarf. Before she went to her weapons she wrote down a message for Mukurowl to give to the rest of the guild.

"Here Muku-Chan, if I don't come back at least the others will know what's going on." Illu hid her knives in her coat and placed her glaive on her back.

Mukurowl gave her a worried hoot but she reassured him by petting his head. "Don't worry Muku-Chan; I'll be alright, just go."

Mukurowl accepted the message and flew off, Illu then went to pursue Chaos and the two members of DarkBlade.

"Is she following us?" Chaos asked.

"Yeah, who knew she was so predictable, now we have a reason for Shadow to come to us." Amaterasuice said.

(Tournament Stage)

A wave of senbon blasted DB back to the center and Naenia tried her hardest to keep him away from the mirrors, while his flames did not work his strength was enough to break the mirrors. DB now looked at the clear path out that Naenia was guarding.

'The only way out and she's guarding the way, maybe I should teach her how to prioritize.' DB held up his fingers and made a seal of his own.

'He can use ninjustsu as well' Naenia thought. Naenia then looked across from her to a mirror and used it to view DB's next move.

**Shadow Clone Jutsu!**

Several clones of DB appeared and covered the tournament stage. All the DB then swarmed to make it outside of the mirrors.

'You would think he'd seen enough Naruto to know this will not work.' Naenia then dashed from mirror to mirror using senbon and wind to cut through DB's numbers.

(Mercenary)

"I think he found a way past Naenia's future sight." Grim said.

"What, she sees the future how is there a way past that?" Rose asked.

"The future, like humans, is unpredictable" Grim said. "That's what makes them both troublesome."

(Tournament Stage)

(Play You're Going Down by Sick Puppies)

The clones that popped out of existence gave the perfect cover for the flames that came out the smoke cover. The flames weren't enough to melt the mirror but it was enough that Naenia was hesitant to move from her mirror. To her shock DB appeared from the smoke and in front of her with a blazing fist.

DB's fist crashed through the mirror and to Naenia's gut and sent her flying across the stage, almost off the edge.

Naenia slowly got to her feet and sent out blades of wind. DB countered with a wave of flames. Instead of the flames being extinguished like before the fire absorbed the sir and grew in size causing Naenia to jump to dodge. DB brought out both magnums and began to fire at the airborne Bounty Huntress.

"Dammit" Naenia used the air to block and noticed that she was trapped as DB did not let up the hail of bullets.

"Amazing, DB defeated the Ice Mirrors and forced Naenia into the air, this battle may be over now!" Kyoto announced.

Naenia made a dome of air that blocked all the bullets. DB stopped firing as he saw the look in the bounty huntress' eyes. It was time to end this battle.

"I was told you could see the future, you already know how this will happen?" DB yelled.

"Perhaps, I can tell you that the nest move will decide this battle!" Naenia answered back.

DB held up a magnum and aimed. A large fireball began to form as he started charging energy for a massive attack.

Naenia saw this and then started to gather wind spirits of her own to try and finish the battle.

"It looks like we're reaching the climax everyone, who will win!" Plugman yelled.

Both Kurotsubasa and Mercenary watched as their two members prepared a powerful attack. The teams continued to watch unsure of who will win the battle.

DB pulled the trigger and Naenia swung her tessen. A massive stream of fire and a tornado collided between the two fighters. The two elements fought for dominance as they put all their power into their attacks.

The fire continued to eat away and took fuel from the tornado as it continued towards Naenia.

'So this is how it ends" Naenia thought as the flames reached her. 'Just as I saw.'

(You're Going Down-Sick Puppies end)

And explosion filled the air as DB's attack connected. DB fell to one knee as he looked up and tried to find Naenia. To his surprise Naenia fell from the sky and almost hit the ground hard until the air cushioned the fall for her.

"It's over; by a ring out the winner is DB!" Plugman announced to the crowd.

DB had a surprised look as Naenia picked herself off the ground and dusted some of the dirt off her outfit.

"What the hell, what was that?" DB yelled.

"Why do you not like this outcome?" Naenia asked.

"Not that I don't like winning but why did you…" DB started.

"The future I saw cannot happen unless you won the battle." Naenia turned to leave. "All you need to know is to be prepared if your team makes it to the finals."

DB just stood there after hearing the message but then left to rest with his team.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Good job DB!" Bella said.

"Yeah you kicked but nya!" Ravena said.

"Punnya" The neko meowed happily.

DB looked to Key and he nodded as if saying he understood what happened in the end. Shadow just continued to look at the screen watching the next two names to be called.

"No matter what happened you still won, let's not look a gifted horse in the mouth." Shadow said. "We still have three more matches to go."

"Nya, let me at em, I want to fight right neow!" Ravena complained.

Punnya just laughed at her master while Shadow just face palmed. "Just wait and see if your name is called, for all we know you could be…"

"The next two names have been announced!" Kyoto voice ended the conversation as they all looked and saw the two names on the screen.

Ravena Felidae versus BloodxForxMyxRose

"Nya, some payback!" Ravena said.

"Calm down Rave, you don't want to go in there this jumpy." Key said.

Ravena let out a sigh. "Fine" Just as Punnya was about to fly with her she grabbed her placed her on shadow's head.

"What are you doing?" Shadow asked.

"She can control animals right, I don't want to put Punnya in any danger." Ravena then gave her kitty cat eyes. "Please can you watch her?"

Shadow turned to the side and tried to force away the blush on his face. "Ok, alright, just go out there already!"

"I'll do my best!" Ravena then ran to the stage.

Punnya gave a worried meow but Shadow soothed her by petting her. "Don't worry; I'm sure she'll be fine."

'As long as she remembers how Rose fights.' Shadow thought.

(Mercenary)

"Throwing the match like that, what were you thinking?" Rose yelled.

"I was thinking doing a little girl a favor and allowing her better chance to get her wish." Naenia said.

Rose just huffed at that response and walked to the stage.

"Hey where is Mazareth?" Grim asked.

"I left him in my realm after he was healed yesterday, besides I won't need him to beat this cat again." Rose answered.

"She sure is confident" Grim said.

"That confidence could lead to her victory or her defeat." Naenia said as she sat down.

(Tournament Stage)

"Well we meet again." Rose said smugly.

"Yeah and I'm ready for some payback nya!" Ravena yelled.

"You could barely do anything last time, what made you think this will be different?" Rose brought out her daggers.

"This time I know what you can do, and I won't fall for your tricks Maid Fetish!" Ravena got into her Bakeneko-ken stance.

"I'll get you for that later!" Rose got into her stance.

"Ok everyone the third matches, Ravena vs. Rose…ready…FIGHT!"

Ravena then quickly moved towards Rose, the shadow of a large cat roared as Ravena continued her attack.

"Intimidation really" Rose said unimpressed. "I've seen things that make you seem like a harmless kitten."

**Tsume-Teka-Neko-Teka!**

Ravena's nails sharpened and grew into claws as she reached Rose. Rose blocked every slash as the two began their battle. Sparks flew as nails met diamond.

Rose jumped back and sent a current of air that blew Ravena back. She then rushed in and began to take the offensive. Instead of blocking Ravena only dodge and caught one of Rose's arms. Before Ravena could try anything, a blast of energy began to burn her and sent her across the stage.

Ravena hissed as she saw steam rise from her. "What was that nya?"

Ravena saw Rose was briefly covered in a holy aura. Rose looked at the neko with a sly look before she dusted herself off.

"Sacred energy, perfect with dealing with demons" Rose said. Rose then took off the chain that was wrapped around her waist.

"Did you really think I forgot about my force field on purpose, I was just letting you feel confident before I defeat you?" Rose said.

"Kind of a cold way to fight don't you think nya?" Ravena asked as she stood up.

"Hmm, tell that to your leader next time you talk to him, he was the one that taught me the basics." Rose said. "But I'm not here to talk about my past I'm here to win."

"Don't count on it nya!" Ravena threw an arm and a whip shot out. Rose countered with her chain and it literally turned into a battle of whips.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Oh man, I hope she remembers the strategy from yesterday." Key said.

"Please, kitty can win all Rose is doing is taunting her!" Bella said.

"It's more than that" Shadow said.

"Huh?" Everyone looked to Shadow.

"You guys all know how I usually fight, I try to get a rise out of who I'm fighting, the more angry they are, the more sloppy they get." Shadow explained.

"She really is you're student huh?" DB said.

"Unfortunately" Shadow said.

"I wonder how Illu is doing." Bella asked out of nowhere.

(Tournament Stadium)

Mukurowl was struggling in a cage as a man sat and watched the fights. "Sorry, I can't have you interrupting not yet."

Mukurowl flapped angrily until he got a look at the man that captured him. R-o-M looked from Mukurowl to the fight as it continued. 'The wheel of fate is about to turn.'

(Tournament Outskirts)

Illu followed the three, silently and camouflaged thanks to her illusions. She saw the one carrying the machine place it to the ground and began to work on it. Illu would have continued to watch until several spikes rose from the ground and bind her.

"Looks like we have a nosy bird right here."

Illu struggled to move and turned and saw Chaos and Amaterasuice looking at her.

"You don't need to worry; you're perfect for our plans." Amaterasuice said.

"Yes she is just perfect, the perfect way to clip the wings of Kurotsubasa." Chaos then laughed.

Illu tried to say something but a chop to the neck knocked her out. Chaos then placed a blood red seal tag on her back.

(Tournament Stage)

(Play Fukkireta)

**Neko-Neko-Nekoko!**

Ravena used shadow magic to lift pieces of earth from the ground and sent them toward Rose. Rose pulled out one of her daggers and used airbending to slice the rocks; she never saw Ravena move as the catgirl was right in front of her.

**Hana-Hana-Hanabi!**

The light from the fireworks blinded Rose; this gave Ravena the time to jump and land on her back.

**Elbow-Knee Whammy!**

Ravena then swung with her body around Rose and drove her knee and elbow into the front and back of Rose's head. Ravena then jumped back as she saw Rose drop.

Tendrils made of shadows then wrapped around Rose and Ravena ran to deliver a final attack.

(Fukkireta end)

"I have had enough!" A blast sent Ravena across the stage. Rose then used her shield and destroyed the shadows. Rose now had her Rinnegan activated.

Ravena then tried to move but felt gravity force her down. Rose's chain wrapped around her and a blast of purifying energy caused her to scream out in pain. The pain would have continued until a blast of gravity sent her flying.

The powerful blast of gravity left Ravena half sprawling on the ground, stunned. Rose walks up to the girl who is unable to move (again because of gravity) in time and finds herself roughly getting hoisted into the air by the front of her shirt, causing her to dangle limply from her opponent's hand.

"I guess this is my victory after all," said Rose snidely smirked in victory.

"No! RAVENA!" cried Bella from Kurotsubasa's viewing box as gets held back by Key and DB.

"Come on, kitty! SNAP OUT OF IT, MOVE!" screamed Key as well.

"PUNNYA! PUNNYA! PUN-PUN! PUNNYA!" screeched Punnya desperately as she  
>tried to fly forward to help but Shadow held her back by her tail.<p>

Shadow appeared grim watching his team's reaction, especially Punnya's. As much as he wanted to let the neko-manju go, who knows how cruel Rose would be if she controlled the neko again. Ravena made him swear to forbid her pet from entering the battle.

'Ring-Ring' went Ravena's bell as it tinkled a bit, making Rose glare in annoyance.

"Tch, what an annoying sound! Worthless trinket!" growled the teenager, raising his hand to grab the bell when Ravena quickly appeared to panic as she grabbed Rose's wrist with both hands.

"N-no...please don't-nya..." Ravena strained as her hands quivered trying to push back the hand from grabbing her bell. "My bell...important..."

"Oh really, all the more for me to take it then!" declared Rose who pulled even harder.

Ravena, already being weakened, struggled to use the last of her strength to keep his hand away, but it was no good. Her grip was slipping and his fingers were slowly starting to graze her bell.

At that moment, Shadow frowned as he suddenly slammed his hands against the railing, startling the others.

"Shads? What's up?" asked Bella suddenly.

"YOU IDIOT! DON'T REMOVE THAT BELL!" screamed Shadow only to have his  
>voice drowned out by the crowd.<p>

"PUNNYAAAAA! PUNYAAAA! PUN! NYA-NYA- PUNNYA!" meowed Punnya in panic, struggling even harder.

The others looked at their leader strangely. "Shadow? What's gonna happen?" asked DB, furrowing his brows. "What will happen if that bell is removed?"

"P-p-please-nya...if you re-remove the bell..." begged Ravena desperately even more when her grip slipped, allowing Rose to grab the bell and rip off her collar, flinging it far away to the other end of the arena.

Punnya and Shadow gasped in horror as the watched the ripped off collar and  
>bell fall towards the ground.<p>

"Oh holy crap..." was all Shadow could say.

"Punnya..." Punnya meowed softly as she floated down into Key's arms and began shivering in fright.

Suddenly, it was like time slowed down as Shadow watched the bell hit the ground.

"RING!" Rang the bell bouncing on the ground once as Ravena's stopped struggling suddenly while her eyes began to glaze over.

RING! The bell bounced a second time while the girl's head fell back.

RING! On the third ring, Kurotsubasa began to notice Ravena's hair slowly losing its bouncy curls as it became long and straight.

RING! RING! RING! The bell bounced a few more times on the marble floor before going into a roll and then to a stop. But for Ravena, all the sounds had died out and her vision faded to black.

"Is the battle already over, on pull of that bell and she's out like a light, how will Rose finish this?" Plugman yelled.

Rose saw this and decided to drop her to the ground. Rose walked away as she turned to Kyoto.

"Start a count, as much as I want to win it would be shameful to win this way!" Rose's request startled the kitsune.

"O-of course, Rose has asked that we give a count!" Kyoto then began.

"1…2…3…"

(Ravena's Mind)

Ravena was curled in a small sphere, her hands over her ears with her eyes squeezed shut. She had to block it out. The voices, the laughter, that horrible mocking laughter!

"Fat-ass!"

"Why are so fat?"

"No I don't want to sit with her!"

"Why can't you understand even the simplest math questions?"

"Drawing again? Why won't you study instead of drawing your cartoons or whatever?"

Tears began to flow from Ravena's eyes as pressed her ears down even more, trying very to block all the negative words ever spoken to her.

"No...Stop calling me that! Stop it! Leave me alone-nya!" sobbed Ravena heavily. "Why can't they just leave me be?"

"Why don't I make them?" a new voice asked suddenly. It sounded a lot like Ravena's only more mature and womanly.

Ravena only sobbed harder and shook her head. "Please, don't...I locked you away for a reason-nya!"

The voice chuckled deviously. "Silly girl, when are you gonna realize that even if you suppress me, I'm still a part of you. As long as you exist, so do I..." pointed out the voice as the sound of footsteps approached Ravena from behind.

A silhouette slowly emerged from the shadows of Ravena's mind and crouched in front of her. The figure reached out and pulled the girl's hands off her ears as the figure leaned in and smiled.

"Besides, that weed is pissing me off...I'm sure you won't mind would you?" The figure whispered in her ear.

Ravena stopped crying and kept silent for a while. "Do it," the girl finally said as making the figure smirk.

(Tournament Stage)

What seemed like a few minutes in Ravena's mind was a mere few seconds in FFW as a smirk suddenly played on Ravena's lips as power surged through her body.

"6…7…"

Rose felt the power and pulled out her daggers. She kept the blades raised as she called to Kyoto.

"Be silent, can't you feel…" Rose froze as the cat girl appeared in front of her and she suddenly shot up her left hand.

"RAVENAAAAA!" screamed the Kurotsubasa members in horror as they saw Ravena try a kill blow.

The sound of metal stabbing through Rose's barrier filled the air as she jumped back so her wound was not too serious. Blood was dripping to the ground, as Rose had a slash mark on her shoulder. She held the wound and then ran to Ravena.

There were loud gasps echoing throughout the stadium as did the Kurotsubasa members themselves when they all saw what had happened. The sound of the dagger hitting flesh filled the air.

The dagger had stabbed Ravena, right through her palm. Blood flowed from the wound down her gauntlet and arm as Ravena closed her fingers around the guard of the dagger.

Rose widened her eyes as Ravena, whose head was still hung back began to chuckle loudly.

"I'm sure you've had plenty of fun up until now, sweetheart..." Ravena began to say in a more mature, womanly voice when her head snapped up to reveal her yellow eyes had become more frightening and beast-like with a deranged smile on her face.

"But now it's my turn~!" she said when she suddenly swung her body up so that it became parallel to Rose's arm and locked her legs around his neck.

**Ravena Propeller!**

The catgirl sharply twisted her body, forcing her opponent and herself to spin in the air in such a way it looked like its namesake. The move wrenched the girl free from Rose's grasp as she landed smoothly on her feet while Rose hit the ground hard.

The girl pulled the knife from her hand without even flinching and dropped the knife on the ground as she licked her wound, all the while smiling mockingly.

Rose slowly forced herself to stand. The Rinnegan was blazing under her glare as she spat out the blood in her mouth.

"Whoa…something's up with Ravena... it's like she's a totally different person!" exclaimed Bella who shocked at the sight of Ravena licking her wound, especially since she recalled the cat-girl mentioned sometime ago she was hemophobic.

Shadow furrowed his brow once more and he folded his arms. "Unfortunately Bella, right now, she is..."

The others looked at Shadow in confusion.

"What do hell do you mean by that?" asked Key in confusion.

Shadow glanced a bit his teammates before looking to where the cat girl stood.

"She's still Ravena alright... but not the one we all know and love, Ravena Felidae..."he began to explain when DB tapped his foot a little impatiently.

"Get to the point, Shads!" he snapped.

"The Ravena you see now is known as Ravena...Felis..."

Suddenly, with a fantastic leap in the air, Felis back-flipped gracefully as she crossed her arms and flung out the twin tail whips hidden in her sleeves.

The whips snapped against ground with loud cracks in the air as Felis landed and took her dancer-like stance while smiling deviously.

"It's time for your punishment, you naughty little girl." Felis said coyly as she ran her tongue slowly across her lips in a seductive manner.

Many perverts in the crowd flew back with a nosebleed as they saw this. Rose just glared as chakra and sacred energy rose from her body in waves.

"You annoying cat, don't think that transformation is going to change anything!" Rose yelled.

(Play Paper Moon-Soul Eater)

"Oh really, then let's see if that's true, go ahead try and control me like last time, or maybe you want to try that bastardize knock off of a move you got from Shadow." Ravena continued to mock her.

Rose just glared and used airbending to increase her speed as she dashed to the neko. Ravena Felis smiled as she once again activated her claw spell and once again got into a knife/nail fight.

(Kurotsubasa)

"This is just too much." Shadow said.

"This fight is getting out of control, what do we do now?" DB asked.

"I don't think Felis has a sense of self control." Key said.

"We have to do something and get our Kitty back!" Bella yelled.

(Mercenary)

"Oh dear, she has certainly met her match this time." Naenia said.

"If it gets too far I'll end it." Grim said.

(Tournament Stage)

The last clash of weapons pushed the two apart. Rose couldn't dodge the whip that turned into a spike as is slashed across her face. Blood fell from the mark on her cheek as she fired bolts of sacred power.

Felis dodged most but a few lucky hit caused her to hiss, as the holy powered burned against her. Her eyes became white voids as she started to gather shadow s.

"It's about time I put an end to this." Felis said.

"That's my line." Rose said as she powered up.

The phantom form of a nekomata appeared behind Felis as she dashed forward with claws raised, Streams of light flew from Rose's daggers as she two dashed. The two almost collided until two black blurs blocked their paths and an explosion filled the stage.

"What the, an intervention!" Kyoto said.

"What the hell, whoever interrupted the fight that time is disqualified, who interested such a surprising finish!" Plugman yelled.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Felis asked the one in front that caught her arm.

"Why did you interfere?" Rose asked as a something held her arms and chest.

Shadow and Grim were in front stopping the attacks from connecting.

"Who what a surprise, both leaders have stopped the attacks from connecting, this battle is a draw!" Plugman announced.

"So we finally meet." Felis said as Shadow let go.

Shadow put a hand over the new wound on his shoulder but looked to Felis. "Don't going a bit too far don't you think?"

Felis shrugged her shoulders. "She was asking for it, a girl like her needs to be put in her place."

"I know that, but basically killing her isn't going to solve anything." Shadow said.

"Still have feelings for your old student?" Felis smirked. "Or maybe you want to be the one that finishes her off?"

Shadow removed his hand as he felt the wound close. Shadow walked a bit and pick up the bell that lay on the ground.

"My reasons are my own" Shadow then tossed the bell to her.

Felis caught the bell. "You're just like Felidae; you can't run from it you know."

"I'll come to that bridge when I get there, for right now I need you to change back." Shadow said.

Felis just smirked. "I'll just say this for you to know in the future, I am a part of Felidae, of Ravena. I'm not going anywhere, I suggest you remember that."

"And I suggest you remember while Felidae is my friend you're still questionable." Shadow said.

"I suppose that's fair." Felis then attached the bell. "Until next time." She said in a flirtatious voice.

As Ravena tuned back into Felidae she would have fell to the ground have Shadow not caught her. While this was happening Grim was able to talk Rose off of the stage.

"Come on, if you go and die then how will you get your wish?" That question was what got Rose to agree.

"Tch, alright then, I'll go heal before my fight then." Rose then walked away to the infirmary. Grim then returned Doppelman and went back to his team.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Me-eow, where am I?" Ravena Felidae asked.

"Kitty!" Bella yelled as she hugged the girl forgetting her strength.

"Nya, ribs, ribs!"

Bella seemed to get the message and let the catgirl go. Punnya quickly flew to Ravena, happy that her master was safe. While Ravena was hugging Punnya she looked to the others.

"So what happened, I know my bell fell off than nothing." Ravena said.

The others started to tell her what happened. Ravena's shoulders then dropped.

"I guess Felis got a little wild out there." Ravena said.

"A little?" Key said.

"When were you going to tell us this kitty?" Bella asked.

"As a matter of fact, how did you know Shadow?" DB asked.

"It all goes back to the Rose incident; Ravena took the time to explain it to me." Shadow said.

"Well all I know is we're at a win, a loss, and a draw." DB said.

"And the next match?" Bella asked.

"The fourth match has been revealed!" Kyoto voice cut through their conversation. The crowd seemed to cheer at the two names that were chosen.

Shadowlight0982 versus Mister Grim

"It looks like people are looking forward to this match, the Dark One against the Grim Reaper; this may be the battle to see people!" Plugman shouted and the crowd's noise grew.

"I guess I'm up." Shadow turned to walk.

"Shads you're shoulder!" Bella drew attention to the bloody stain on the jacket.

"I did that, didn't I nya?" Ravena asked silently.

"Don't worry about it, it's a flesh wound." Shadow turned his head and gave them all a reassured smile.

"You guys should know or learn by now I'm too stubborn to die." Shadow continued his walk to the stage.

(Tournament Stage)

Shadow walked to the stage and looked to Grim. Grim as well as others of the crowd noticed Shadow's new wound.

"I hope you do go blaming you're loss to injury." Grim said.

"What this, this is nothing besides." Shadow looked to Grim. "I wouldn't want people to say you have an unfair advantage so…"

Shadow reached into his jacket and pulled out a stone. Shadow placed it to his shoulder and a light glowed across the stage. The light faded and the stone disappeared, but Shadow's wound was healed and the jacket was repaired.

"An alchemy stone, always prepared aren't you?" Grim said.

"Helps to be prepared" Shadow said.

"Enough small talk, let's give the people what they want." Shadow got into a Juken stance.

"With pleasure" Grim got into a stance of his own. Doppelman was eagerly moving along the ground, eager for the battle to start.

"Match 4, Shadow vs. Grim…ready…FIGHT!"

(Scene Change-The World That Never Was Area)

"Is that…?" Leon asked in surprised. Around the dark castle was a large red energy dome, while the dome did not stop those who entered it was still outside the norm for the area.

"Yes, this is Chaos' residence." Speed said as the stood outside the large barrier over the area.

"So what do we do now?" Leon asked.

"Shut this area down for now; let's see if we can find the other mysterious energy." Speed said.

**TBC…**

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><p><strong>Hate me right now, sorry well I need a reason for you all to keep coming back. Many things are happening and I'm sure none of you want to miss a minute of this. All you can do is keep reading and hope for updates but there is a thing you can do right now:<strong>

**REVIEW**

**REVIEW**

**REVIEW!**

** (AN) A special thanks goes out to Ravena Felidae, for reasons she may already know (If you don't just PM me).**

**(Insert announcer voice here)**

** The battle between Kurotsubasa and Mercenary is about to draw to a close. Shadow and Grim begin their match with exciting results and soon the match between Shadow and Rose will decide the team that advances. Also what is R-o-M reason for delaying Illu's message, and what are Chaos' plans for her? Find out next time on Fanfiction World.**

**Next Time: The Battle of Darkness, Chaos' Sphere of Madness?**

**(Bonus AN) I wonder if anyone knows how to make an archive, just a question I just wanted to ask.**

**Shadowlight0982-out.**


	11. Chapter 11: The Reunion Battle

** It's what you have been waiting the next chapter of FFW. Sorry for not getting back but writers block can really hit a person hard. Anyway as you can see the chapter is up and you guys can read more of the story you all enjoy. Now as with before on with the announcements.**

**Announcements:**

** As all of you may know the administrators of this site have begun cracking down on stories containing lemons or what they see as excessive violence. They are starting to take down stories and authors now for these as I like to say "stupid" reasons. I have seen this sight since at least 2006 and they haven't done anything like this before; let's just hope this all blows over.**

** Now to some story related messages, I have some ideas for parings that I am going to list out now. These are just staring ideas just to put down for all to see.**

**Shadow/Illu**

**Shadow/Ravena**

**Shadow/Rose**

**Key/Future character**

**Key/OC**

**Cast/Leon**

**DB/OC**

**Rose/OC**

** Like I said these are some ideas with what I already thinking about I have not made any decisions yet. Put in your reviews or PM me what you have to say because it's going to be awhile before anything like fluff will appear.**

** Also with the wiki, while I encourage all of you to look and help build the site with just me and six others it will still be awhile until its near complete but I will promise that at least all the character pages will be complete as soon as possible.**

**Now it's times for reviews!**

**Reviews:**

**Mister Grim: Our fight would be the best way to start the new chapter, besides it gave you time to discover more things for your character too so it's a win win situation.**

**Illusionist Owl: I'm glad you enjoyed reading and I hope you continued to read.**

**Ravena Felidae: To you Felis, considering the last time you fought and the fact I needed Rose intact for the last battle you to accept a draw is a draw. And to you Felidae you may want to tighten your bell.**

**Generalhyna: I'll try better the next time and thanks for the extra information.**

**Now that all the usual things are taken care of, ON WITH THE SHOW!**

"FFW"-Speech

'FFW'-Thought

'_FFW'-Flashback_

"**FFW"-Attacks**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any reference to any anime/game/show/book, etc. that appears in this story. I own the original plot (at least I hope its original) and my own characters and OC's. All other characters and references belong to their original creators.**

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><p>"<em>I wouldn't say I'm the strongest guy in the world, but if there is one thing I can do its turn a battle around!"-Shadowlight0982<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Ch. 11: The Reunion Battle, Memories of the wilted rose.<strong>

* * *

><p><em>(Recap)<em>

"_Enough small talk, let's give the people what they want." Shadow got into a Juken stance._

"_With pleasure" Grim got into a stance of his own. Doppelman was eagerly moving along the ground, eager for the battle to start._

"_Match 4, Shadow vs. Grim…ready…FIGHT!"_

(Play Break by Three Days Grace)

The sound of metal hitting metal began the battle. A scythe blade was locked in the teeth of a chainsaw. The two fighters continued their struggle for dominance until they both jumped back. Shadow continued to back up to avoid the clay birds that Grim had just thrown his way, after a minute of avoiding them Shadow slashed them all to piece and jumped to avoid their explosions.

"Nice, but you do know in the air you're an open target!" Grim made handseals and this time created a much larger bird sculpture.

In the air Shadow already began to charge his counter attack, as soon as Grim let his creation loose Shadow swung his scythe full force, the Witch Hunter had appeared on his blade.

**Witch Hunter!**

The slash cut through the air and the bird and continued towards Grim, Grim leaped away to avoid the attack. Grim than looked and saw Shadow had vanished.

"Huh, he can't turn invisible can he?" Grim asked.

Grim was then surprised when Doppelman rose from the ground and caught Shadow's scythe between his hands. Grim then created some distance as Doppelman pushed the boy back.

"Amazing this battle is going into an amazing start, both are throwing everything they got at each other, both are trying to outsmart the other, this everyone is a battle for the ages!" Plugman yelled excitedly.

Shadow looked to Grim, his Byakugan activated. "I forgot about your shadow, so tis sentient, this just became harder."

"I owe you one Doppelman." Grim said.

The shadow then made a gesture that created a frown on Grim's face. "No I'm going to take you to a brothel after this is over!"

"Maybe you should stop flirting!" A burst of air collided with the two and they were sent across the ground.

Shadow got out of juken and watched as the two rises off the ground. "Did that remind you we're in the middle of a fight?"

"Yeah thanks for that" Grim then went into partial transformation. "However you're going to wish you had finished us off."

Grim used the chainsaw teeth to glide along the ground, the grinding teeth leaving trenches in the ground. Shadow decided he was done waiting and decided to close the gap.

Dark energy began to form in his left hand as he punched forward, the attack quickly launching him across the stage.

The two fighters met and the next clash began.

**Hell's Fang!**

After the clash of darkness and steel the two warriors continued their closed corner battle. Grim got on his hands and began spinning, Shadow channeled chakra and began to rotate.

**Rotation!**

**Saw Foot First Gear: Vortex of Carnage!**

The saw blades grinded against the vortex of chakra, the two attacks struggled for dominance until a shockwave pushed the two away from each other. The fight continued to be close ranged between blades.

(Kurotsubasa)

"This guy is one of the strongest bounty hunters in the world, most people have heard of the targets taken out by the Grim Reaper." Key said.

"Then what are Shadow's chances nya?" Ravena asked.

"Actually its looks pretty even to me." Bella said as they watched the two continue their power struggle.

"They both are holding back, you can feel it in the air." DB said.

"And it doesn't help that Shadow has the fight in the next round too." Key reminded them all.

Punnya looked from the fight and saw Mukurowl land back in the booth.

"Punnya!" Punnya called to her animal friend.

"Hey isn't that Muku-Chan?" Ravena asked as she turned to Punnya's shouts.

"An owl without Owl-girl, something must be going on." Bella said.

"Guys!" Illu said as she burst into the booth panting.

"Illu!" The rest of the guild called out.

"Hey where have you…?" DB started.

"There's no time for that but…"

A large explosion caught Kurotsubasa's attention; they looked towards the fight and saw the result of the power struggle.

(Mercenary)

"It appears they are tied in strength." Naenia said as she watched the battle.

"Tch, they're both holding back and you know it." Rose said inside a holy white barrier. The barrier was healing her, preparing for the last battle.

"Have you planned for Shadow losing this battle?" Naenia asked curiously.

"He won't lose" Rose said from inside the dome.

"You still have that much confidence in him?" Naenia asked.

"No, because I am the one that's going to beat him, even so I don't think Grim will be able to beat Shadow even with the small handicap." Rose argued.

"Handicap?"

An explosion took Naenia away from her question and the rest of the team's attention to the stage. The results of the last clash proved what Rose was saying.

"Yes, handicap"

(Tournament Stage)

The last clash of weapons yielded different results than the ties so far. As the two separated Grim sported a new slash on the front of his cloak. Shadow now had the wound on his shoulder reopened from saw blades gracing his shoulder.

"As much as I want to continue this spar, I'm going to have to raise this up a bit." Doppelman rose from the ground with his own version of Saw foot.

Shadow blocked with the pol of his scythe and saw Grim had pulled out more clay sculptures.

"What will you do, you can't move of Doppelman will grind you to bits, but you have to worry about the explosives I'm about to send your way!" Grim then threw five more clay birds that began their flight to their target.

Shadow only smirked as he was soon caught in a huge explosion.

"Shadow!"

Grim looked at the damage as Doppelman returned to him with a nod. "So it's over."

"No quite!"

Grim was shocked to see Shadow standing back to back with him on top of his shadow. Grim moved quickly and avoided decapitation but couldn't avoid Shadow's next move.

**Dead Spike!**

Evil energy sliced through the ground apart and formed a demonic head that aimed for the cloaked bomber. Grim knew he couldn't dodge the attack but decided to use defense.

Grim then got on his hands and began to spin.

**Saw Foot Second Gear: Rotation of Pain**

The maw of the Black Beast shattered against the grinding blades on Grim's legs. Grim then performed a flip and righted himself.

"Clever, how did you perform high speed movement without Doppelman knowing?" Grim asked curiously.

"It was Doppelman that was the reason I was able to do that." Shadow admitted. "I can travel from shadow to shadow and Doppelman is a shadow correct?"

"Yeah your right" Grim answered. "Of course you got rid of your trump card by telling me that."

"You really think I'm worried about that?" Shadow began to use range with his kunai.

"I know you barely have ranged attacks but this is insulting." Grim then dodged kunai which planted them along the ground.

Shadow only smirked and continued throwing.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Nya he can do that too?" Ravena said in surprise.

"It's like we know nothing about Shadow." Illu admitted.

"You get used to that feeling." DB said.

"Quite guys Shadow's about to use that move!" Bella said.

"What move?" Illu and Ravena asked.

"Just watch" Key said.

(Tournament Stage)

After the fifth Kunai Grim began to think why he could be doing this.

'Is he drawing out the battle, or is he…?' Grim's thoughts were cut short as Shadow was now in front of him with his scythe raised.

"Like that will win!"

Grim raised a Saw foot to block until Shadow vanished. Grim was shocked and then felt Shadow coming from another direction.

'How did he…' Grim tried to block but Shadow vanished again. Grim then felt a blade slashed through his back.

'Clever bastard.' A barrage of high-speed slashes began to attack Grim from all directions.

(Mercenary)

"How did he, impossible unless…" Rose began thinking.

"He used his kunai as focus for travel and used them for quick changes of direction." Naenia said as she observed the attack.

(Tournament Stage)

Black streaks across the tournament stage began to intersect and form a shape with Grim in the center. The streaks combined and formed a star.

**Strike Star!**

Shadow then appeared out of nowhere with his scythe placed on his back. He walked away from Grim's injured form.

"Wow an impressive display of speed from Shadow, is the battle over already?" Kyoto asked the audience.

(Break by Three Days Grace end)

(Mercenary)

'Get up Grim; remember your part of the plan.' Rose thought as she thought back to team strategy.

_(Flashback)_

"_Rose you have to think with your head, the chances are that one of us may be fighting Shadow before or you get seriously injured in your own battle before fighting him." Grim brought up._

"_Then what is your plan then?" Rose asked._

"_What's the move that puts the most strain on Shadow's body?" Grim asked._

"_Possibly whenever Shadow uses that Blazblue of his." Rose said after a minute of thinking._

"_Then that's what we need, all we need to do is force him to use Blazblue during his battle with any one of us." Grim offered._

"_And how do we do that, I don't think he's that reckless in a fight." Wolf asked._

"_If he is paired up against me I have a plan, let's just hope luck is on our side." Grim said._

_(Flashback end)_

Shadow turned around to look to Grim. "I know that's not all you have, get up!"

Grim slowly and surely began to rise from the blood he pooled around him.

"I had to say you've gave me a workout, I'm going to have to fight more seriously." Grim took off the tattered Akatsuki cloak and allowed it to sink into his shadow.

(Play Getting Away with Murder by Papa Roach)

"Doppelman"

Without any more words Doppelman rose from the ground. Doppelman made a few gestures and Grim nodded.

"Yeah, it's time."

Shadow just curiously at the actions the two were about to perform. 'Whatever this is probably going to hurt but…what the hell I'm curious.'

Doppelman began to evaporate into vapor and was absorbed into Grim's body Grim than began to take on a new transformation.

Grim began to convulse and dropped to his knees, the skin on his face began to burn away to leave a dark, blood red face with two soulless white voids for eyes and a wide glowing mouth. A long tongue hung out as the transformation continued. Grim's hair grew down to his waist and his hands also became claws.

Shadow looked in shock as he saw the new creature before him.

"**I hope you're ready."** Grim said in a hollowed voice before vanishing.

'The hell, where is he?' Shadow activated his Byakugan to search for the new demonic reaper.

"**You know for having an all-seeing eye you get surprised really easily."**

Grim copied Shadow's example and appeared behind him with one of his legs raised. The shining white blades where replaced with dark black blades and the grinding replaced with demonic laughter.

Before Shadow could do anything it was too late to escape.

**Death Gear: Black Abyss!**

Grim then started to laugh as he began to grind up Shadow. Shadow was so paralyzed from pain that he couldn't escape the vortex of blades that cut through his body. After about five minutes Shadow fell to the ground and Grim just stared at his fallen opponent.

"Holy crap, what a way to turn the battle around, I can't see anyone getting up from that!" Plugman yelled.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Shadow" Illu said in shock with hands over her mouth.

DB and Key looked on as they saw their leader almost shredded to pieces.

"Nya" Ravena said as she and Punnya looked at the fallen boy.

"Come on Shads, get up!" Bella yelled to her friend. "You're stronger than that get up damn it!"

(Tournament Stage)

"Is that all, this is the guy that beat an Admin Guard Captain?" Grim let out. "I guess I was worried for nothing, sorry about your battle Rose."

(Getting Away with Murder by Papa Roach end)

A pulse of energy got Grim's and everyone's attention. Shadow slowly rose to his feet, bloody and battered but still able to stand.

'I got about a few more minutes.' Grim thought. "So how are you going to counterattack now?"

Shadow made no response and only rose his raised his right hand. Shadow's eyes were now glowing red as he looked to Grim.

"I really didn't want to use this but…" The red jewel on Shadow's gauntlet glowed for a second as he placed it in front of him. "You left me no choice."

(Play BlazBlue ost: Shinsou)

**Restriction 666 release!**

**Dimensional Interface field deployed!**

Power began to flow from the grimoire and into the air. Everyone present in the stadium can feel the evil energy as it filled the air and shook the earth. Grim just looked as Shadow's power increased.

"Now let me show you what it's like when I get serious!" Shadow yelled.

**BlazBlue Activate!**

The evil aura then surrounded Shadow's form as he stood and glared to his opponent. Shadow held his scythe as the blade began to glow red.

"Are you ready?"

"**Yeah"**

The two powered up men then dashed towards each other intent on ending the battle.

**Black Abyss!**

**Black Onslaught!**

**Black Zagam!**

Saw blades and scythe blade collided as the two continued their attacks. The wave of saw met with the onslaught of scythe slashed and created another stalemate.

Grim tried to go for another attack but soon felt he had reached his limit. Grim stood as Shadow's last strike was about to connect.

Darkness shrouded Shadow's form and formed a humanoid figure with a large wing shaped blade.

**Nightmare Rage!**

Grim watched as most of his soul was drained away by that attack. Shadow then unleashed all his energy into the last slash.

**Destruction!**

Grim was sent flying across the stage and formed a crater at the edge. Shadow dropped to knees as the technique ended. All the seithr in the air vanished as the Astral Heat ended. Shadow saw that Grim began to return to his original appearance.

Shadow then stood on his feet and placed his scythe on his back. He just watched as Grim also rose back to his feet, Grim almost fell again only to be caught by Doppelman.

(BlazBlue ost: Shinsou end)

"Didn't think it would take this much damage." Grim then raised a hand as a signal to the judges.

"I'm done, I quit!" Grim said.

"Huh?" Shadow said.

"Does it look like I'm in any shape to keep fighting?" Grim rhetorically asked. "Plus you have a more important battle to get ready for, good luck." Grim was then carried off to the medical tenets.

"In an exciting turn of events the winner is Shadow!" Kyoto announced.

(Kurotsubasa)

Shadow slowly took steps to the guild's booth for a few minutes to regain his strength. The rest of Kurotsubasa gathered around.

"Nya Shadow don't die!" Ravena yelled.

"Punnya!" Punnya called as well.

"I'm not dying I'm just tired." Shadow said. "I also used a lot of power in that last attack there."

"Way to worry us there man, when you got grinded to bits we thought that was the end!" DB said.

"Nice to know my friends have so much faith in me." Shadow felt pain as Illu tried to heal as much wounds as she can.

"We're just happy you didn't die out there that's all." Illu said.

"Yeah sure" Shadow said.

"Are you sure you can go into another match?" Key said knowing there were more than Shadow's injuries to worry about.

"I know I can" Shadow then stood up again. "Thanks Illu, I owe you one."

"You're still not healed all the way and…" Illu pointed to Shadow's clothes as they were almost rags after the fight.

"Don't worry about that, I got something incase this happened." Shadow then turned to the stage.

"After the fight, we're going to talk about where you went, as well as the message on Mukurowl's leg." Shadow then walked to the stage again.

That statement reminded everyone about Illu's disappearance and waited to talk about. Now was the final match, all they needed to do now was watch.

(Mercenary)

"As fate has told me" Naenia said. "The fight you are waiting for is now."

"So you lost on purpose just so this fight could happen?" Rose suspiciously asked.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't, and the point right now is this is what you have been preparing for." Naenia said.

"Cryptic hag" Rose said under her breath. Rose then got out of the dome and started to walk to the stage.

"Since you seem to know everything I'm not going to ask you about the future." Rose said. "I can see the future right now, I will win this battle.

Naenia only sent her an amused smile behind her tessen as Rose walked to the stage. After Rose left did she adopt a more serious look.

"Truth is I never looked to see the outcome of this fight, this is one I must see for myself."

(Tournament Stage)

"Didn't know you enjoy walking in rags!" Rose said. "Don't you know you should dress properly before meeting a lady?"

"Show me a lady and I'll dress more properly." Shadow retorted.

A tick mark formed on Rose's head but she hid her anger. "Of course I should know that tactic would not work, but don't think just because of you current state I'll take it easy on you!"

"Oh don't worry about that…" Shadow then pulled out a star shaped crystal. "Allow me to fix the problem.

Shadow then crushed the crystal and a bright light lit up the field. All the audience had to shield their eyes from the intense light. When the light died down it showed Shadow's outfit has been repaired and all blood on his form had disappeared.

Shadow smirked and spun his scythe around before he settled into his stance. "You ready?"

Rose only glared and pulled out her daggers and adopted her fighting stance. "I've been waiting a long time for a chance like this."

"Ok everyone the final match, Rose versus Shadow…ready…FIGHT!"

_FANFICTION-WORLD_

(Play BlazBlue ost: White Requiem)

After the announcement to start Shadow quickly swapped his scythe for two kunai as the two dashed forward. The two then began what can only be called a dance of daggers. Sparks flew as diamond met with steel as the two tried to injure the other.

"You bastard, stop treating this like it's some old practice fight!" Rose said as they got into a collision.

"What can I say, this brings back memories." Shadow said.

"I'll show you some memories!" The diamond cut through steel as Rose tried to stab into Shadow's heart.

Shadow managed to avoid the strike and pushed Rose away. Shadow then sent out a wave of dark energy.

**Dead Spike!**

Rose shifted into an airbender stance and bent a current to help her dodged the attack. After landed on the ground she pulled the chain from her waist and began to attack with the chain whip.

Shadow dodged the chain whip and threw some kunai towards Rose. Rose used the sir to knock them to the ground and began to charge her daggers whit sacred energy.

**Sacred Slash!**

Rose then sent two waves of purifying energy towards her former teacher. Shadow then used rotation to block the attack. Shadow charged Witch Hunter as he spun so the dome gained a shining white hue.

After rotation Shadow then stood with his Witch Hunter ready. Whit a slash he sent the soul resonance technique towards Rose.

**Witch Hunter!**

Rose saw the attack and held out an arm, her Rinnegan then replaced her brown eyes as they became active. Rose used her Deva Path power to create a sphere of gravity around her.

**Almighty Push!**

The crescent shaped energy wave collided and was canceled out by the force of gravity. After a while Rose began to think back then, before her teacher was her enemy.

(BlazBlue ost: White Requiem end)

_(Really Long Flashback)_

_ A younger Rose was knocked down as three boys stood over her. Rose tried to fight back but the three completely overwhelmed her._

"_Like we were trying to tell you noob, there's a toll to get past her now pay up or get lost!" The leader boy said as they looked down on the fresh new player._

"_No…w-why can't I just walk through?" Rose said as she struggled to get up._

"_This girl just doesn't learn, maybe we should just kill her already." One of the other two boys said._

"_Naw, besides its getting fun beating her down every time she gets up!" The other boy laughed. The laugh ended after a kicked to his soft spot._

_ Rose got on her feet and after showing one of them how she felt about their treatment she then pulled out two ordinary daggers._

"_I didn't know guys like you get kicks out of beating little girls, now get out of my way you pedo's!" Rose said boldly but on the inside was hoping she didn't have to prove her bluff._

"_You little bitch!" The boy on the floor yelled._

"_That's it; I'm tired of this little shit!" The other boy pulled out a rapier. "Boss can I 'lete her?"_

"_Do as you wish, she never paid so she's dead meat to us." The leader said._

_ Before the boy could advance or Rose could make any move to run a new figure appeared in the scene._

_ A boy in a tattered cloak, baggy black pants, steel-toed shoes, sleeveless dark blue shirt with a crescent moon symbol, a fingerless black glove on his left hand and a large gauntlet on the right with a red gem. The shadows on the hood blocked the boy's face from view._

"_Out of my way." The boy spoke._

"_Who the hell are you, in case you haven't noticed there's a toll here, now pay up, 5000 munny or get lost!" The one with the sword yelled._

"_How about this let me through or I pay in your blood." Lifted a hand and allowing a scythe to appear to prove his point._

_ The boy on the floor rose up from the ground, still cradling his wounded "pride." "The hell do you think you are some kind of badass?"_

"_Enma, Justin…get rid of this loser!" The leader ordered._

_ The wounded Enma brought out a steel staff and ran forward. Justin dashed forward with his rapier aimed to run the cloaked boy through. The boy just watched as the two ran his direction._

"_This is waste of time." In a flash the boy appeared past them with his scythe and slashed both through._

_ The two henchmen were shocked as they were struck down so easily. The two fell to the ground as the boy now looked to their leader. The hood fell to show black slightly spiky hair, and brown and white eyes._

_ The leader looked in shock as his enforcers were taken care of so easily. Rose looked in awe at her "hero" as he had taken care of the two who harassed her before. Shadow now looked to the leader._

"_Since you're the leader I'll be sure to kick your ass more severely before passing." Shadow then made a slow advance to him._

_ Cartman took a step back in fear as he saw the boy continue his direction. The path blocker then pulled out a knife and pulled Rose in and aimed for her neck._

"_Stop right there, or this girl gets it!" Cartman said as he aimed the knife at Rose._

_ Rose held her breath, even though this was a game, the mind may determine it as real and it would still hurt. Shadow seems to pause before muttering something under his breathes._

_ Cartman saw him stop and then gained some courage. "Yeah, now I want you to bow, BOW BEFROE ME!"_

_**Tendrils of Darkness!**_

_ Thousands of black threads rose from Cartman's shadow and began to restrain the thug. One tendril caught his knife wielding hand and kept it at bay. A large tendril rose from Shadow's shadow and grabbed Rose and brought her out the way._

_ Shadow them brought a hand down._

_**Gravity Control!**_

_ A seal appeared underneath Cartman and he then felt gravity slam him into the ground. Cartman struggled to lift his head up but looked and saw two glowing red eyes._

"_This will teach you not to stand in my way…" Shadow then delivered the final blow._

_**Gravity Wave!**_

_ Gravity then crushed Cartman as he soon became data that was scattered to the wind. Enma and Justin watched and saw their boss was destroyed. A glare from Shadow was enough to get them to quickly leave the area._

_ Rose was frozen in awe as the boy easily took care of the people who came close to killing her. She watched him leave before an idea came to her head._

"_Hey, you wait a minute!" Rose called._

_ Shadow stopped to raise his hood before looking back. "What do you want?"_

_ Rose hesitated a bit because of the harsh tone but continued with her question. "I wanted to ask…if you could train me?"_

_(Flashback end)_

**Lunar Destroyer!**

The enhanced version of Witch Hunter slammed into the barrier of gravity. Rose remembered the battle and used her ring to create another layer of barrier underneath the first. After a power struggle Rose was able to block the attack.

Rose let out a few huffs before she steadied into another stance. Shadow then brought his scythe up and rested it on his shoulder.

"What are you doing daydreaming in the middle of a fight?" Shadow asked.

"Shut up; don't pretend to be offering me tips like before!" Rose put her whip away and brought her knives in a cross shape.

"I'm going to win; I'm going to kill you for what you did!" Sacred energy traveled through the daggers and began to form energy blades. Rose used airbending to increase her speed towards Shadow.

Shadow used the pole of his scythe to block the two energy blades. As the two struggled Shadow then began to remember.

_(Flashback)_

"_Dammit why can't I hit you?" Rose complained as she tried to attack Shadow with her knew weapons. It had been a few months since the two had met and in that time she got the stoic boy to cave in and accept her request and train her to become stronger._

_ The diamond daggers slid of the kunai as they continued to spar. "Stop getting angry, besides you expect me to make training easy for you?"_

"_Sadistic bastard!" Rose yelled as she went for another strike. Shadow just leaned to the side and tripped the girl and she fell on the ground._

"_And don't you forget it, now get up training is over." Shadow said._

"_Why is that?" Rose asked._

"_We're going after something." Shadow said as he started to pack up their camp._

"_And that something is?" Rose asked._

"_Something very special, a chaos emerald" Shadow said._

_(Flashback end)_

'That's right; it was after that when things got shot into hell.' Shadow thought.

A blade slicing through his cheek got shadow full concentration back into the fight. Shadow jumped back away and tried to focus on the fight.

"Now who's the one day dreaming, whatever happened to focus 100% on any battle?" Rose asked as she wiped the blood of her dagger.

"And who said I wasn't a great teacher?" Shadow rhetorically asked. With a quick draw Shadow then dashed forward with his scythe.

Rose blocked the initial attack but Shadow only needed to get in close. Shadow held the weapon underhand and sent Rose into the air with a burst of dark energy.

**Inferno Divider!**

A punch in the gut continued after the strike, Shadow then used an axe kick and sent Rose falling back to earth. Rose used air to right herself and jumped back. Rose then sent out a wave of sacred energy as she saw Shadow fall.

Shadow slammed his scythe pole into the ground and used it as a platform to jump out of the way to avoid the attack. Shadow rolled on the ground and ran to Rose, leaving his weapon behind.

'He left his weapon?' Rose then threw up her barrier as juken collided with dome. Shadow continued his barrage as he saw he was slowly breaking the barrier.

(Kurotsubasa)

"They know each other's moves before the other can make it." Key observed.

"They did say they were teacher and student, they must remember some things about each other's style." Illu said.

"Nya, it doesn't matter why isn't Shadow beating Maid Fetish into the ground." Ravena complained.

"Looks like the two are thinking about something to me." Bella said.

"What do you mean nya?" Ravena asked as she held Punnya.

"Look at them, they are zoning out in the middle of the fight, whatever they are remembering must be really important." Bella explained to the neko.

"More than that, has anyone ever noticed Shadow has been fighting a little differently now." DB brought up.

"What do you mean?" Illu asked.

"Shadow has two ways of fighting, quick and effective or slow steady victory." Key clarified. "Only now he's not fighting to end it quick but he's not planning ahead like normal."

'It must be what those guys did to him nya.' Ravena thought.

'It's more than that." Felis said.

'Nya again, stay away, fighting is one thing but just go back to sleep!' Felidae complained.

'And miss this battle, not a chance.' Felis said with a chuckle. 'And about Shadow, it's more than just that.'

'Nya do you know?' Felidae asked.

'I have a suspicion but we can confront him after the fight.' Felis then severed the connection.

"Punnya?" Punnya looked to Ravena. Ravena scratched Punnya behind her ears to reassure her she was alright before watching the battle again.

(Tournament Stage)

"Just die!" Rose's Rinnegan flashed.

**Almighty Push!**

Shadow decided to fight the technique with his own.

**Gravity Wave!**

As the two attacks collided once again Shadow's continued its pursuit to Rose. Rose decided to cancel her attack and move out of the way.

"When are you going to stop using that move, a blind monkey can see you copied it after my attack." Shadow said.

"Shut up!" Rose then rushed forward.

Shadow jumped to pull his scythe out of the ground and once again used it to block Rose. As the two looked into the others eyes Shadow saw many things in Rose's…pain, hurt, betrayal.

(Play Center of Existence by DJ Nate)

_(Flashback)_

_ A large centipede monster with many bladelike legs stood in the two's path towards the emerald. The insect hissed and sent a blade forward only for Shadow and Rose to dodge._

"_Ok remember not to lose focus in battle!" Shadow yelled to Rose._

"_I know, I know!" Rose yelled as she sent out sacred energy towards the demonic centipede._

_ As Rose's attacks collided the beast hissed and set its sights to the girl. A Witch Hunter then landed against its exoskeleton, while it failed to cut through it left a large gash in its armor._

"_Damn, its hide is too strong!" Shadow yelled._

"_Leave it to me!" Rose then focused chakra to her eyes. 'Come on work, work!'_

"_Rose I said keep your focus on the battle!" Shadow yelled as he ran towards her._

"_I got this!" Rose's eyes then took on a new appearance. The Rinnegan glowed as it was now fully activate._

"_It's over…!" Rose prepared her new attack._

_**Almighty Push!**_

_ Gravity slammed down on the creature, the centipede hissed as it felt gravity slowly crushed it into the ground. Rose them calmly walked passed it and pulled out the red emerald from the ground._

"_I told you I…" A slash across Rose's torso ended her statement. One of the insect's legs left a mark from her __right hip to her left shoulder blade._

"_Rose!" Shadow looked in shock as the beast struck Rose. Power exploded from his body as he looked at the centipede with rage and destruction in his eyes._

"_**I will destroy you!" **__Shadow said in a new demonic tone. __**"Dissappear!"**_

_**Gravity Wave!**_

_ Gravity this time squeezed down until the demon insect in a bug shaped crater. Shadow slammed gravity down again and again until the monster was no more._

_Shadow then remembered Rose was injured and ran towards her. Shadow then held Rose's injured body._

"_Get up, get up, don't you die on me you idiot!" Shadow yelled._

"_I'm getting tired, think I might, t-take a…" Rose began to lose consciousness._

"_Dammit" Shadow said out loud. 'What do I do, the nearest town is miles from here.' Shadow then looked at the emerald still clutched in Rose's hand._

'_This has to work.' Shadow then raise the gem into the sky._

_**Chaos Control!**_

_In a clinic in a town far away, the two appeared in the lobby._

"_I need a doctor quickly!" Shadow's voice yelled._

"_Sir I'm afraid you'll have to…" The nurse was frozen as she saw red voids instead of eyes._

"_**Get me a doctor now or so help me I will destroy this whole place!" **__The nurse quickly complied and gathered a few people to give Rose a room. Shadow then noticed what had happened and calmed himself down._

'_It happened again, what should I do?" Shadow asked himself as he watched Rose be taken for treatment._

"_Young man it looks like you have a problem there." An old man in a brown full body cloak appeared towards Shadow._

"_It's nothing, mind your business." Shadow then walked to find a place to wait and her about Rose._

"_There is great darkness in your heart."_

_ That statement caused Shadow to freeze. "That darkness threatens to consume you if you don't try to keep in check." The man continued._

"_Who the hell are you?" Shadow reached for a kunai._

_ The man put his hands up to show he met no harm. "I can see many things child, one of those things is the struggle inside your own soul."_

_ A part of Shadow wanted to hear what the man had to say but for the most part he wanted the man to leave._

"_If you try to resist its grip you end up weakening yourself, if you don't fight it the darkness will consume you." The man continued. "You must control your darkness and make it your own power."_

_ Shadow's hands clenched on the Kunai handle. The hood kept Shadow's eyes from view but it look as if he was thinking over what the man had to say._

"_I get what you're saying old man but…" Shadow looked towards the ground._

"_I understand…you need time to think this over." The man reached into his cloak and pulled out a card._

"_Whenever you are ready this card will take you to my location." The man offered the card and Shadow accepted._

"_The card only last for a week before it expires so chooses wisely." The man then left the clinic leaving Shadow to his thoughts._

_(Flashback end)_

A shockwave of dark energy and sacred energy sent the two flying across the ground. As the two got up Rose shot him another look of hate.

"You left, a week after you left." Rose said in a low voice.

"I had no choice but to leave, I…" shadow tried to reason.

"Shut up!" Rose yelled her hate seemed to amplify her powers. "You left, all you left were this ring and a note, and you wrote something about trying to protect me but…"

Power exploded from Rose as her Rinnegan began to gain power. "YOU RAN, ALL YOU DID WAS LEAVE!"

Shadow struggled as the raw power itself seemed to push him back as it exploded from Rose.

'It must have been heartbreaking; I was the only attachment she had but…' Shadow raised his grimoire once more.

"I did leave; I left you so that I could better control my own powers but…" Shadow held the gauntlet in front of him.

"What I said was what you needed to hear, you needed to follow your own path now!" Shadow yelled. "And now, instead of leaving a message I'm going to beat that message into you!"

**BlazBlue Activated!**

The aura of the Black Beast once again shrouded Shadow's form as he called upon the azure. The stress on his body double from once again using the weapon but he didn't care, what mattered was ending the battle now.

"Let's finish this now!" Shadow raised his scythe and poured as much power as he can into the blade. Lunar Destroyer grew in size and began to let out a demonic laugh.

"Shadow!" Rose brought both of her hands together and prepared her technique.

**Lunar Destroyer!**

** The attack slashed through the ground and continued its journey towards Rose. Rose just opened up her arms and allowed the technique to connect; the technique began to be absorbed into Rose's body.**

"What?" Shadow yelled.

"Haha, I could never summon enough energy to use this technique, SO THANK YOU FOR SUPPLYING IT FOR ME!" Rose held her hands to the sky and summoned her ultimate technique.

**Planetary Devastation!**

A black sphere of gravity appeared and began to draw all things around it into it. The barrier kept the audience unharmed but the ground was pulled into the attack. Shadow tried to resist but was slowly being drawn to the sphere.

'What do I do, what do I do?' Shadow kept asking himself as he used his power with gravity to keep himself on the crumbling ground.

A crazy idea soon popped into his mind. "It's now or never!"

Shadow let his gravity die and flew willingly towards the sphere. All of Kurotsubasa cried out as they saw him fly towards the sphere.

"Shadow!"

"You can't lose?"

"Fight back nya!"

"Don't give up Shadow!"

"You crazy idiot, don't you dare die on us again!"

As soon as Shadow was close to Rose he allowed gravity to pull him back to earth. Rose could only watch as Shadow descended with his right arm now a demonic claw of energy.

**The end!**

As soon as the attack connected, large tendrils of energy erupted from Rose's body and into the sky. The Devoured by Darkness did its job and drained Rose of most of her energy. The sphere of gravity died as the two fell to the ground.

"Wow, amazing, after that explosive finish both of them are down, who will be the one to claim victory?" Plugman announced.

"Hold your horse there my announcing friend it seems they are rising up again!" Kyoto called everyone's attention.

Shadow and Rose both slowly got to their feet. While it was certain that Rose had received the greater amount of damage the two looked as if they could fall any second.

"Why?"

The question Rose kept asking as they stood at least an inch from each other. "Why did you have to leave?"

The question wasn't what shocked Shadow, it was what happened next. Rose then began to silently cry. "Did you really have to leave, to just vanish from my life?"

_(Flashback)_

_ Rose slowly began to open her eyes as she got up from her sleeping bag. A week had passed since the incident and they had camped in a forest close to the town. Rose looked down at her new scar for a bit before dressing herself in her clothes._

"_Shadow, what are we going to do today?" Rose asked as she got out of her tent. Rose looked and saw that the fire was going and there were a few rabbits that she assumed was their breakfast but Shadow's tent and supplies were gone._

"_Shadow?" Rose began to look and saw on the side of her tent was a note. She tore it off and began to read._

_Dear Rose,_

_ After what had happened I taught something that I didn't want to admit. I'm not strong enough, not nearly as strong as I want to be. I left to get stronger and to control a power deep inside of me._

_ I'm sorry that I had to go and leave but after all the training we've done I have one thing left to tell you. Find your own path, no one can fully teach you your own powers so go on and get stronger._

_Shadow_

_ Tears fell down on the note before it was crumpled in Rose's hands. 'Why why didn't you at least say goodbye?'_

_ In a separate area Shadow had his hood down but his bangs shadowed his eyes. The old man stood as he saw Shadow walk towards him._

"_When do we start?"_

_(Flashback end)_

(Center of Existence by DJ Nate end)

"That's one of the reasons I left." Shadow said that got Rose's attention. "I always seem to hurt all those around me, either physically or emotionally."

"But now, I can do more than just hurt others." An image of Kurotsubasa and all its members appeared in his mind. "Several people convinced me that I can help as well as destroy."

"What I did I don't think I can apologize for but," Shadow paused to try and find the right words. "I can at least say this, you did well getting this far, you really did find your own path well."

The tears stopped as Rose heard what he had said. After a while Rose closed her eyes and raised a hand in defeat.

"I…I forfeit the…" Rose suddenly fell unconscious.

Shadow moved to catch her and saw that she had used all her energy.

"The battle is over, the battle is over, and the winner of the final match is Shadow!" Kyoto announced. "The winner of this round is Kurotsubasa!"

Naenia then walked to the stage towards Shadow. "I'll see she gets to the infirmary, she can be such a handful.

Shadow handed Rose to Naenia and watched her carry the girl to medical care. "Can I ask you a question?

"Go ahead" Naenia said.

"Did you know this was going to happen?" Shadow asked.

"No" Naenia simply answered. "Like Rose I needed to see the outcome for myself."

"You take care and win this tournament." Naenia continued to walk.

"What did you enter the tournament for if I may ask?" Shadow said.

"The money of course" Naenia answered.

"That's not what I'm asking." Shadow said.

"Fine then, I'll tell you his as clearly as I can." Naenia started. "Revenge"

"Don't lose that item on your wrist, if it comes down to it I will be the one to take it from you." Naenia then left the field.

Before Shadow can even think about that warning the rest of Kurotsubasa came to get him to the tents.

"You're alive, you're alive!" Ravena yelled as she gave the injured teen a squeezing hug.

"Rave your sort of crushing my spine!" Shadow yelled with a blush as Ravena's was pressed against him.

After Ravena let him go Shadow slumped along the ground, a chibi ghost Shadow tried to escape from Shadow's mouth before he regains consciousness.

"While all this is fun and all we need to get mister winner patch up." DB said.

"We also have things to talk about too." Key reminded them.

Shadow rose to his feet. "IT's ok I can walk on my…" Shadow finally passed out and was caught by Key and DB.

"Always wanting to carry the burden Shads, you need to learn what friends are for!" Bella called as they walked to the tents.

Illu laughed as they walked seeing that even while unconscious Shadow could acknowledge Bella with a quiet "Shut up."

_FANFICTION-WORLD_

"It seems like the wheel will keep turning after all." RoM said as he saw the results of the battle. "Let's just hope there will be a happy ending when this is all over."

RoM then closed a book before leaving to find a drink before the next match.

(Destiny)

"Wow, now I know Kage-Kun is really strong!" Aka let out a laugh as he began to envision their rematch.

"Patience Aka, we have to win this battle first." Sen said.

"It should be easy, most of the other team seems to mostly full of power drunken fools." The metallic giant said.

The team walked to the stage and noticed that Darkblade was missing its leader.

(Scene Change)

"So how does this work again?" Amaterasuice asked as Chaos made sure the machine was operation.

"Think of it as a miniature version of the barrier over the castle." Chaos began his explanation. "When this machine is activated during the finals, the whole stadium will be under a wave of madness."

"You plan on starting here; does the machine have enough power for that?" Amaterasuice asked.

"This is just a test drive; we are going to wait for a specific battle in the finals." Chaos started. "We shall see how much madness Shadow keeps locked away."

Chaos let out a maniacal laugh as he began to think of the destruction. Amaterasuice looked on as he too was curious about how much darkness and madness Shadow can hide.

**TBC…**

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><p><strong>Well this is the end of that chapter. As you can see things are just cooling off only to heat up again. Once again I would like to thank everyone that continued to watch and encourage this idea to grow! Now for more of this story all you have to do is…<strong>

**REVIEW!**

**REVIEW!**

**Push the little button at the bottom of the scene and REVIEW!**

**(Insert announcer voice here)**

** Next time on FFW, Kurotsubasa began to talk about the new information about Chaos but even they do not know about what may have happened to Illu. At the same time the two opposing teams Darkblade and Destiny begins their battle on the tournament stage. Whichever team wins will spell out a new powerful team Kurotsubasa has to defeat and who is the man who appears to know about the Wings of Creation.**

**Next time: Chaotic Destiny, The Darkness within my heart?**

**Shadowlight0982 out.**


	12. AN

** I know this is not a new chapter but the way things are going it seems important that I post this message. Also, this is to allow reviews because it appears no one may be able to review the new chapter. So everyone read the message if you haven't heard the news and I'll see you all next chapter.**

**-Shadowlight0982**

**Greetings to the fine folk that moderate our site.**

**I, along with many, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.**

**For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that (I believe) violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in its original form, this is something I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.**

**It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply wasn't added.**

**If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.**

**While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, of if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be losing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.**

**For those that may agree with this, please feel free to sign on and send this to the support server, maybe we can get some movement on this.**

**Psudocode_Samurai**

**Rocketman1728**

**Ravena Felidae**

**Shadowlight0982**

**And please PM Psudocode_Samurai everyone wanting ff to add MA rating are gonna make a united front~! And paste it too your profile or e-mail this too the owners of fanfiction**


	13. Chapter 12: Chaotic Destiny

**I'm back, and I bring a gift, a new chapter for all of you to enjoy. I found some time between helping with the site, me being lazy, and meeting family to finish this up for you guys so all of you enjoy! I would love to ramble on as I usually do but you want to read a story and I want to finish writing this thing so here you go!**

**Announcements:**

** I'm going to be sending messages to those who sent characters but haven't been keeping up, and some of the people that aren't following may get a message if you want to add something more to the character you already have. Some of the characters could just need to have a bit more info to them.**

** Also, this will be the first time I do this but I have hidden a challenge in this chapter, who so ever can answer the question right will get to ask me ONE question about this story. That question can be about anything but you can only bring one. So I'll give you the question now:**

"**What anime character did I base Aka's personality from?"**

**Since I know how hard it is, here are your three wishes, aka hints!**

**The character is a child.**

**Blond hair, green eyes.**

"**Special Move!"**

**That's it, now on to the reviews!**

**Reviews:**

**Illusionist Owl: Relax; it will be painless…mostly. I'm glad you paid attention to that because the little things mentioned can come back as something big.**

**Mister Grim: I was thinking a creating an OC to be paired with Grim and you are right, I'll be thinking about that when your character does get paired up.**

**Well that was short, but enough of keeping you waiting…ON WITH THE SHOW!**

"FFW"-Speech

'FFW'-Thought

'_FFW'-Flashback_

"**FFW"-Attacks**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any reference to any anime/game/show/book, etc. that appears in this story. I own the original plot (at least I hope its original) and my own characters and OC's. All other characters and references belong to their original creators.**

****CH. 12: Chaotic Destiny, The Darkness within my heart?****

* * *

><p>"<em>They say that we all have madness, well all I have to say is how mad do I need to be to forget who I am, that's what I'm worried about."-Shadowlight0982.<em>

_"I don't know if you're a sociopath, or a psychopath, but you're some path I don't want to take, so you'd best be steppin', before you find out these boots were made for walking up and kicking your ass."-Blood Brandy_

Kurotsubasa was now inside one of the healing tents around the stadium. Against all of his protest Shadow was resting in the bed as they discuss all of the information they now had. Illu was explaining all that she could remember from her encounter with Chaos and Amaterasuice.

"And then I just woke up and began running back here." Illu said.

"And this was all after your battle Illu, I know Muroshi may be this big time miracle healer and all but you need to be more careful." DB said.

"Hey you can't blame the girl for following her gut!" Bella vouched for the girl. "Besides now we know that Chaos has some kind of machine built up for the finals."

"Question is what does the machine do?" Key asked the million munny question.

"Nya, this is pointless, let's just go blow it up right neow!" Ravena complained.

"I'm all for blowing things up Kitty-Kat Doll" Bella said that caused Ravena to hiss at her. "But even I know we can't just bust in and blow something up just because it has Chaos' name on it."

"But then again we can't just ignore this thing." DB said.

"Shadow?" Illu asked.

Shadow was resting in the bed going over all the information that was being said.

"The point is that Illu safe and we have this info." Shadow said that stirred a blush on Illu's face. "As much as I hate to do this we may have to go to the Admin about this."

"But before that we need to get more info on DarkBlade." Key said. Everyone looked to Key after he made that known.

"Why should we do that we already know that DarkBlade is affiliated with Chaos, isn't our word enough?" Illu asked.

"The word of the highest bounty in FFW and rebeller against the Admin Guard and his band of friends versus whatever lie DarkBlade manages to come up with." Shadow said. "Not good odds, but…"

"But what nya?" Ravena asked.

"I think I can get someone in the Admin to listen to us." Shadow said. "And in the meantime, DB, Bella, and Key can keep an eye on DarkBlade."

"Why us, don't you think more of us will help?" Bella asked.

"We need Illu's memory so that's why she needs to go." Shadow said as he got out the bed. "Plus Ravena has a power that's useful for this sort of thing."

"And that is?" DB asked.

"Can't help but be curious about that too Shadow." Key asked as well.

"Fine you need a demonstration." Shadow picked up a chibi Bella and Ravena.

"Eh, the hell is you doing Shads?" Bella asked.

"Shut up, you're the girl that volunteered to run and explore Abysus and fight Evo's for fun, I don't think you would argue about being a five minute guinea pig." Shadow said.

"Fine, let's get this over with." Bella crosses her arms.

"Take it away Rave." Shadow said.

Ravena then put her hands into a unique handseal. "Ok, just make sure to catch me nya!"

"Yeah whatever" Shadow said. "Let's get this over with; they might be done repairing the arena by now."

Ravena then gathered chakra but she had to hide a mischievous look on her face. Ravena then aimed at Bella and called out the name of her jutsu.

**Mind Transfer Jutsu!**

Ravena then dropped and landed in Shadow's arms as he caught her. Bella was forced back a bit and suddenly got a mischievous and catlike grin on her face. Bella then placed her hands on her chest.

"So this is what it's like to be flat chested, I may never get used to this feeling." "Bella" said.

'What did you say you Barbie Cat?' Bella yelled back at Ravena in her mind.

'You heard me nya, flat chest.' Ravena called back and with that the mental brawl was about to begin.

"Mind jutsu, now I see." Key said.

"When Shadow has a plan he has a plan." DB said.

"Got that right" Shadow then sent a small soul wave that shocked Bella and Ravena as they were fighting in Bella's mind.

"Hey, break it up you too we got work to do." Shadow said.

Inside Bella's head Ravena and Bella glared at each other before she ended the technique. Ravena then opened her eyes and then turned chibi and started to cry.

"Wahhh, Bella was mean to me, nay!" Chibi Ravena cried as she tried to snuggle in Shadow's arms.

"I'll show you mean alright!" Bella was held back by DB as his super strength was able to counter hers.

"Come on Bell, we got a fight to watch." DB then began to drag away a flailing Bella while Key just followed shaking his head.

Shadow closed his eyes in anger as a small blush formed on his face. Shadow then let go and Ravena fell to the ground.

"Come on, no more games." Shadow said as he began walking out the tent.

Ravena nursed a small bump on her head as she followed and Punnya landed on her shoulder to follow. Illu brought up the rear and began to talk to Mukurowl.

Illu looked at Mukurowl's leg and saw the messaged she had tied to his leg. "Oh yeah, since I already told them everything there's no reason for this message anymore Muku-Chan."

As Illu reached for the letter, Mukurowl flew in front of her and made aerial gestures to the letter, as she took the paper Illu looked from the message to Mukurowl in confusion.

"What's wrong Muku-Chan; I already know what it says what the point of…" Illu unfolded the message and stooped in place as she read the new letter.

_Dear Member of Kurotsubasa,_

_ If you are reading this then that means that your team is on your way to the finals of this tournament. That's good for me since I get to document all that I see and add it to my collection. Anyway no more rambling on that subject the following information is important:_

_ Watch out for Team Destiny or Team DarkBlade, no matter which team makes it to the finals fate turns to a specific direction. I would tell you more but then I would be spoiling the fun, just make sure you don't lose to either._

_Reader-Of-Many_

_P.S. I would watch out for Shadow as well, he has many secrets that you know, but one secret threatens the safety of him and everyone in the stadium. Just some words of advice, help Shadow move on from his past._

'I know they have told me about RoM and that fact that he's a Beta may be why he knows this but what does he mean help Shadow move on from his past?' Illu asked herself as she read the letter.

"What's going on Illu?' Shadow asked. Ravena and Punnya also turned to see what kept their normally silent friend more silent than usual.

"Well there's something I have to show you." Illu said.

(Eclipse Arena)

Key let out a breath of fresh air as he began to walk around the stands to find a good spot to observe the battle before it starts.

"Splitting up was a good idea and all to get all the information we need and to observe the battle from all angles but I hope those two don't get distracted." Key said as he looked to the tournament's repaired stage.

"Excuse me but are you, from Kurotsubasa?" A voice asked Key from behind.

Key turned around and looked to the source of the voice. The voice came from a girl with mid-length brown hair with bangs and brown eyes. She was also short stature, with a pale skin tone. The girl was wearing a purple hoodie with a black ribbon on the back, a black short sleeve t-shirt with a silver key on it, blue jeans, and a pair of converse shoe. Around her neck was a silver chain necklace with a star shaped key with the initials TRH on it.

"I saw your battle, your Keybladedude from Kurotsubasa are you not?" The girl asked again.

"That depends on who's asking." Key said. "May ask who you are?"

"Oh I'm sorry, I'm TurquoisePeanutButter but everyone calls me TPB for short." TPB said with a bow. "Anyway the reason I wanted to speak with you is because of some information I have."

"What makes you think I'm looking for information?" Key asked.

"Why else would you be in the stands and not in the booths?" TPB asked back.

"Touché" Key then looked at the girls' eyes and saw she was either a good liar or was telling the truth. "So what is this information about?"

"Follow me please; I don't think this is something I should be talking about out loud." TPB said.

Key nodded his head in agreement and followed the girl towards a more secluded part of the arena. 'This could just be what I was searching for.' Key then kept his senses open, prepared incase this turns out to be too good to be true.

(Scene Change)

Bella was sitting bored in the team's booth as she had several of her toon friends around to help with watching the battle that would begin soon. Jack Spicer was controlling camera-style Jackbots that flew in the air, a miniature Soundwave was with him helping with the machines.

Time Wizard then appeared back with several refreshments for the small group.

"Hey Bella, not that I don't know what is going on but why are you in the booth while the others are walking about?" Jack asked.

"Because even though it was my idea to split up, the only reason Key agreed was if I stayed here as to not cause trouble." Bella drinks out her cup as she looked to the stage.

"Kind of makes sense if you think about it." Soundwave quietly said.

"What was that Soundwave?" Megatron burst out and aimed cannons at the small Decepticon.

"N-nothing Bella!" Soundwave got back to work.

"You know you can just ask Naruto to make a stand in and then go watch the battle as one of the invisible guys or something." Jack suggested.

"That's it, no wonder you're a boy genius!" Bella then began to fiddle with the Omnitrix.

"Thanks Bella always helps to be told that now and again."

Bella then summoned the young Uzumaki and he looked around confused. "Hey what do you need me for Bella I was in the middle of my twentieth bowl of ramen?"

"Yeah yeah you can get back to your ramen later; I just need you to be a stand in for me please." Bella explained the plan.

"Ok but you know you won't be able to fool Key or Shadow with this right?" Naruto asked as he henged into Bella's likeness.

"I know but I have a 50/50 shot that it will be DB that checks up on me so no big deal." Bella slammed down the Omnitrix and Ghostfreak hovered in the air.

"**Now if you excuse me, I have some spying to do." **Ghostfreak vanished in the air and looked for a new area to watch the battle.

"She's going to mess with the crowd isn't she?" NaruBella asked the other three.

"Yeah!" The three toons answered.

(Scene Change)

DB let out a sigh as he made his way around the stadium for a good view of the stage. 'I'm not made for this type of thing; I'm good with fighting not spying.'

As DB walked he soon saw the only standing member of Mercenary standing over and looking at the stage in curiosity. DB watched as he saw Naenia had an expecting look in her eyes.

'I know she can see the future but…' DB then got in a spot where he can observe both Naenia and the battle. 'It looks like she's waiting for something.'

(Scene Change)

"That idiot" Shadow said as he crumpled the letter. Illu and Ravena looked at Shadow as they went over the last part of the message in their head.

"So what do we do now?" Illu asked.

"Well maybe we should go to the Admin and cancel this thing nya" Ravena said.

"Punnya" Punnya meowed in agreement.

"No that's the last thing we want to do." Shadow said.

"Why is that nya?" Ravena asked.

"This whole event was probably to help boost the Admin's popularity with the people; if they up and cancel then their standings with the people will start to drop." Shadow explained. "All we would do will make it easier for Chaos."

"Then what is the plan, if we can't cancel the tournament what do we do?" Illu asked.

"We do what I said before we're going to the Admin." Shadow then continued towards the Admin's booth.

"But I thought you said…" Illu started.

"You guys trust me don't you?" Shadow asked out of nowhere.

"Yes."

"Of course nya."

"Punnya!"

Shadow then gave them a determined look. "Then follow my judgment, now follow me."

(Time Skip)

"And reason do you need to step into the Administrator's Booth?" One of the Guards guarding the booth asked the three.

"Please we have information that the Admin needs to know." Illu said.

"And what information do you have that even requires the Administrator's attention?" The other Guard asked.

"Does the name Chaos ring any bells?" Shadow rhetorically asked.

"What do you know about that group?" The two Guards got into position.

"That's for us to know and the Admin in there to find out." Shadow said.

"Yeah so let us in nya!" Ravena yelled.

"Punnya!" Punnya hissed.

"Maybe you do have information." The Guard said.

"Or you could be terrorists from that organization!" The other Guard pointed out.

"Look this can happen one of two ways; you let us in without any hassle and we all go home happy." Shadow then pulled out his scythe. "Or I can go through you both by force and walk on in, either way we're going through."

"Why you no good…" The guards drew their swords.

"No what is all this commotion about?" Rina asked as she walked to the booth.

"Milady, it's nothing!" Guard#1 said.

"We were just escorting these three troublemakers away from the booth!" Guard#2 said.

Rina looked from the guards and checked out the three "troublemakers" as the A.G. called them. Rina then had a look of curiosity when she recognized who they were.

"What business could one of the competitors have with us; surely you aren't looking to bribe us are you?" Rina asked.

"That isn't worth our time." Shadow put his scythe away. "We have some information to tell you and Cast."

"Speak to the Administration with respect!" Guard#2 ordered.

"I'm sorry; do you have any clue who I am?" Shadow asked.

"Why you…"

"Yeah you're the Shadow that Cast has been talking about." Rina thought out loud. "Why don't you follow me into the booth, it looks like this information could be important."

"But Miss Rina!" Both Guards called.

"Stand down, besides don't you have any faith that me and my cousin can defend ourselves?" Rina playfully asked them.

"Yes ma'am" The Two guards then moved and allowed all of them through. Ravena took the chance to stick her tongue out at them before she was dragged by the arm inside.

"Rina, what took you so…" Cast then saw that they had company, familiar company. "Shadow, what are you doing here, shouldn't you be in a medical tent."

"What is it with everyone thinking I should be in bed?" Shadow complained.

"Well you don't exactly look your best Shads." Ravena pointed out to Shadow's current state.

Shadow was no longer covered in blood but his pants were tattered with holes in various places and his shoes being the only thing intact. Shadow's right shirt sleeve was ripped off and bandages going down the over his bicep. Where there were holes in the shirt you could see the bandages wrapped around his torso. Shadow's jacket was back at the tent as it was in bad condition to wear.

"You were hit from an attack from a grinding weapon, we're lucky you we're grinded to bits." Illu said.

Punnya landed on Shadow's head and also seemed to give Shadow a worried look.

"I'm fine alright but that is not the point." Shadow then got serious. "We have some information you need to hear."

"I heard a far bit outside when I heard your conversation." Rina said. "What do you know about CHAOS?"

"Did you say CHAOS?" Cast said as she remembered Leon's assignment.

Shadow saw a flash of worry in Cast's eyes but chose to ignore it. "It's best if we show you what we know instead of just telling you. Ravena…"

Ravena then made a handseal and gathered her chakra. "Here we go nya!"

**Memory Viewing Jutsu!**

A bright light lit up the both which got both of the A.G's attention. They rushed inside the booth only to see everyone holding their heads as if they had a headache.

"Owe, a little more gentle when you start connecting minds Ravena." Shadow said.

"Well sorry nya, but I'm still getting used to that technique too!" Ravena complained.

"At least we were able to see what you had to show us." Cast said.

"The important question is what do we do now that we have that information?" Rina asked.

"The only option I can think of is to arrest DarkBlade and end the tournament." Cast said.

"Now what is this I hear about cancelling the tournament?" Deus then walked in the booth.

"Deus what are you doing here?" Rina asked.

"I had my little break and was coming back to discuss something with you guys when I heard someone talk about cancelling the tournament!" Deus said as he pointed to Cast.

"Please Deus; the safest thing I can think of is to take care of the threat now." Cast said.

"Unfortunately that means cancelling the tournament, which might just be the last thing you want to do." Shadow said for the second time today.

"I have to agree with him cuz," Rina said. "We don't want to have a riot in the stadium now because of this, not to mention it is not uncommon for someone to work with CHAOS against their will."

"I say do all your protocol stuff after the semifinals, if DarkBlade loses then arrest them." Deus said.

"Deus it's not all that simple!" Cast yelled.

"But waiting until the end of the battle will buy us time to think of something." Rina said.

"Rina you too!" Cast was surprised.

"I know you're thinking about the safety of everyone but I am the gamesmaster and as such I have the final say." Rina then looked to Kurotsubasa. "Thank you for bringing us this information, don't think this will earn you some favor points in the tournament."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Shadow said. "Come on guys let's go."

"Uh Shadow"

Shadow looked down and got a shocked look to see Ravena and Punnya looking at a fainted Illu.

"I think the strain of everyone in her head was too much nya." Ravena said.

Shadow let out a sigh and picked the girl up in a fireman's carry. "Why does this kind of shit always happen to me?"

"Because your life is exciting nya!" Ravena answered.

"Punnya!" Punnya agreed.

"Let's just get moving!"

(Scene Change)

"Madness wavelength?" Key said surprisingly.

"Yes, from the last round one of them gained some strange power, I could feel the chaos and madness in the air." TPB said.

"I won't lie, there was something going on with that power in DarkBlade's last fight." Key said. "I can't however chalk it down to madness wavelength just yet."

TPB then gained a sad look. "Oh, then I'm sorry I wasted your time."

Key saw the look and let out a sigh, the weakness of most men in Kurotsubasa was a depressed woman. "You didn't waste my time, that could very well be what they use and if it is we will feel it in the next fight right?"

TPB looked surprised after Key said that. "So don't worry about it, thank you for that info."

"Uh, you're welcome." TPB said and watched as Key walked away.

'Kurotsubasa'

(Scene Change)

"How long are you going to be watching me?" Naenia asked.

"I'll be honest and say right now I'm not watching you out of perversion like most of the guys in this crowd do." DB said.

"Hmm, are you sure about that?" Naenia said. "Or maybe you're just trying to find an excuse for stalking me."

"I'm watching the battle to be honest." DB said. "I just saw that you were still here and I got curious."

"Oh really?" Naenia asked. "I guess I'm not the only one suspicious about DarkBlade."

"You, us, and about a few other people here," DB admitted.

"Well then I suggest you take a seat, the battle is about to begin." Naenia said.

(Scene Change)

"Hey Bella where are you, the battle is about to start!" Jack said to the small omnitrix logo on his wrist.

"I got a front row seat don't worry about me!" Ghostfreak spoke back. "Just make sure the cameras are ready."

"Cameras set" Soundwave said.

"Ready to capture a moment in time, Wizard?" Jack asked the small duel monster.

"Ready"

(Tournament Stage)

"Alright everyone sorrow for the long delay but at least you got a chance to grab some snacks and use the toilets!" Plugman was about to reach for the food he had bought only to find it missing. "Hey, who jacked my food?"

"Forget about food for a while Plugman, let's get back to what really matters!" Kyoto announced. "The second match of the Semifinals!"

The audience cheered as the two teams walked onto the stage. The camera-bots got ready to record as they gathered on their sides of the stage. Everyone was watching for who would fight first.

(Medical Tents)

"So the battle is starting now." Shadow said.

"Hey Shadow, besides the little kid do you know about anyone else from Destiny?" Ravena asked.

"I met the Iron Giant that they got with them now." Shadow said as they looked at the new additions to Team Destiny.

Standing with the newly dressed Team Destiny and Renchard were three new additions. The large warrior Shadow was pointing two was now fully shrouded in a tan cloak and a hood over his head but glowing red eyes pierced through the darkness the hood made over his face. The other looked to be twin priestesses.

"All and all they have seven now." Illu said as she had woke up from her mini coma.

"Yet we still know nothing about them yet." Shadow said.

(Tournament Stage)

(Play Kingdom Hearts ost: Vector to the Heavens)

"If you don't mind if I ask where your leader is?" Sen asked as he was amused to see their leader had not shown up.

"We don't need him to win this fight, come one we'll fight any way you want!" One of the men of DarkBlade stood up boldly.

"Hahahaha, they still think they have a chance, ahahaha!" Aka laughed. Aka still wears the dark blue cloak with the gold broach in the center, but under them he had an orange shirt, white vest and white shorts.

"Calm down, wait for the battle to start." Sakura said. Sakura was wearing a black sailor fuku, with pink ribbons, lace, and trim. A pink skirt and black heals completed her image, Sakura's dark purple was tied with a black hairband as it fell down her back.

"Why you little brat, how about I teach you your place right now!" A member of DarkBlade started walking closer.

"H, how come you get to go first?" DarkBlade soon looked like they were going to fight each other over the order.

"Hey Sen, do you mind if I fight first, it will be just boring to have to watch everyone fight." Aka said.

"Wouldn't you be bored just watching after finishing your match?" Sen asked.

"I promise I won't let me fight, please, PLEASE?" Aka complained.

"Fine, just don't get too excited." Sen warned him.

"No promises, this guy doesn't look all that strong anyway." Aka walked forward.

"Why you, I'm going to turn this brat into paste." H or Hercules walked forward as well.

Both teams then backed away as the two fighters were left on stage.

"It looks like we are going for an elimination type battle; the first two fighters are Aka and Hercules, who will win the lion or the ant?" Kyoto playfully asked.

"Who knows Kyoto, that little guy looks like he has some tricks up his sleeves." Everyone looked to see Aka shivering with excitement over a chance to fight.

(Medical Tent)

"You have no idea." Shadow said.

"That's one of the guys that ambushed you nya!" Ravena said as she memorized Aka.

"Yeah and as far as I know he controls electricity and can do the Kamehameha wave." Shadow said.

"What do you mean ambush, did they try to get an advantage in the tournament?" Illu asked, surprised to hear this new information.

"I'll tell you all later, but for now we just watch." Shadow said.

(Tournament Stage)

"I'll let you get the first move squirt!" Hercules yelled as he cracked his knuckles.

"Squirt, let me tell you something, I'm HEIGHT-CHALLENEGED!" Aka flailed his arms in anger.

"That's it now I'm mad!" Aka started to gather energy and his body took on a fain white glow. Aka then dashed in a burst of speed and left a streak of light.

"Is that…quick attack?" Hercules asked before he got in position to block. "Like a little kiddy move like that will work!"

Aka made it all the way to Hercules, Hercules was prepared to catch the speeding blonde until he stopped with his hands pushed out.

**Zaker!**

Arcs of lightning flew from Aka's hands through Hercules' body. The lightning spread through Hercules' armor and shocked him to the core.

"Talk about a shock to yo system, am I right ladies and gentlemen?" Plugman asked. "Aka started out strong but has he only just rattled the lion's cage?"

"You…" Nemean Cestus appeared on Hercules fists.

Aka looked at the weapons in awe. "Wow those looked really cool; to back it will have no effect."

"No effect?" Hercules then jumped high in the air using his super strength. "Try this on for size!"

Hercules slammed fist first and sent out a shockwave that traveled in all directions. Before the shockwave could even reach Aka he teleported into the air.

"You may be strong but against me it's hopeless, HOPELESS!" Aka teased the steaming strongman.

"Shut up you insect!" Hercules then sent a Ki blast towards the smiling boy. His anger increased when he saw Aka dodged and started shooting a barrage of Ki blasts.

As Aka dodged all the balls of energy he began to think out loud. "This battle is a little fun but I'm bored with this guy, how do I finish this battle?"

"I'll finish it for you!" Hercules clapped his hands together and unleashed a focused shockwave.

**Thunder Clap!**

Aka looked at the attack and grinned largely. "Now this is starting to get fun!" Aka held his arms out in front of him.

**Zakeruga!**

Sonic waves met with electricity as the two beams fought for dominance. Hercules could only get angrier as he saw the amused and playful look on Aka's face.

'That brat, how dare he humiliate me, I'll destroy him…' Power began to course through him; Hercules's beam seems to overpower the lightning spell. 'Destroy him!'

"Destroy him!" The power burst through Hercules and the thunder clap broke through zakeruga and connected with Aka. While the boy fell Hercules began to charge a larger ball of Ki.

"Now it's time for you to die kid!" Hercules sent the balls forward with surprising speed.

**Hadoken!**

The Ki technique connected and a small explosion sounded as Aka landed on the ground. Hercules began to laugh as his madness grew with the power.

(Tournament Stadium)

"That really could be madness wavelength." Key said.

"But there isn't really any signs of kishin influence so where is it coming from?" TPB asked Key.

"My guess is someone manages to generate the power and is supplying it." Key said. 'Someone like Chaos.'

(Scene Change)

The readings and recordings from the Cameras were off the charts, most of the Hyna squad members in the booth looked in surprise at the power shown.

"Hey Bell do you know what that was?" Naruto asked, still in Bella's form.

"**I don't know, I really don't know." **Ghostfreak answered.

(Scene Change)

"It's that power again!" DB yelled.

"Pathetic isn't it?" Naenia asked. "To give away one's sanity in exchange for power, the only way to gain power like that is to give up something in return."

"And then you get so drunk with power you don't even miss what you gave away." DB said.

"Speaking from experience?" Naenia asked.

"Just felt like saying something deep." DB answered.

(Tournament Stage)

"How was that little man, joke about that!" Hercules taunted the wounded boy. A bright like soon covered Aka's body and began to blind him. "What the hell is that?"

"To think I would actually had to use this, what a pain." A voice very similar yet different than Aka's spoke.

"Cut the light show, show yourself!" Hercules yelled past the light.

**Jikerdor**

Hercules's arms fell to his sides and the man was soon frozen as his armor was magnetized together.

"What the hell, what did you just do?" Hercules demanded.

"Just magnetized the joints of your armor" The voice spoke again. Hercules looked and saw the changes that had happened.

Aka grew in size, now looking like a fifteen year old version of himself. The mantle and broach grew with him and so did his clothes, yet his shorts become pants.

"What in the world happened to you?" Hercules asked.

"I'm sure you can see what happened, it was really hard to choose my third power until I saw this amazing show, so let me show it again after this." Aka then summoned another sphere of light.

**Zagurzem**

The spell connected and Hercules' body began to glow with energy.

"What did you just do to me?" Hercules asked.

"You'll find out, now as for that power…" A cocoon of light and data swirled around Aka's body again. The energy vanished and the young Aka returned again.

"I normally don't use digivolution in battle, but I couldn't help myself!" Aka said.

"You, you…" Hercules struggled to move.

"Yeah just keep trying to move; well you did make this battle a little fun for me so…" Aka's body began to glow with electricity. "Allow me to return the favor, by ending this with a BANG!"

Aka's body became a glowing sphere of lightning as he charged forward. "Special move..."

**Volt Tackle!**

"!"

The screams of pain as the Volt Tackle hit its target. The only thin left after the cloud of smoke parted was a smiling Aka and a disappearing Hercules.

"No, I am named after legend…I can't…can't lose here." Hercules said.

"Oh losing, you have more than that to worry about."

**Zakeruga!**

The beam of lightning drilled through the already defeated man and then he disappeared. Instead of vanishing in date, he vanished in wisps of darkness. Somewhere in reality, a body slumped along his desktop computer as a large Game Over lit up his computer monitor.

"In a surprising match in itself, the winner of the first round is Aka!" Kyoto announced the winner.

Ignoring the cheers Aka walked back to his team. The blond boy dug through his pockets and pulled out some chocolate bars.

"Never thought you would need to digivolve to rookie Aka." Sakura said.

"Yeah I know, but my rookie form can handle the damage more than this form can." Aka said.

"The mean seem unnecessary, but the end justified your unusual mean." The metal giant said.

"Only you think having fun is unusual, Hagane!" Aka yelled back.

"Enough, as long as you won" Sen said. "You also helped spread a message."

Renchard only looked at the group from a distance. Most of the time when he was with them he couldn't understand what they were talking about, a look at the new symbol on the Zanbato told him what he was fighting for."

(Scene Change)

"What?" Cast asked as she got a communication from Administration Headquarters.

"As before in the case with the Red Savage leader Ripper, the player has been defeated and its user sent to the hospital in intensive care." A voice spoke from her communicator.

"Another coma case?" Rina asked.

"It appears so" Cast answered.

"We best call back Leon and Speed then, not only are DarkBlade suspicious, but Destiny as well." Rina said.

(Scene Change)

"Did, did he just?" Illu asked.

"What just happened, why did he disappear like that instead of data nya?" Ravena asked.

Shadow remained silent; he was going through his thoughts until a voice spoke in his head.

"Beautiful isn't it, although they could have used more finesse finishing off that human."

'Kusanagi!' Shadow thought.

"Right you are did you love that display of power my subject just performed?" The goddess asked. "This is the objective of us, the Bringers of Destruction, to eradicate the human infestation and retake our world.

'That was someone's life you are toiling with witch!' Shadow thought in anger. Punnya looked in shock as Shadow was clenching his hands.

"Witch, not really a word to describe me, as you know I prefer Goddess." Kusanagi said playfully.

'What right do you have to play with people's lives?' Shadow asked.

"What right do you people have to enter this world, OUR world?" The Goddess asked back. Kusanagi then took his silence as a means to continue.

"This is our world, our home, until you humans began to break it apart and rebuild in your images." Kusanagi said. "We will retake our world and restore to its former glory."

Shadow then felt the goddess' presence fade. After glancing at the Wings now attached to his wrist with a look of confusion. A lick on his cheek turned his attention to the now flying neko.

"Punnya?" The neko meowed.

"You feel ok Shads?" Ravena asked.

Shadow always hated having to hide but he knew he couldn't involve them in this burden. "Yeah I'm fine." Punnya landing on his head with a playful "Punnya" was enough to put a smile on his face.

(Tournament Stage)

"So who wants to go next?" Sen asked.

"Did we ever ask how many victories we needed?" One of the priestess girls asked.

"It shouldn't matter; we should just eradicate the rest of that team." Hagane spoke his opinion.

"Hey can I…?"

"No" Sen shut down Aka's request for another battle.

"Hey freaks!" Another one of the DarkBlade members yelled. "Let's have it like this, we fight till one team gets three victories!"

"Only three, don't feel confident in your skills?" Sakura called.

"That wench" Zane then walked to the stage. "Care to step into the ring my dear?"

"Sure after seeing you fight I wonder what happens when I get dirt on your fancy clothing." Sakura then walked to the stage. A heart shaped staff fell from the sky and into her hands, as if summoned by magic.

"Ok everyone we have the narcissistic Zane versus the mysterious magical girl Sakura, let's see what else Destiny has in their supply of fighters." Plugman said.

"Ok, and wait for me to officially begin the match, round 2, Zane vs. Sakura! Ready…FIGHT!" Kyoto called out.

Zane pulled out his sword and began his swift charge. Sakura was using his staff to block and parry Zane's strikes.

"I must admit you have some skill, it would be a shame for me to cut up that pretty face of yours." Zane said.

Sakura glared and then backed away from the clash of weapons. The staff glowed a bright pink before it shifted into a large hammer.

**Mode change: Pow Hammer!**

Zane rolled out the way of the large hammer that hit where he just stood, leaving a small crater. Zane stood up and traced his hair with his fingers.

"Beautiful and powerful at the same time, I may just have to make you mine after this battle." Zane spoke in a seductive tone.

"Sorry I have no interest in you." The staff returned back to normal and Sakura began to wave it around and sparkles filled the air. "Now let me show you why I'm a magical girl."

(Scene Change)

"She uses magic nya." Ravena said.

"Not only that, she says she's a magical girl." Shadow said.

"Does that mean she's from the crystal city area?" Illu asked. That area had a large population of Magical Girls and Boys because it made many references to that category of anime.

"But most magical girls have a specific element to them, what is hers nya?" Ravena asked.

(Tournament Stage)

The sparkles grew and became stars that began to hover in the air.

"Nice light show, but of course I have to lecture you that beauty alone won't win the match." Zane scoffed at the technique.

"The "light show" is just a bonus, and this attack isn't over!" In the center of the yellow stars were pink gems that began to gather power.

**Twinkle Beam, Circus!**

Lasers shot from the stars as they began to fly around the stage. Zane had to avoid the beams or reflect with his sword as he had to run to avoid the all-out barrage of lasers. Sakura looked in enjoyment as Zane ran around.

"As you said beauty alone will not win, yet I focus on my powers as well as my looks pretty boy." Sakura laughed. As Sakura continued to watch she mentally controlled one of the stars to aim for a specific target.

'He cares so much for his looks; let's see how much power he'll use if I scar that face of his.' Sakura thought.

(Destiny)

"I cannot see how you all find enjoyment in toying with your enemies; this match should be over by now." Hagane commented on the match.

"Let the girl have her fun, you hasn't gotten to toy with a fresh mind in ages." Sen smiled.

"This is pointless, why am I here again?" Hagane asked.

"Possibly you're here because Neesan was worried you were rusting in boredom." Aka stopped talking to take another bite of chocolate. "That's what I would do, yep."

"Hmm, or maybe I was asked to monitor you so you don't slack off Aka." Hagane said back.

"Hey me and Sakura-neesan did our job, why don't you go back to your fancy computers and get lost!" Aka yelled.

"Enough!" Sen said. "Let's save the fighting for the tournament."

(Tournament Stage)

A beam of light tore through Zane's cheek, forming a mark that would most definitely scar. Zane froze in horror and his other cheek was scrapped by another laser to match his new scar.

"Oh my, it seems I've damaged you're pretty face." Sakura innocently smiled. "You should pay more attention to the fight so I don't scar you even more."

"You, you!" A familiar wave of energy flew from Zane's body. Zane got into a stance and prepared for the final attack.

"No one damages my face, and now I must teach you that lesson the hard way!" Zane charged with madness flying through his eyes.

Zane watched as Sakura just giggled as he closed the gap. As soon as he was going to spear her through she vanished in a wave of sakura petals.

"What, what is…?" Zane looked around and saw he was in a field of cherry blossoms.

"You've never heard of genjutsu?" Sakura's voice echoed through the strange realm.

"Genjutsu, I guess I'll just have to…" Zane cut his palm, hoping pain would end the illusion but he was still trapped in the realm.

"Sorry, my genjutsu is a little special."

Zane looked up and saw Sakura standing in midair, cherry blossom petals circling her form.

"When combined with another ability I have, the effects are very much real." Sakura explained. A sketchpad appeared in her hands and she began to sketch. "For instance…"

A lake then appeared before Zane, Zane walked to see what was special about the water until he backed away, landing on his but in fear. Zane was scared by the reflection he saw, his own monstrous reflection.

"Was that supposed to be me, how…?" Zane then saw his hands were wrinkled and warted. He screamed and felt the extra weight of the hump on his back. Zane soon felt the deformities of his face.

"Nooooooooooo!" Zane screamed out. "My face, my image, my beauty!"

"And I thought Sui, Fui, and I were the only ones to freak out when we are not seen at our best. You humans have too many exceptions." Sakura's sketchbook began to fill with the image of a door appearing under Zane.

"While I haven't destroyed a mind in age's thanks for the new experience." Sakura sketched the door opening. A door appeared under Zane and began to open. "Now disappear, disappear from our world."

Zane then fell through into the bottomless void that lied beneath the doors; Zane's monstrous screams were silenced by the sound of the doors closing. Sakura stared at her last sketch, marveling her masterpiece.

"Mistress, I hope you will love my latest artwork."

On the outside, the whole experience was just five minutes of the two standing still. Zane's body was just standing, his eyes blank and the pupils gone. Sakura then tapped Zane forehead and the swordsman fell back, fading into darkness.

"What…what the…?" Plugman was just speechless as was everyone else at what had just happened. One minute Zane was about to run her through until he froze, the two remained frozen up until now.

"I guess, the winner is Sakura!" Kyoto announced. The silent crowd changed to a cheering audience as Sakura bowed as she left the stage.

(Scene Change)

"It happened again, what is that darkness at the end?" DB asked out loud.

"I do not know, but it is definitely different then how you regularly are supposed to die." Naenia stood up from her seat and began to walk away.

"Leaving so soon, the match isn't over yet" DB said.

"I have already seen the entire outcome; I just need to feel that power with my own body." Naenia explained. "Besides, there are certain things I do not need to see twice."

DB looked confused as he watched the bounty huntress walk away. Before she got out of earshot DB called out to her.

"Hey Naenia, you've already seen the outcome, what happens next then?" DB asked.

Naenia turned around with a smile. "Sorry I don't feel like giving out spoilers, and most men looking for spoilers have to take me out to dinner first."

(Scene Change)

"I can't watch this anymore." Illu said. "Horrible people or not they are still people."

"Nya, no one deserves this, I wouldn't wish this on anyone!" Ravena hissed in anger at the image of Destiny on the screen.

Shadow looked at the two girls reactions. Illu was almost falling to tears at the amount of deaths; Ravena was pissed at the needless killing. Shadow decided to end the tension by shutting of the image.

"I think we've seen enough." Shadow then stood up from the chair he was sitting in. "They have gone too far with this."

"Shadow, who are they really, what are you not telling us?" Ravena asked.

Illu looked at Shadow too, knowing that whatever this was need to be stopped.

Shadow's bangs hid his eyes, so neither could read the expression on his face. When Shadow looked up they just saw a solemn look on his face.

"You want to know, then you might want to listen carefully and don't ask questions until the end."

**TBC…**

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><p><strong>You all knew it had to end at some point, now as you can see things are about to get serious. Not one, but two major enemies are around and they are starting to send their own message to the crowd. All those who can see the message know that something major is about to happen.<strong>

**To get the next chapter you know what you have to do:**

**REVIEW**

**REVIEW**

**And surprisingly…REVIEW!**

**(Insert announcer voice here)**

** Destiny has shown that they are the team to beat, they soon continue on with the battle against DarkBlade with surprising results from both sides. Meanwhile everyone else who is watching the battle are forming plans of their own, everyone knows that whatever is going on will reach its climax in the Final round.**

**Next Time: The road to the Finals, Can the Black Wing break the chain of Destiny?**

**Luck to everyone with the question and I'll see you all next time.**

**-Shadowlight0982 out.**


	14. Chapter 13: The road to the Finals

** Yo, welcome back to the next chapter! I'm not going to lie but the numbers of reviews have been dropping even though I have added anonymous reviews. We all have our own lives I understand that and the few reviews that everyone leaves are one of the many fuels that keep me updating (that and I want to finish this arc before going back to my other stories). Now to the Announcements!**

**Announcements:**

** While looking over the wiki my cousin let something be known to me, if you don't protect your pages they can be altered by outside influence. I don't want my or anyone's hard work and creativity to be altered unless that person owns what they are doing. So go and protect your pages or request me to protect them.**

** Next, if there are any extra things you want to add about your character let me know. If you can't then put it on the wiki and I know for certain I will see it there, also I would like people to send in quotes and trivia about your character. By trivia I mean like "favorite food," "greatest fear," or any random thing about your character you thought of when you created him/her.**

** Final one, I'm sure some of you have heard of my idea for fillers, to my own curiosity (and lack of social life) the first filler is done and I don't know if I should post it next, make a whole filler story, or wait until the arc is over, I'll leave the decision to you all.**

** A few pairing ideas have also opened up, so I'll just post them up before I forget:**

**DBxNaenia**

**GrimxRavena**

**Now to the reviews!**

**Reviews:**

**Renchard19: Your character plays his own role in this whole event. I can only tell you that you will be redeemed in the end or hunted down till you are arrested.**

**Ravena Felidae: You mean you, Punnya and Felis right?**

**GeneralHyna: Trust me, I guarantee you will go psycho by the end of this arc and if you have your own ideas about going psycho and fighting then send them to me.**

**Now that I finished that ON WITH THE SHOW!**

"FFW"-Speech

'FFW'-Thought

'_FFW'-Flashback_

"**FFW"-Attacks**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any reference to any anime/game/show/book, etc. that appears in this story. I own the original plot (at least I hope its original) and my own characters and OC's. All other characters and references belong to their original creators.**

**Special message to you all, the challenge from last chapter I gonna let live, I only got one guess and that guess was wrong, so go back and read the challenge and send your guess for the answer.**

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><p>"<em>Darkness is my greatest power, but it can also be my greatest fear." Shadowlight0982.<em>

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><p><strong>Ch. 13: <strong>**The road to the Finals, Can the Black Wing break the chain of Destiny?**

* * *

><p>Some of the members of DarkBlade were shivering with fear as they saw that two of their guys were just defeated so easily.<p>

"A little brat and a girl took them out; this is not what I signed up for!" One of the members said.

"Screw this madness shit, I want to live dammit!" The two made a break for the exit.

"Hey come back here you cowards!" One of the two members not running yelled.

"Hmm…" Out of Hagane's back burst two beam rifles. "I'll put them out of their misery now."

"Get back here you…!" The man yelled.

"Move!" The guy was tackled as two beams of light shot across the ground and vaporized the two that tried to escape.

The crowd was silent as they tried to play back what had just happened. It was one thing for things light this to happen in a fight, but the on member of Destiny destroyed the two players just for fleeing the battle.

(Scene Change)

"Whoa, the power of that attack, it was…it was…" Jack looked at the readings.

"**It's what, tell me!" **Bella called telepathically.

"Of the charts, something no normal player should be able to produce!" Time Wizard chimed in.

"From the readings he's the only one without signs of being an organic." The decepticon added.

(Scene Change)

"How can he be so cruel, they didn't even put up a fight?" A frightened TPB asked Key as he remained silent.

"I don't know, this may be a fight but there are some rules about things like this." Key said. 'Shadow, do you know anything about this?'

(Scene Change)

DB accidently broke the arm of his chair, his eyes glowed red as he saw the display of cruelty. "What the hell is this, do you know?"

"I do not know this group, Destiny is an enigma." Naenia said.

"Can't you read into the future, warn people about them?" DB looked to the seer.

"Changing events changes the future you must watched what small things you do as they affect your future." Naenia said. "And you don't need to see the future to know your guild must be at their top form to win."

(Scene Change)

"Bringers of Destruction, Mistress, I this all true?" Illu demanded.

"It's all true and it's all we have for now." Shadow said. "Look you guys saw that, they barely have any regard for anyone's life."

"What about the guy Renchard, he's not a member what is he doing?" Illu asked.

"And why are they just fading instead of becoming pixels nya?" Ravena asked.

Punnya and Mukurowl looked at the three as the two could sense the tension and danger of the situation.

"We won't know until we face them, now we really need to work out a strategy." Shadow said.

"What about the other they need to know." Illu said.

"Then we have to meet up then, to the booths." The five (pets included) ran towards the stadium to gather their other teammates.

(Tournament Stage)

"It seems that your team has been cut down a bit." Sen joked to the last remaining two.

Renchard looked at the man who literally blows away their opponents as well as everyone else. Looking down on the seal on his zanbato he began to question this team's motives.

'I know my reasons for doing this…but' Renchard thought to himself.

"Hey new guy, didn't lose your stomach did you?" The child looked to him.

"No I didn't but was it necessary to do all of that?"

"To be honest I couldn't care less but Hagane has a thing about letting targets get away." Aka then smiled. "He literally doesn't let people live unless he has to!"

Renchard looked at him in confusion before Sen joined the conversation. "Don't worry about him; Hagane has always been the type to leave things unfinished."

Renchard relaxed a bit but he was still on ends about the whole situation. "It's just that he didn't need to fight people who weren't fighting back."

"Hmm" Sen then looked down to the seal. "Have you tried using that power yet?"

"No, just something telling me I shouldn't use that power." Renchard said.

"But that power is what you need for your goals, do not forget what you are doing this for." Sen reminded him.

'Yeah, I can't forget that.' Renchard thought.

"I think Renchard and I will go back for a while, why don't you finish this up quickly." Sen put an arm around Renchard and began to walk away.

"Hold up!" The two DarkBlade members called to them. "This round isn't over, one more match winner take all!"

"And why should we agree…" Hagane said.

"Sure why not." Sen quickly said.

"What!" Hagane was outraged.

"Why not humor them; they at least have the guts to stand up to us when the rest of them ran." Sen said. "Besides Fui-Chan and Sui-Chan came all this way, you might as well let them battle."

"This is preposterous we should…" Hagane tried to argue.

"Come on Hagane-Chan!" The green priestess cried.

"If you want we will finish it quick, a double battle." The blue priestess offered.

"Hah a double battle with us, you're finished!"

"Let's do this quickly!"

"You here it right now, the two teams are going to settle it with a final joint battle!" Plugman informed the audience. "The winner of the match wins the whole shabam and will meet Kurotsubasa in the finals!"

"Ok everyone fighting for Destiny is Fuijin and Suijin!" Kyoto announced.

The twin priestesses walked to their side of the ring.

"Fighting for DarkBlade is the sword duo, Masamune and Muramasa!" Kyoto pointed to the remaining members of DarkBlade.

Masamune was clothed in black and purple samurai armor. He had a purple bandanna that hid the bottom of his face and a samurai helmet. The swordsman also had a longsword the same length as his body on his back.

Muramasa was dressed with a white sleeveless shirt and white hakama. The man had dirty blond hair and red eyes along with tan skin. At his side was a sheathed sword that had an evil aura around it.

"They think they can just insult us, my sword will slash them to pieces!" Muramasa growled out.

"Calm yourself brother, we cannot lose our cool like the others did." Masamune tried to control his enraged brother.

"Oh they're siblings sis, this just got fun." Fuijin said.

"Let's see how much fun we can have before Hagane blows a circuit." Suijin told her sister.

"This is for everything ladies and gentlemen, Suijin and Fuijin vs. Masamune and Muramasa!" Kyoto then jumped out of the ring. "Ready…FIGHT!"

Ignoring his brother's earlier advice Muramasa drew his sword and eagerly dashed across the marble stage. Before he could reach the two he was stopped by a wall of wind that blew him back.

"What the hell, wind?" Muramasa said in surprise.

"My name is Fuijin; it should be easy to know my power by now." Fuijin held up two fans. "Now let me show you what else I could do!"

**Dance of Blades!**

Several crescent shaped blades were sent towards the swordsman. Muramasa used his sword and sheath to block all the blades but was left open to the blade that almost sliced him in two.

Masamune appeared and slapped the blade away with his armored glove. The older brother offered a hand to his brother.

"I told you no to act recklessly, we know next to nothing about them and neither do they us." Masamune helped his brother up.

"She just caught me by surprise; I haven't even used Muramasa to his true power yet!" Muramasa held his sword and sheath up as he formed a stance.

"I was sure that would kill him, oh well." Fuijin was about to send another blast until Suijin raised her hand.

"Don't get too greedy sister, they have shown to be able to block the wind…" A trident then appeared in Suijin's hand. "Let's see how they deal with water."

Suijin stabbed the points of the trident into the ground and it formed a small pool of water around the blade. Suijin then sent a tidal wave forward and the water began to flood the field.

"Water hah, let see them try…" Masamune held a hand in front of Muramasa as he walked forward.

As the water moved closer to the two Masamune moved to grab his longsword.

"Part the seas."

An almost invisible slash parted the tidal wave. The water flowed passed the two as they stared at their now stunned opponents.

"It seems that these two have at least some skill." Suijin said.

"Hey sis think you can summon up some more water for me?" Fuijin asked.

"All you need to do is ask." Another press of the trident and another portal of water opened in front of the two.

"Now you can rush them." Masamune ran with his hand grasping the sword.

"Alright!" Muramasa followed his brother's example.

The two disappeared in a burst of speed that startled the two priestesses. Both members of Destiny were then slashed clean through with their blades.

**Supersonic Slash!**

Fuijin and Suijin had shocked faces as they were cut clean through. Muramasa was smirking until he noticed the absence of blood on his sword and from the two.

"What happened we cut through them didn't we?" Muramasa asked.

"It looks that those two are cleverer than we thought." Masamune then looked up. "Look above brother."

Muramasa looked up and true to his brother's word the two were floating in the air as they watched their opponents from above.

"High-speed movement, please tell me that is not all you two have." Fuijin joked.

Muramasa glared at the two until he noticed that they left the portal of water in the ground. "Let me show you what else I have."

A series of handseals the swordsman performed as he focused on the water and his targets.

**Water Style: Five Feeding Sharks!**

Five sharks formed from the pool and swam forward to the girls. The five ravenous creatures collided with the two and each other and exploded raining water all over the arena. Muramasa began to laugh thinking he destroyed the two but Masamune began to think.

'One of them is able to manipulate water so that attack shouldn't have been effective. The one with wind power could have also created a shield similar to before.' The sound of rushing wind brought him out of his thoughts.

"Muramasa, jump now!"

Muramasa didn't hear and a blast of wind sent him across the stage. Masamune tried to prepare himself but his body moved against his will and he was forced to stand where he was.

**Decapitating Airwaves!**

Carving winds slammed against the armored warrior. While the wind couldn't cut through his armor Masamune was still flung across the stage almost to the edge. The two then reappeared on the other side of the stage, Suijin canceling the water portal.

"Do you think using an attack of my own element would do anything, by the way...?" Suijin slashed with her trident and opened a rift in the air. "I believe these belong to you."

The five water sharks swam from the rift and towards the two. Seeing Masamune was down for now Muramasa took it to him to take the hits for his brother. The sharks collided with the lone warrior.

"Muramasa!" Masamune yelled as he looked to his brother.

"One down" Suijin smiled.

"Let's see what we can do with the other one." Fuijin got her fans ready to attack. A burst of energy filled the arena. "What the…?"

Muramasa appeared with several marks along his body but still standing. The sword he held now was outlined blood red as was his body. Madness flowed through his mind as he felt power flow through him.

"**Now let me get serious!"** Muramasa held both his sword and sheath high up into the air. The air mummed with power as Muramasa prepared his attack.

"Should I block it?" Fuijin asked.

"No let him continue." Suijin said. "The best way to destroy someone is to do so when their will is broken."

**Double Getsuga Tensho!**

An X-shape energy cut through the ground as it trailed towards the two. Muramasa continued to howl in laughter when he saw his technique slash through the earth itself.

"**Ahahahaha I would like to see what you too have to dodge this attack!" **Muramasa laughed.

Suijin summoned another portal of water and prepared for their counterattack. "Ready Fuijin?"

"Of course" Fuijin readied her fans.

**Water Style: Water Wall!**

The portal spread further and a wall of water rose over the two. Fuijin saw it was her turn and summon several tornados on the stage.

**Dance of the Dragon!**

The tornados mixed with the water wall and now several waterspouts formed form the two techniques. The twisters formed a wall and guarded against Muramasa's energy attack. The Getsuga Tenshou barely was a match for the elemental attack.

"**The hell, how in the world did you block that?" **Muramasa dropped to the ground as his adrenaline rush left him.

The sisters gave no answer and sent the raging whirlpools towards the fallen swordsman.

**Joint Attack: Torrential Vortex!**

The attack almost hit if not for Masamune standing before his brother. "While he may not be much, he is my brother and I can't allow you to win this battle for his pride and mine!"

**Celestial Sword!**

Quickly drawing his sword the blade became that of light and Masamune sent out a shockwave that seemed to cut through the air. The beam sword cut through all of the waterspouts and left everyone in the arena shocked.

"There you have it folks, the famous technique that nicknamed him Masamune the legendary sword! What do the two sisters have to say about this?" Plugman said over the mike.

"The legendary sword? Well it's impressive to say the least." Fuijin said in wonder.

"Well he blocked one joint move but he won't block another." Suijin informed her sister.

"Muramasa get up, you don't want to go down like this do you?" Masamune yelled to his broken brother. "Muramasa!"

"I wouldn't bother with him, looks like he put more than his power into that last shot." Suijin's statement proved true as the aura around Muramasa left him as he sat on his knees.

"He has accepted defeat, but I fear that you will not do the same." Fuijin said. "Oh well, it looks like we'll have to defeat you the old fashion way!"

The longsword once again became a beam sword as Masamune stood his ground. Thinking quickly the swordsman kicked his brothers out of bounds.

'One of us has to live at least to tell the story…brother." Masamune turned to the twin terrors.

"A bit noble of you to knock him out of bounds to spare his life!" Fuijin said.

"Too bad you will not get the same opportunity!" Suijin said.

**Cyclone Storm!**

As like before, several tornados dropped from the sky around the two girls. The six funnels combined and formed a swirling vortex of destruction. Suijin pointed her trident to the storm and added a new twist to the storm.

**Subzero!**

The wind attack now became an ice attack as became a blizzard. By a silent command the attack moved forward, freezing all in its path towards Masamune. Masamune held his ground even though he knew the outcome of the match.

"Brother!" Muramasa called before his brother was swallowed by the ice storm.

"So long brother, we will never know who the better swordsman is today."

**Joint Attack: Artic Storm!**

The storm hit and exploded outward filling the arena with freezing wind. The stage now mimicked that of arctic tundra and a frozen block of ice stood in the center. Inside of the ice was Masamune. The ice then cracked as it seen burst into shards that flew in the wind.

"I…I g-guess that match is over, the winners and those going to the finals are…Destiny!" Kyoto announced.

Destiny took the applause and then left the stage, the final battle of the Eclipse Tournament has been decided.

(Scene Change)

"Those clever organics!" Soundwave said as the readings from the Camera-bots died.

"They must have known about the cameras somehow!" Jack Spicer said. "At least a few of the bots managed to survive."

Ghostfreak appeared back in the room and shift back into Bella. "Man I didn't even know Ghostfreak could feel cold, tell me you got all of that."

"We have everything, all we need are with me and Jack." Time Wizard said.

The Bella in the chair turned back into Naruto and looked at the destruction. "Hey Bella-Chan, think Shadow knows anything about this?"

"This looks like the kind of thing Shadow might know about." Bella admitted. "You guys can go back until the guild meets up, I have a feeling we'll need the replay."

The three Hyna Squad members agreed and were sent back into the omnitrix. Bella then saw that DB and Key had entered the booth. "What took you guys so long?"

"Girl troubles." Both of them admitted.

Shadow, Ravena, and Illu then appeared in the booth. Before Shadow could take a step Bella took him by the shoulder and shook him a bit.

"Ok talk, what do you know about all this going on!" Bella threatened him.

"I would if you would stop shaking me!" Shadow managed to get out.

"Bella you have to let him down so he can tell you guys everything." Illu said.

Bella then let go a now dizzy Shadow who had to take a minute to compose himself. "Did you really have to manhandle woman!"

"Maybe you shouldn't have to make it that I have to force secrets out of ya!" Bella argued.

"My secrets are just that mine and that's not the issue here!" Shadow then told them all what he had finished telling the others.

"So who ever this Mistress is seems to be running this thing." Key thought out loud. "Did you get a name when she was in your head?"

"Kusanagi or something like that, look I hate to put this on hold but what we really have to worry about is the Finals." Shadow said.

"You're seriously thinking about the prize with this going on, did you see what just happened?" DB asked.

"Know but something tells me Bella recorded all of it." Shadow said. "And if we deal with them now I think we can interrogate them to see what their plans are."

"That's how you want to do this, are you going to involve the Admin?" Key asked.

"That's your job isn't it, inform them of that and see if we can get support for this." Shadow said. "Now to the game plan."

(Scene Change)

"Now I want you to go out and practice, if you can't control that power then there is no point in you having it." Sen said.

Renchard stood to leave but before he did he turned back to Sen. "I don't know what you guys are planning but if it wins the tournament for me I don't care." Ren then left the booth.

"Wow I thought we were the ones using him." Aka said.

"We are he is exactly what we need to test out Mistress' creation." Sen reminded the boy.

"I still do not see why we need him in the first place." Hagane said.

"Are you questioning Mistress' orders Hagane, that's very unlike you?" Sakura laughed.

"Do not question my loyalties witch, anything involving humans are pointless in my opinion, we should just do away with this whole stadium." Hagane spoke his opinion.

"That's going to put too much attention on us." Fuijin said.

"And if this experiment works then we have a plan for all of those humans in the crowd wishing to join us." Suijin pointed out.

"How does the seal work again I forgot." Aka asked.

"You should pay more attention instead of feeding off of sweets Aka." Sakura criticized the blond demon.

"Hey I don't see you quitting you daily supply of cakes Saku-futoi!" Aka then pulled out a chocolate bar.

"Who are you calling fat shorty!" Sakura yelled back.

"I'm not short I'm height-challenged!"

"Enough!" Sen ended their childish argument. "To answer your question Aka, the seal pulls from the depths of energy from the well and powers up the individual tremendously."

"And, come on I may not be the smartest but I do know we don't hand out power for no reason." Aka said.

"The seal will erode a person's conscious and will and slowly puts them into our control." Sen continued. "Their goals soon become that of ours."

"So the promise you fed to that human?" Hagane asked.

"We will hand him the prize money as offered but as soon as he his fulfilled his duty as a test subject we will let Hagane dispose of him." Sen said.

"The only job Hagane seems to show any emotion about." Fuijin joked.

(Scene Change)

Shadow was in his realm as he decided that now was a time to chat with Izanami about Destiny's members. When the goddess got the message she looked very worried.

"So she decided to raise some followers." Izanami said.

"Looks like it, are they some of the guys that were sealed away along with you?" Shadow asked.

"No, except for my sister and me we are what remain of that time, but it seems she has found a way to revive some of the people from long ago." Izanami said.

"Must have used the character creator from the game, they do share some common themes though." Shadow said. "I got one question to ask you though."

"What is it?" Izanami asked.

"What happens if they fall in battle?" Shadow asked.

"What?" Izanami said in surprise.

"When a player is killed they are usually respawned the next day, I want to know if it is the same with you all?" Shadow clarified.

"I do not know but any answer I want to give you is not a good one." Izanami said sadly. "I am surprised you asked such a question."

"I just want to make sure this isn't going to be a recurring pain in my side." Shadow tried to hide his feelings.

"You are questioning if killing them is the right answer, you really thinking of resolving this without harming them." Izanami continued.

"Something like that, I'll talk to you afterwards ok don't want you getting lonely in there." Shadow offered.

As soon as Izanami's image disappeared Shadow concentrated on the one who was overlooking their conversation. "How the hell did you get in here?"

"Did you forget about my little present I left a way so that we could talk more?" Kusanagi said.

"Well there is nothing I want to talk to you abou…" Shadow started.

"To answer your question, if you kill a person in your world can they be brought back?" Kusanagi stopped him with her question.

"So it's like that huh, I know you didn't come here just to answer my question." Shadow said.

"Well seeing my sister was a bonus I believe but, I thinking more of your dark power." Kusanagi smiled.

"You think I would use something that I purposely sealed off, I don't plan on using that power." Shadow said.

"Ah but now you don't have a choice." Kusanagi said. "Use it during the next round in your fight."

"I'm not one of your lackeys from Destiny I don't have to do whatever you say." Shadow said.

"Ah but I know the person you will be fighting will have an incredible power of his own, if you don't use it then defeat is what awaits you." Kusanagi informed him.

"How do you now I can't use this?" Shadow flashed the Wings of Creation.

"If you could use that power you would have done so earlier in the tournament." Kusanagi fought his bluff.

"Not really I don't like showing off." Shadow said. "Now if you excuse me."

Shadow then left his realm in a second. Kusanagi took a second to look at the moon in the sky before she too left the realm.

(Time Skip)

"Tell me again what the reason we tagged the girl is?" Amaterasuice asked. "DarkBlade lost I don't see the need for us to keep her seal active."

"Patience, DarkBlade may have lost as Muramasa told us but she has use." Chaos said.

"So what's the plan for the finals?" Amaterasuice said.

"Just be ready when Shadow's match begins and your will find out." Chaos said.

(The Next Day)

"Welcome everyone we have watched fighters fight long and hard and make to this day, the day of the Finals!" Plugman announced.

In the Admin Booth Deus was looking at the stage to see the two teams that may be his competition. "It won't be long now, can't wait to see who wins."

Meanwhile Cast and Rina were discussing the information that was given to them yesterday.

"Do you think what he said was true?" Cast asked.

"Well the word of a Beta is serious; I can always message the lab and see if they can scan for the players from yesterday." Rina said. "In the meantime all we can do is watch the match."

Cast looked at the match with a sigh. "What do you think will happen Leon?"

The Captain stood at his place by Cast's side as he was sent back to check on the stadium. "Who knows with what you told me Team Destiny can do, but I don't want to count out Kurotsubasa just yet."

"Is it because they were the ones that beat you before?" Rina joked.

"More than that, this battle will be too unpredictable to call, what is the order?" Leon asked.

"Surprisingly Destiny made a request for who will be paired up with whom." Cast said. "They should be displaying it right now."

"In a turn of events Destiny has called for the battle selections to be decided before hand, Kurotsubasa do you accept these terms?" Plugman announced over the mike.

"Whatever, you guys want just remember what we planned." Shadow asked around.

"I don't care if they did pick the order let's do this thing!" Bella said.

"Yeah let us at em, nya!" Ravena agreed.

"Punnya!" Punnya added.

"Let's show them they're dealing with a real team now." DB said.

"We worked hard to get this far let's do our best!" Illu said. Mukurowl hooted from his place on Illu's head.

"Kurotsubasa never backs down from a challenge right?" Key smirked.

Shadow smiled as he heard their answers and looked to Destiny. "We accept!"

"Well you heard them, Kurotsubasa has agreed to Destiny's request!"

(Audience)

"You better not lose Shadow you can't just beat me and not win the prize." Rose said as she and Mazareth was watching from the stands.

Grim was in another part of the stands as the match was about to start. "Glad we didn't have to fight them, that battle would be too troublesome."

Doppelman was somehow going through the food that Grim had purchased to eat. The shadow offered his master a bag of popcorn that he declined.

"No thanks besides you need to learn how to cut down." Grim said.

Doppelman made some angry gesture but continued to eat.

"This battle can end one of two ways, that's what I told you." Naenia said as she watched the battle that was about to start.

Everyone in the audience was on ends as this battle was to be the end all battle. The two teams that have made it all the way to the end were about to fight right now.

**TBC…**

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><p><strong> Got to stop it there, while I was thinking of including the first fight on here that would just make more of you call to continue. The fights are next chapter so make sure you are there! Don't forget to…<strong>

**REVIEW**

**REVIEW**

**REVIEW!**

**(Insert announcer voice here)**

** The Finals of the Eclipse Tournament have finally begun and the two teams are bringing everything they got. Destiny has some powers that some have not seen before but Kurotsubasa will also pull off some new moves of their own. Who will win the Finals, Team Destiny or Kurotsubasa?**

**Next Time: The Battle Begins, Kurotsubasa versus Destiny!**

** Got to list out how the fights are going to go now, for anyone with a suggestion go ahead and send them with your review and don't forget that anonymous review is up so feel free to send something again if you forget to. Now if you excuse me Deadman Wonderland is calling my name right now.**

**-Shadowlight0982 out.**


	15. Filler

** Since this is done I decided to update the story while I finish up with the other chapter. This is the first filler and it's more like a test than anything. This filler may be taken down so I can change it up because something's may or may not have happened because this filler takes place after the Tournament Arc. So enjoy, send me some reviews and read! ^_^**

* * *

><p>(Tokyo City)<p>

After returning from the Eclipse Tournament, Kurotsubasa made their way back to their base. It took some time getting used to their new fame but eventually normality returned to the small city. Right now Shadow was walking around the market district looking to restock on supplies the base needs.

"All that money I gave away, I can't believe I did that." Shadow grumbled as he started to look around for bargains. 'Still, given another chance I would have done it again, I am too nice.'

Shadow then walked into a store that sells machines and supplies and quickly met up with an old acquaintance.

"Hey Shadow, how long has it been?" The merchant called from behind the counter.

"Hey Rex, anything new come out?" Shadow asked as he greeted the old store owner.

"If it did can you afford it?" Rex joked.

"Probably not" Shadow smiled before walking to the counter. "So how has business been since I left for the tournament?"

"Really good, especially for the tournament" Rex started. "Most of the A.G. split town so I used this place as a large gambling house, I got half the proceeds and betted you would win all the way!"

"Damn, you had that much faith we would win?" Shadow asked.

"Of course, considering the competition and the word lose is hardly in you vocab." Rex said. "Now what can I help you with?"

"Well you can upgrade my PDA, and I need some new scanners for the base and tools to fix our ride." Shadow started to pull out a list.

Rex let out a small whistle as he looked at the list. "Quite a large order, sure you can afford it?"

"I was hoping to put it on a tab." Shadow admitted.

"A tab, for this big an order, I'm afraid not my friend." Rex said.

"Come on Rex I'm your biggest buyer, Kurotsubasa is one of the guilds that gets most of its gear from you!" Shadow argued.

"Exactly one of the guilds, there are others Shads and let's not forget about the random player that needs supplies." Rex said.

Shadow let out a sigh. "I get what you're saying man."

"I can upgrade your PDA and give you the new model but that is about it." Rex said. "Free of charge for an old friend."

Shadow handed the outdated PDA to Rex and he began to move all the dated into an upgraded I-Phone.

"What's with the I-Phone, need to get rid of them?" Shadow asked.

"Oh no, just got a new shipmen and the message to players is the choice to upgrade to these for half the usual price, I cosigned with the distributor and I'm selling them here for a cut of the profit." Rex explained.

"Nice to know one of us doesn't have money troubles." Shadow took the I-Phone and got ready to leave.

"Didn't your base use to be the teashop old Valkenhayn used to own?" Rex asked curiously.

"Yeah, he went out of business because of lack of popularity." Shadow said. "In the market district you really need to know how to compete."

"And the old dog couldn't keep up, at least you bought it instead of one of those bootleg manga makers." Rex said. "Why don't you bring the old shop back?"

"What?" Shadow asked.

"I know your guild takes request but come on, you also have to compete with the Admin for request or have to rush to bulletin boards to get jobs, what better way to make better money?" Rex listed out the reasons.

"I get what you're saying but I gave up on that idea when the guild first started, now there are more mouths, more workers, pets now, how do I start it up?" Shadow said.

"Hmm, well I can give old Val a call, not to mention don't you have two new girls in your guild?" Rex asked with a knowing smile.

"Oh no, no no no no no!"

(Scene Change)

"Yes yes yes yes yes!" Ravena chanted as she hopped around the general lobby of the guild.

"Ah what?" Illu said trying to hide her blush.

"Apparently old Rex here thinks we should reopen the old teashop but not just any kind of teashop." Shadow said glaring at the old merchant.

"Maid Café, nya!" Ravena called out.

"Punnya!" Punnya chanted in excitement.

"Not that it isn't a good idea but think of what it would cost to keep a café running." DB said.

"We need ingredients, entertainment, workers, a chef, and many things that we don't have." Key said.

"Plus this maid idea might not work." Bella said.

"You're just saying that because you don't have the chest for the job!" Raven smirked.

"Why you?" The shapeshifter and the neko started to run around the room.

Shadow sighed. "See the headache I have to deal with."

"You should be lucky, you're at the prime of your youth you should be using your love compass to the limit!" Rex laughed.

"Shut up!" Shadow said. "When is Valkenhayn getting here anyway?"

"I see your manners have only slightly changed young master." A proper voice spoke from the door.

(Play BlazBlue ost: Howling Moon)

An old man that can be described as a gentleman entered the building. Similar to the character he was named after he wore the clothing of a butler but with a blood red suit with black trim. His white hair was pulled back in a ponytail with a black ribbon; his skin was slightly wrinkled with age but still had the build of a skilled fighter.

(BlazBlue ost: Howling Moon)

"Valkenhayn, wow you made it!" Shadow said in surprise.

"Why of course, when I heard from Master Rex that you were planning to revive the old teashop I skedaddled on over as quickly as my legs could carry me" Valkenhayn said. "Also the teleporters do help with long distance travel."

"Well I'm glad you are willing to help, considering the 'circumstances.'" Shadow was not about to tell the gentleman he turned his one-time teashop from the base into a café.

"Oh Rex has told me of your intentions from the start." Valkenhayn waved off his worries. "While I do not enjoy the thought of vulgar activities in my one time establishment, I would love the opportunity to say I helped raise your business to the success it shall become."

"You know I'm not quitting my guild right?" Shadow asked.

"Of course, but I liked to know that you are resurrecting my once proud shop." Valkenhayn said. "Now let's talk positions."

"Easy, none of us are qualified unless cuteness is one." DB said.

"In that case only two of us count nya!" Ravena said as she wrapped an arm around Illu.

The blushing hybrid almost lit up red at the thought of wearing the outfit. "Ravena I don't think…"

"Hold up, what do you mean only two?" Bella yelled.

"We don't need people thinking we gender bend our maids neow do we?" Ravena smirked.

"Forget a café, let's make a restaurant who wants short stacks?" A miniature Starscream chased after Ravena once again.

"You company is as interesting as ever." Valkenhayn said.

"Quite" Rex agreed.

"Why does this crazy shit always happen to me?" Shadow facepalmed. "DB can play entertainment, that's all I can think off."

"Then that is where we start, we first need to know what instrument you play may good sir?" The gentleman asked.

"Drums dude goes with the name." DB, DrummerBoy4Life, said as he pulled out his drumsticks from his coat pocket.

"My of course um…dude, but can you be persuaded to play something else as well?" Valkenhayn asked.

"I think I can help with that." Key said as he went into the back. After a few random sounds and what sounded like a battle Key walked out pushing a large box.

"Hey isn't that…" DB looked curious.

"That's one of those rare All-Players; you can barely find those anywhere!" Rex said.

"All-Player, I don't recall hearing about this invention." Valkenhayn said.

"It's not exactly new, but not old either. Basically you give it a starting base like a keyboard or in this case drums and you can play any kind of song you want." Shadow explained.

"But wouldn't a drum set create the same thing?" The man asked.

"Naw man, the reason it's called the all play is that it can convert any sound to play from any instrument you want!" After setting up the player, pulling up the rows up miniature drums, DB played out the drums but the scales from a piano played out instead.

"Amazing, a marvelous piece of work!" Valkenhayn said. "Now next, the chef."

"Ooh ooh, let Shads do it!" Bella raised Shadow's arm to volunteer.

"Say what?" Shadow said.

"Shadow can cook very well, he made lunch yesterday and it was delicious nya!" Ravena raised Shadow's other arm.

"Punnya!" Punnya flew on top of Shadow's head and agreed with the other two.

"Well I guess it is unanimous." Valkenhayn said.

"Hold up just a minute!" Shadow tried to argue.

"Come on Shads, if anyone can cook it's you!" DB called from the player as he was playing with the All-Player.

Shadow looked to Key only for him to agree with the rest. Shadow sighed as he resigned to his fate.

"What about the manager, I have to watch over everything." Shadow called out.

"The manager of the café is almost usually working the counter and the orders my friend, you are not escaping your task so easily my friend." Valkenhayn smiled.

"What are the other positions?" Shadow asked.

"Well there are of course the workers and you still having four members without positions." Valkenhayn pointed to the remaining members of Kurotsubasa. "We shall have the ladies dressed and the gentleman clothed in proper attire."

"Ooh I have just the thing!" Ravena took an unsuspecting Illu by the wrist and dragged her off to the storage area.

"What, no I can't wear that again!"

"Oh come on Illu you look cute!"

"No it was embarrassing the first time and…"

"We have to beat that shyness out of you girl now put it on!"

"No wait, aah no stop, nooo!"

The boys of Kurotsubasa then looked towards each other.

"Is it wrong for me to picture what they are doing in there?" DB asked.

"Keep the perverseness to yourself D." Shadow said.

"But you were picturing it too, weren't you?" DB asked.

Shadow turned red for a second and silence followed before he answered. "Shut up."

"Here we are!" Kurotsubasa and the two men looked at the two maid clothed females.

Illu was blushing red and seemed to be trying to stretch out the bottom of her skirt more. At the same time Ravena seemed to be flaunting the attire, doing the occasional twirl. The hairband was moved forward so her ears were showing and the hole for the two tails to come out seemed to enhance the cute effect.

"The clothes Rose left you in, nice." Shadow said in a straight tone, though his face had reddened more than it was a minute ago. Everyone else was either blushing or silent, and this continued until DB raised a sign that said "10 out of 10."

"Well that would be two but what of the third misses right here?" Valkenhayn asked.

"You can actually see Bella's a girl?" Shadow held Bella back by her arm and restricted her from pounding the catgirl with her strength or her transformations.

"My of course, no male has that kind of righteous fury, a woman's scorn is easily recognized especially from my years of experience." Valkenhayn explained.

"Wow Val you old horn dog, literally." Rex had to jump back to dodge a kick from the Blood-Red butler.

"Well I don't think, at least I hope we don't have another maid's outfit and as for the rest of us I don't really know a tailor that can make an order that quick." Key said.

"Ah do not worry about the outfits; I will generously donate them, now for the supplies." Valkenhayn then walked to another room in the building.

The rest of the occupants followed him into a room full of shelves with scrolls and seals on the wall.

"I see you made no changes to this room." Valkenhayn observed.

"Kept it the same in your memory never found out what the seals are for or the scrolls." Shadow admitted.

"Ah but let me show you why these scrolls and seals are important." The gentleman touched the seal on the opposite wall and several boxes spilled out on the floor, opening the scrolls showed several things any restaurant would need.

"Whoa, I thought you took all this with you!" Shadow said in surprise.

"When I sold you the shop to pursue my enlightenment something told me to leave these here in hopes that you could revive what I could not." Valkenhayn then took hold of a container of tea leaves. "Now I know that dream will become a reality."

"Valkenhayn" Shadow said.

"Do not think of this old dog right now, what we must do is get your training started!" Valkenhayn said.

"Training?" DB asked.

"One does not go into battle unprepared and one does not open a business without thinking of the possibilities." Valkenhayn gave them his sage like advice. "Now by the end of the week I shall turn you all into fine employees of this future café!"

"That sounds like a challenge and Kurotsubasa accepts all challenges bring it on." Shadow said.

Everyone else agreed and Rex watched as he got a first-hand looked at Cafe Boot Camp.

(Day 1 of Training)

"Now the first thing we must with is the staff itself." Valkenhayn then started to pass out outfits.

"Everyone go and change into your appropriate outfits, Miss Illu and Miss Ravena I do believe you have yours prepared?"

"Yep, nay!" Ravena said.

"Yes" Illu said.

"Are we really supposed to be wearing this?"

Shadow and Key came out wearing a black vest over a white long-sleeved shirt and black pants with formal brown shoes. Bella was somehow forced into a version of the maid's outfit that Illu and Ravena were wearing. DB was laughing next to the player seeing as what he was wearing was already appropriate.

"I thought we agreed I was doing the maid thing and that I was running security?" Bella yelled.

"The employees must dress uniformly, so you must match your fellow misses." Valkenhayn said.

"What about DB?" Key asked.

"Master DB's attire is proper enough and his position as entertainment allows him some forms of originality."

"Besides Bella you look cute in a dress ahahaha!" DB laughed as he saw Bella full of rage.

"Bella you can work the door when you are transformed but when you are Bella you have to wear the outfit." Shadow said.

"I just don't feel right in this dress." Bella said.

Ravena was about to say something until Punnya's tail wrapped around her mouth. Shadow petted Punnya on her head as a form of thanks.

"Thanks Punnya, we don't want a Bella versus Ravena 3 right now." Shadow said.

"Punnya!"

"Traitor" Ravena said from behind the tail.

"Oh my yes, the animals must be put in another location." Valkenhayn said.

"But both Muku-Chan and Punnya are very clean, can't we make an exception?" Illu hoped.

"I'm afraid not, it is not proper to allow animals about in the café." Valkenhayn said.

"What if they both had places and assignments?" Shadow asked.

"How would that be?" Valkenhayn asked.

Shadow walked back to the changing room and pulled out his jacket and put it on his person.

"Hey Mukurowl can you…" Shadow looked to the small owl and made motion to the coat hook.

Mukurowl hooted with what looked like a smile. Mukurowl grew a bit and took the jacket from the back, the jacket easily slid off of Shadow and he flew it to land neatly on the coat hook.

"Amazing Muku-Chan!" Illu clapped as Mukurowl landed on her head.

"Ah, I would have never have thought of that?" Valkenhayn said in amazement.

"What about Punnya, you can't just get rid of her!" Ravena said in tears.

"Punnyaaaaa!" Both wear now using their large eyes to sway the old man's heart.

"Well, w-we may not be able to control if other animals enter the building, I am sure Punnya is powerful enough to corral them?" Valkenhayn offered.

"Punnya is more than strong enough for that and in the mean time she can be the mascot!" Ravena said.

"Punnya!" Punnya meowed.

"I can use some company in the counter anyway, Punnya won't go anywhere near the kitchen." Shadow said.

"Alright, now all that is left is Master Key" Valkenhayn then looked to Key. "Being the solitary male on the floor I'm afraid you will have to do multiple things, busting tables, cleaning, you will also be collecting plates as well."

"So I'm basically a bust boy, terrific." Key said.

"That's not that much work to do, Key just has to prepare tables, clean floors once in a while, I would want an easier job." DB said.

"Then trade" Key said.

"How about no"

"Enough, for now we know our roles, you must be able to do what is asked of you." The gentleman said. "Now that this is decided the real training can begin!"

"This is going to be a long week." Shadow said.

(Day 2 of Training)

"Since this requires the most skill we will start here. Now we get to the heart of the establishment, creating the tea." Valkenhayn said.

Shadow tightened the straps of the apron over his outfit and got ready to start.

"Let's start then Valkenhayn." Shadow said.

"While you will need to know how to prepare many things, the tea is the most important part, next to the coffee. This is something that must be done with great precision and skill."

"Ok then, let's start with tea then, how do we start because I mostly know the old teabag in water method." Shadow said.

"The best way to start preparing tea is to begin by boiling the water and then pour it into the teapot, in hopes of getting the most flavors out of the tea as possible." Valkenhayn said as he and Shadow prepared the kitchen and counter.

"When do the tea leaves come into play I always wanted to know that." Shadow asked.

"Ahh that is where we go to next!" Valkenhayn took out the tea leaves. "When the water has finished, the first thing you do is pour a small amount into the teapot, as if to rinse, and then quickly pour it out."

Shadow followed the instruction and waited for Valkenhayn finished.

"Now, place two of the tea leaves into the heated, steaming teapot. This trick will help achieve better taste and help release all the healthy elements of the tea leaves."

"There is a whole art to making tea leaves." Shadow said as he placed the tea leaves into the pot.

"Yes it is, and many of us merchants spend our lives creating our own phantom technique of tea making." Valkenhayn said.

"Phantom technique huh" Shadow said.

"Now pour the hot water into the teapot at about a little more than half-full, and then cover it with the lid. Now you place a large hot pad on the top. Let it sit for about five minutes, and then you will be ready to serve your tea."

"Got ya" Shadow said.

"Be warned, the tea in the pot will very strong, and it is not meant to be drunk as it is. What you must do is pour some in a teacup, my preference is filling it only a third or even a fourth of it that will determine how strong the tea will be. You want your tea; next you fill up the rest with hot water from the tea kettle."

After a few trials of making sure Shadow had the technique right they then started to drink from the teas made.

"Considering you are a novice in the art your tea is surprising satisfactory." Valkenhayn said.

"Well thanks, this is honestly is my first time making something like this." Shadow said.

"Good for you to say that, because coffee is another deal entirely." Valkenhayn smiled at Shadow's exhausted look.

(Day 3 of Training)

"Since you are working the floor you must have your routine worked out." Valkenhayn said.

"Routine what routine?" Illu asked.

"Why the waiter and waitress routine or in this case maid and master I believe." Valkenhayn said.

"S-shouldn't we save that for last?" Illu asked as she was embarrassed just wearing the outfit.

"I tend to start with the hardest of jobs before working on the easier things my dear, now Master Key, after preparing for the day you stand to the door ready to escort them to tables." Valkenhayn said.

"A step up from just busting tables, ok." Key said.

"Now for the two of you I'm afraid you are outside your help." Valkenhayn said sadly. "However I have found a suitable teacher to teach you."

"Who is this person nya?" Ravena asked.

"I'm here Valkenhayn, how can I help?" An older woman with long brown hair in a maid's outfit asked.

"My dear Ayame, glad you could arrive." Valkenhayn said.

"To help repay you for all your help, it's the least I can do." Ayame smiled.

"I leave these two in your care." Valkenhayn then took Key to finish explaining to him.

"Now I will be teaching you the basis of what you need to know for this type of work." Ayame said.

"Is there possibly a way for this not to be too embarrassing?" Illu asked.

"Just ignore her; she's just a little shy." Ravena said.

"Well working in a Maid's Café can certainly cure someone of that!" Ayame said. "Now the first thing you will learn is how to greet a customer."

"The greeting nya?" Ravena tilted her head in confusion.

"The greeting alone is how this job begins; you must always greet male customer as Master and female customers as Mistress." Ayame began.

"Females too, but that sounds so…" Illu blushed.

"You would be surprised at who your company is when you begin working," Ayame winked at the two. "Now repeat after me, 'Welcome Home, Master!'"

Ravena prepared herself and got into a cute pose. "Welcome home master, nya!"

"Perfect and the extra nya will really help when using cuteness." Ayame said.

Ravena scratched the back of her head and gave a small laugh. Ayame then turned to Illu. "Now it's your turn."

"I don't think I can." Illu admitted.

"IT's ok, in the end it is just a role you play not who you are, now repeat what I just said." Ayame tried to guide the shy girl.

"It's only a role, it's only a role." Illu repeated.

"Alright now say the line." Ayame said.

Illu blushed a bit and hesitated before finishing the line. "Welcome home, master." Illu then bowed.

"Perfect, now here comes the fun part!" Ayame smiled.

"The fun part?" The two girls asked.

"How to earn tips." Ayame said.

The day almost ended with Illu dying of embarrassment.

(Day 4 of Training)

Valkenhayn walked to DB as he finished setting up the All-Player and had the equipment ready.

"The right music will set the mood as customers come to enjoy themselves as they enter." Valkenhayn explained.

"So you're telling me is to not play anything too extreme right?" DB asked.

"Precisely" Valkenhayn answered. "Now I trust you read the manual?"

"I think I skimmed it." DB said as he got into his seat. "But don't worry its set up for drums and I know drums."

"Then by all means play something classical for me please." Valkenhayn requested.

"Alright, the only classical I can think of is Mozart, you mind?" DB said.

"By all means, play away." Valkenhayn said.

DB tapped his drumsticks together and began to play on the five drums arranged in a row in front of him. The music that came out of the speakers however was played a tune similar to Mozart on the pianos.

"Amazing, simply a wondrous piece of technology." Valkenhayn said.

"You think that's good, how about this!" As DB played the All-Player began to play a familiar song from BlazBlue. "Marionette Purple" played through the empty room as Valkenhayn sweatdropped at DB's attempt to show off.

"And to think we still have three more days." Valkenhayn said.

(Day 5 of Training)

"Decorum that is all I have to say." Valkenhayn said as he had Kurotsubasa meet in the middle of the building.

"Decorum, you mean redecorating?" Key asked.

"Precisely, while what is around now may be great for you, you have to think about the reaction others might have as well." Valkenhayn explained.

"Really, well as you know about me I don't care what other people think." Shadow said.

"While your opinion counts think about the business in retrospect, think about customers and profits that is why you are doing this." Valkenhayn reasoned.

Shadow sighed and agreed with the gentleman.

"So we set it up like a Japanese house or something?" DB asked.

"How about something more original." Key said.

"Shadow what was this originally designed after?" Illu asked.

"The bar from Fairy Tail Guild." Shadow said.

"Well we need something original but not really crazy nya." Ravena said.

"Well my ideas are out." Bella said.

"Wait I have an idea." Shadow said.

(Time Skip)

Using everyone's skills they managed to transform the simple guild building into what it was now. The building resembled the original guild design with a midnight blue bird that contrasted with the cream colored building. On the inside was cream as well with hard wood floors, tables were set up in the middle and booths along the sides and the windows. The counter shared the midnight blue as it served to draw attention to.

"Anime has never failed me before." Shadow said.

"Where did you get the idea from this, nya?" Ravena asked. "This place looks awesome?"

"Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles right?" Illu guessed.

"Right you are." Shadow said.

DB walked to the All-Player that was set in the corner of the room by the stares and the halls. "Nice you set it that people have to go through me to get to our important stuff."

Key walked upstairs and quickly walked back down. "You even set up a meeting room upstairs."

"Had to think ahead guys." Shadow said.

"Now what's with the blue and the bird outside?" Bella asked.

"Kurotsubasa, the dark wing, it kind of serves as a message" Shadow began. "Anyone looking for the guild for info will bring the message to the booth."

"That and the bulletin board on the side don't draw much attention." Key pointed to the board.

"Hey no one said running this job was easy." Shadow said.

"Well I do have to say the decorum is excellent." Valkenhayn said. "The next two days may go easier than I thought."

"We still need to name the place." Shadow said.

"If we're going with you subtle hint, how about the Black Wing Café?" Key said.

"I don't hear any better ideas so let's go with it." DB said.

"This place is going to be in business soon nya!" Ravena cheered.

"Punnya!"

"So we're actually doing this idea, it could be worse." Bella said.

"Like going for your Teen Titans idea when we first started this place up?" DB asked.

"Hey that was a good idea for a headquarters!" Bella argued.

"And it's been done before." Shadow said. "Now let's call it a day, we only have two more days of this."

(Day 6 of Training)

"The staff is prepared and the decorum is set, now we just have to gather up all the supplies we need and take care of registering with the Administration of this new business." Valkenhayn said.

"Why are we going and the girls stay behind?" DB asked.

"Ayame is giving them the finishing touches of their training; she wants to surprise us when we get back." Key said.

"Really, what supplies do we need that we don't have already?" Shadow asked.

"Cafés are known to have the occasional pastries and treats that are sold with their owners. Not to mention what other small orders they could have." Valkenhayn explained.

"More work for me, terrific." Shadow said. "Hey Key, I think three hands are enough so can you get the terminal and all the stuff set up at the café?"

"Sure" Key then teleported away.

Shadow let out a sigh. "DB you still want to have that alcohol and stuff around right?"

"You know it!" DB said.

"Well can you pick up the supply of alcohol that was ordered from this person?" Shadow handed DB a paper.

"Oh I know this place, may take me awhile but I'll get it." DB then walked to pick up the shipment.

"Well let's go Valkenhayn." Shadow said.

"Right off we go." Valkenhayn said.

(Scene Change)

Key appeared upstairs and walked to the first room on the left which was now their new meeting room. Key first noticed that the room was larger than it appeared and it shared the look of the command center or living room of Teen Titans.

"He really is too nice, can't wait to see Bella's reaction to this." Key said.

Downstairs a miniature Prowl let out a small sneeze and wondered who could be talking about Bella.

(Scene Change)

A foot slammed open the door to the bar and everyone stared at the one who dared to interrupt the silence. DB walked into the bar with a smirk on his face.

"Hey guys I'm not dead yet!" DB yelled and the bar lit up in cheers. DB was soon met with pats on the back and a few congratulations from fighting in the tournament.

(Time Skip)

"Ok so we'll just walk into the front and set these up." Shadow said as he was carrying several bags at once.

"Oh I will be taking these bags inside through the back; I say you take the front." Valkenhayn offered.

"You sure, I mean I can help you you're doing all of this for me it's the least I can do." Shadow said.

"Nonsense, now go on ahead and I forbid use of your Byakugan" Seeing Shadow's confused expression Valkenhayn furthered explained. "Apparently Ayame had the girls prepare the finishing touches to the inside and they don't want you to spoil it."

Shadow shrugged his shoulders. "Alright, are you sure you don't want help?"

Valkenhayn pulled out several pieces of paper and they came to life as shikigami. "The shikigami should be more than enough help."

The shikigami took the bags out of Shadow's hands and walked with their master to the back of the shop.

"Guess it's now or never." Shadow said as he walked into the new Black Wing Café. What surprised Shadow wasn't the new decorum but the two girls that greeted him as he entered.

"Welcome home m-master." Illu said with a slight pink tint.

"Welcome home master nya." Ravena said.

Shadow just stared at them speechless before he felt two thins push him forward. "Hey what are you…" Mukurowl and Punnya pushed Shadow to an empty booth.

"You look tired after a long day; can I get you some milk nya?" Ravena asked.

Shadow turned away to try and hide his blush but nodded; he almost jumped when he felt two hands landed on his shoulders. Shadow looked and saw it was an equally red Illu.

"Would you like a massage, you look like you had a hard day Master." Illu offered.

Shadow sat speechless before he regained some composure and eased into the massage. Ravena soon returned with the milk and saw Illu's massage and had a mischievous smirk.

Ravena then walked behind Shadow and stood next to Illu. "There is your milk Master…"

Shadow opened his eyes and reached for the drink but froze when he felt what he described as pillows pressed against his back.

"How would you like my massage Master nya?"

Shadow blush a new shade of red and steam rose from his head until he passed out.

"Shadow, Shadow?" Illu asked worriedly.

"Did I go too far nya, hey Shadow?" Ravena asked.

Punnya flew from the counter to the table and thought of a plan. Using her tail she took the drink and splashed it on Shadow's face.

"What the fuuuuu…, what happened?" Shadow asked.

"You passed out, we're so sorry Shadow." Illu apologized.

"Sorry if we went too far nya." Raven apologized.

The sound of a camera shutting and clapping hands brought the threes attention to Bella and Ayame.

"Quite impressive for you first time girls, on a normal day you would a customer happy with a large bill to pay." Ayame smiled.

"Well I'm happy to add something to my blackmail collection!" Bella said as she waved the picture around.

"What did you…?" Shadow was stopped as Punnya began to lick the milk off his face. "Punnya stop!"

"Can you blame her Shads, your face smells like milk nya!" Ravena said.

Valkenhayn chose this moment to walk out of the kitchen and into the room. "I hear the surprise worked as we planned."

"That and more, blackmail for life!" Bella yelled as she ran.

"Oh no you don'!" Shadow ran after the girl.

"Shadow!"

"Shadow, where are you going nya?"

The two maids ran after the two. The only ones remaining was Punnya lapping up milk and Mukurowl who was sweatdropping in his cage on top of the hat and coat stand. Key chose now to walk downstairs and DB walked in with two clones carrying crates of alcohol.

"I have a feeling we missed something funny." Key said.

"If we did then Bella must have a picture of it." DB said.

The two laughed as they went to watch the chase.

(Day 7 of Training)

"This is your last day, the trial run." Valkenhayn said.

"Trail run nya, what does running have to do with this?" Ravena asked.

"Ravena he means trial run. It's like practicing for the real thing." Illu explained to her fellow maid.

"Yes, I have the liberty of asking someone you all know to be your first customer. The last day is to see if you can handle one person before you deal with a crowd of people." Valkenhayn explained.

"So basically starting off small." Shadow said.

"Precisely" Valkenhayn said.

Sigh. "When will he or she be showing up?" Shadow asked as he walked behind the counter.

"I believe in any moment, so you all will take your places and I will grade you performance." Valkenhayn then vanished.

"Crazy old dog, alright everyone get into your places." Shadow said.

"Uh Shadow…" Illu said.

"Don't worry; you won't have to do anything like that." Shadow said with a small blush. "Just be like a waitress, or something."

"Ok, Muku-Chan!" Illu looked to the owl on the hat stand next to the door. Mukurowl hooted to her which caused her to smile before getting into position.

Valkenhayn was watching from afar with Res standing next to him. "Are you sure this person is the best to have been their first customer?"

"Come on lighten up, just sit back and enjoy the fireworks that are about to happen." The conversation was ended by the sound of a bell ringing in the shop.

(Black Wing Café)

"Welcome to the Black Wing Café how can I helllllll…" Key stopped as he saw the first customer.

"Oh this is rich, I come over because of a request an here I see the so called "powerful" guild Kurotsubasa replaced by a café." Rose said as she and Mazareth entered the building.

A tick mark formed at the back of Key's head but he held in his anger and called to one of the waitresses.

"Well do you have a request or would you like to order something?" Key asked.

"Hmm, I guess I can humor you and sit for a bit." Rose looked and saw Mukurowl landed on Mazareth's head and directed him to the other room.

"Welcome to the shop nya, how can I help you?" Ravena asked as she walked to Rose.

"Now this went from amusing to hilarious." Rose smirked.

Ravena held any anger she had with a smile and led Rose to the counter. "Anything else you want Maid Fetish-san?"

Now it was Rose hiding her anger as she looked to the catgirl. "No thank you, this is the counter right I'll order from here."

Raven was about to say something else but Illu walked and dragged her out before the two could continue into a fight. Rose then looked to the counter and saw who was working.

"So what made you decide to start this little business?" Rose asked as Shadow was cleaning a mug.

"Were a little short on money and there seems to be nothing up on the bulletin board worth our time." Shadow said.

"I know right, it's like the day the world stood still." Rose joked.

"More like the week, what can I get you?" Shadow asked as he stopped joking.

"A nice hot tea and let's see how the great Dark One is at baking cakes?" Rose smirked.

"Five minutes or less, oh Rose Maiden." Shadow then walked into the kitchen.

"What is it with everyone here having a nickname for me?" Rose asked no one.

"Eh in a way you're a part of the guild here too." DB startled the girl as he lounged about on his seat. "You know you still have that offer to join?"

"I know that but…" Rose looked passed the doors and sees Shadow working. "I can't just up and join you guys, not now."

"Suit yourself" DB said. "By the way, how's Naenia these days?"

"Like I know what that hag is up to." Rose said. '5, 4, 3, 2…'

"Thanks for waiting." Shadow set down the tea and a slice of yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

"You did all of this in five minutes?" Rose asked.

"Helps if you prepare the cake beforehand, was going to use it tonight but you might as well taste test it." Shadow answered.

"Don't you taste your food?" Rose questioned as she sipped her tea. 'It's good, surprisingly.'

"Of course I do but my taste is sometimes different from others." Shadow said.

"Fine, let's see how bad your sense of taste is." Rose took a bite of the cake and froze.

"That bad huh, I told them I wasn't good at cooking." Shadow said.

"It's…it's…" Rose couldn't say what she was thinking. 'It's delicious, how can someone like Shadow make something this good!'

"Oh come on what does Maid Fetish know?" Ravena then took a piece of the cake for herself and she too froze. "Nya…"

"Oh man you too, I might as well throw this out." Shadow reached for the plate.

"Don't you dare!" Both girls yelled and grasped the plate, the two glared at each other.

"Get your paws off my cake kitten."

"Well you obviously don't want it so why let it go to waste nya?"

Shadow just watched as the two girls fought over the cake. "Is it really that good?"

"Well from the few meals I've had here you are a good cook Shadow." Illu said.

"Punnya!" Punnya called to her fellow worker on the counter.

"Whatever" Shadow said.

(Time Skip)

Rose fought down a blush as she and Mazareth stood at the door. "Well it isn't the worst place I've been to for tea."

"So are we a pass or fail?" Bella asked.

"Pass I guess, but don't think you guys are that good, without that cake you would be a fail." Rose said with pride.

"You basically loved the tea and cake and are too proud to admit it." Shadow smirked.

"Shut up!" Rose turned away with a blush. "Just be open tomorrow, I want to make sure this wasn't a fluke." The girl and tiger left to preserve what little pride she had left.

"Well I would say that this counts as a success on your last day of training." Valkenhayn appeared with Rex.

"Finally got done hiding in the shadows?" Shadow asked.

"So you were aware of us then?" Valkenhayn asked.

"I was aware of the camera tap you placed in here Rex, Key showed me after we set up security." Shadow said.

"So what do you say Shads, you going to keep going with this?" Rex asked.

"To be honest I really didn't feel like starting this in the first place." Shadow began. "But it's good to have something to do on these slow days."

"So you mean…" Bella asked.

"Let's finish off a week before I call anything." Shadow said.

"Yeah, come guys lets have some of Shadow's cake!" Raven rushed inside.

"The gift of a chef is a blessing and a curse." Valkenhayn said. "Well I must be off."

"Leaving again Val?" Shadow asked.

"I believe the job I was sent in to do is finished you of all people know what that means Shadow." Valkenhayn said.

"Really gonna miss not seeing you around." Shadow said.

"And I will miss your company as well; if you require my presence again I shall be in the Kagutsuchi area." Valkenhayn then turned to walk out the door.

"So the old Wolf is off again." Rex saw it was his turn to leave. "Shadow I'll have those supplies ready for you as soon as I can but remember that it will be a big tab to pay off."

"I always find a way Rex." Shadow said as the man walked out. Shadow didn't have time to stand still as he was dragged upstairs.

"Come Shads no party skipping for you!" Bella said.

"Yeah enjoy your awesome cake nya!" Ravena said.

"Alright, alright stop dragging me I'm not a ragdoll." Shadow complained. "And Bella…"

"GIVE ME THOSE PICTURES!"

(Three Days Later)

"Hey can I get some service over here!" A guy called from a booth.

"Keep those drinks coming!" A group of people said to a rushing Illu.

"More of those cakes please!" Some girls ordered at the counter.

"You know I think were kinda understaffed for this." Key said.

"You think?" DB said as he continued to play. "I'm almost glad that the Admin said we can only have this place open for a week."

"Well what do you expect; too many players underage come through Tokyo City to have such a café." Rina said as she walked to the two boys.

"Technically this isn't even a Maid café anymore." Bella yelled as she dashed by.

"My legs hurt nya!" Ravena rushed with a plate of drinks.

Shadow sighed as he handed out more cake slices to the girls and passed out tea for Key to take to another table.

"This is ridiculous, and we're only on our first day." Shadow complained.

"I can't believe we trained a week for this only to last just a week." Key said as he left.

"I'm sorry but all things of this nature must be taken down for now, you have the guild of course and when the ban is down you can always reopen." Cast smiled as she drank her tea.

"It would be a shame for this to go; I can honestly say your coffee was adequate." Leon had his helmet off and he too was drinking a cup of coffee.

"Trust me; we are never going to do this again." Shadow said as he left to make more tea. "Watch the counter Punnya!"

"Punnya!" Punnya grabbed the money with her tail and placed them in a hidden drawer. The customers left after Punnya gave them their change.

The bell rang and a group of people walked into the café.

"Welcome to, aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!" Illu screamed in surprised.

Everyone turned to see Chaos, Trysten, Sen, and Aka standing in the café.

"So this is the new place, I hope what they say about their cakes are good!" Aka yelled.

"And I heard the tea here was delightful." Sen continued to play charismatic.

"Nice black coffee is good for any situation." Chaos said.

"I just want to see if their famous baker's dozen are as good as it sounds." Amaterasuice said.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Shadow called from the counter.

"We can't walk into a fine establishment and ask for service?" Sen asked.

"Not when two of you are from CHAOS, and the other two we still have scars from the tournament!" DB pulled out a magnum.

Key already had his keyblades out and Bella changed into a human sized Demolisher and aimed.

"Now hold on, can the precious Admin tell us the rules about entering a place of business?" Amaterasuice asked to the Admin in the café.

Leon put his sword away and went back to his drink while Cast decided to answer. "No unnecessary fighting or conflict in a place of business as long as you don't do anything that requires it."

"Exactly and what harm have I done by just asking for some coffee?" The insane leader of Chaos asked.

"Hey, hey Kage-niicahn, can I have some of those cakes, please please, a big on PLEASE!" Aka begged.

"And let's try some of those donuts my good man." Amaterasuice also added.

"I swear this crazy **** only happens to me." Shadow said.

It was a long seven days and Kurotsubasa had to endure many things before their last day came and gone. The exhausted teens lay in the base as they got it arranged back how it used to be.

"That was awful…nya." Ravena lied down with Punnya on her stomach.

"Perverts, a room full of perverts" Illu said as she was glad to be wearing her old clothes.

"That was almost too insane even for me." Bella admitted.

"I don't want to see another dirty dish as long as I play this game." Key said.

"I tried to practice with my band yesterday but I swear all I heard was classical music play when I drum." DB said.

"Let's all agree to just stick to what we do best." Shadow said as he drank some water.

"Here here!" The teens then lay down and thought of all the nonsense they went through that week. To this day, the guild received some request for tea or baked good deliveries.

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><p><strong>End.<strong>

**Well how was it, not bad for the first filler if I say, but then again I wrote it. Like I said in the author's note above send me some feedback. Enjoy this comedy again and again while I work out all of the action for the next real chapter. Later!**

**-Shadowlight0982 out.**


	16. Chapter 14: Kurotsubasa vs Destiny pt:1

** You have waited and it is here, the finals of the Tournament Arc! It's been a while getting this far and I still can't believe the comments reached the 100's. Just thinking about all this support keeps me writing this story, even to the ones that sent characters and haven't yet checked out the story. Well let's see how far this chapter goes but first the announcements!**

**Announcements:**

** Looking at the success of the omake I can say that it may become a usual thing or at least another story for me to do. If I do end up making the omake into another story it may just be like "The Tales of Tokyo City" similar to "Tales of Ba Sing Se" from Avatar. Well you will just have to read and see my decision.**

** Also a little information about the next arc to come, expect it to be where the real world comes into play as well. So for that I'm going to need how your character would look in reality this time, I will put the information for that at the end of the chapter so remember that.**

** Finally, one reader PM me an idea that would be awesome if I can find someone to do it. What I'm talking about is if FFW had its own theme song, that would be the best thing to happen to this story next to getting its own artist ^_^. So if anyone is skilled in music or knows someone that is PM me and send ideas.**

**Reviews:**

** Since the reviews are about the omake there may not be that many but what the heck.**

**BloodxForxMyxRose, Ravena Felidae, and Keybladedude: Glad I could make your day.**

**Wolfpakersson09: Haven't gotten anything from that author, are you sure she knows about this fic, if not I might just PM her.**

**Mister Grim: I didn't have that thought until after the chapter was already up, expect something for the next omake though or maybe even that.**

**Orihara-Heiwajima Sakuya: Some things can't be helped, how did I do with your character?**

**Now that all of this is over…wait for it…**

**ON WITH THE SHOW!**

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><p>"FFW"-Speech<p>

'FFW'-Thought

'_FFW'-Flashback_

"**FFW"-Attacks**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I do not own any reference to any animegame/show/book, etc. that appears in this story. I own the original plot (at least I hope its original) and my own characters and OC's. All other characters and references belong to their original creators.**

* * *

><p>"<em>I don't ask anyone about their past, so they shouldn't ask anyone about mine." Shadowlight0982.<em>

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><p><strong>Ch. 15: The Battle Begins, Kurotsubasa versus Destiny!<strong>

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><p>(Eclipse Tournament Stage)<p>

"Ok everyone we have seen lots of blood and violence to make it this far the finals of the Eclipse Tournament!" Plugman pumped up the crowd.

"Since Kurotsubasa agreed to Team Destiny's roster request the orders have already been decided Kyoto if you would please?" Plugman moved to his fellow announcer.

"Of course, now the first match of the Eclipse Tournament is a shocker so here we are everyone!" Kyoto pointed to the screen and two names were displayed.

Key vs. Sen

A few gasps went through the audience as they saw the names with good reason it is almost unusual for the leader of a team to fight first. While the rule of the leader losing didn't matter it wouldn't mean good for a team's image for their leader to lose.

"No fair how comes Sen gets to go first!" Aka complained.

"Because if we let you into the meeting as well then you would just have yourself fighting everyone on the team, besides Sen fighting first works well for our plan." Sakura explained.

"And what of his opponent, from the one fight he was in he shows much strength?" Suijin asked.

"Merely to test the strength of the Betas, if they are as powerful as they are this would be important for us to see one in action." Hagane said.

"All we can do is observed then let's see if Sen can buy us the time we need." Fuijin said.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Their leader going up first, something isn't right." Key said.

"Of course something isn't right their whole team planned out the roster for a reason." DB reminded them all.

"Regardless we have barely seen Sen fight so there is that to put into account." Shadow said.

"It doesn't matter if we saw him fight or not, kick his ass Key!" Bella yelled.

"Yeah show them who they're messing with nya!" Ravena cheered with Bella.

"Punnya!" Punnya agreed.

"Just be careful ok, I may not be able to patch you up if I'm next up." Illu said, Mukurowl hooted on her head as he shared his owner's fears.

"Don't worry about me; they haven't seen 100% of what I can do either." Key then began to walk to the ring. Before he entered the stage Shadow gave him a last piece of advice.

"From what you guys said he has the power to stop time, remember that and remember your limit." Shadow said.

"Of course, if anyone should be giving advice it should be me." Key joked. "Don't worry I don't plan on losing."

"It's not the fight I'm worried about." Shadow said as Key walked away.

(Tournament Stage)

"Meeting one of the Betas in a way such as this, I am honored." Sen performed a small bow.

"Cut the crap Bringer of Destruction." Key said.

"Oh so Shadow told you of that, what else has he told you?" Sen asked curiously remembering Shadow's profile.

"All that we need to know, whatever he is holding back that's something for later." Infinity and Oathbreaker then flashed into Key's grip. "But what Shadow told me is all I need to know."

**(Play Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep "Boss Battle")**

"That's quite a sense of loyalty you have there, we will have to test that shall we?" Sen then got into position.

"Ok everyone the party starts now, Keybladedude versus Sen…ready…FIGHT!" Kyoto then jumped out of the way.

Key dashed forward with Oathbreaker raised in the air, Sen dodged to the side but didn't see Key drive Infinity forward. What surprised Key was instead of sinking into Sen's stomach it simply bounced off with a metallic clang. As they separated Key decided to test his thoughts.

"The ultimate shield right?" Key asked.

"Clever observation, were you surprised that your attack bounced off?" Sen asked playfully.

"Surprised yes but you won't be surprising me for long." Key shot forward again.

"Repeating yourself is that all a Beta can do?" Sen asked.

Key then stopped abruptly and slammed Oathbreaker into the ground. Dark flames appeared before Sen and he used the shield to cover his front. Key then quickly ran around him to his unprotected side.

**Dark Flame**

"Is this a surprise?" Key's attack connected as Sen was sent across the ground with dust after him.

"Just like Key and his strategies, he used Sen's ability against him to land an attack where his shield was active!" Plugman yelled.

"Impressive, I couldn't cover myself with the ultimate shield in time to counter you." Sen said.

Key said nothing as he watched Sen rise to his feet.

**(Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep "Boss Battle" end)**

"Well I have to give you credit, I will have to get much more serious if I want to see what you can really do."

"What are you talking about?" Key asked.

"That transformation" Sen's words made Key freeze for a second before he regained himself.

_(Flashback)_

_The people in the crowd stopped cheering as they felt the power increase in the air. A shockwave almost blew Spirit away as he saw energy rise out of Key like a waterfall. Key then began his own transformation._

_Key's Org XIII cloak became a white sage's cloak with a pale yellow hue. Key's grey hair then became blond and his brown eyes became a crystal blue. Oathbreaker disappeared in a white light and then Oathkeeper took its place in Key's hand._

_**Angelic Forme**_

_(Flashback end)_

"Why do you want to see that transformation?" Key asked.

"For reasons you do not need to know, for now I will just have to force you to use it." Sen shot his hand forward and chains with the head of a snake shot forward.

Key knocked the chain away only to see Sen somehow cross their gap in distance quickly. Sen used his hardened fist and slammed it into Key's stomach, now Key was the one who was sent flying close to the edge of the stage.

(Kurotsubasa)

"What was that?" Illu asked.

"Of course he had to have that power, bastard." Shadow said.

"That's from Blazblue isn't it nya?" Ravena asked.

"Oh I remember that was the chain Shadow said the snake bastard used, whenever he said that I thought he meant Orochimaru." Bella admitted.

"There are more snake bastards out there than him but that is for another time, those chains are the Nox Nyctores Ouroboros." Shadow explained.

"Nox Nyctores, aren't those the special weapons from BlazBlue, each one having a special ability and side effect?" DB asked.

"Yeah I just hope Key doesn't fall for Ouroboros' special ability." Shadow said.

(Destiny)

"Is he really planning to use those to trigger the transformation?" Hagane asked.

"What else choice does he have, even in a fight like this Sen will never get serious." Sakura said.

"He plans on bringing it out with just a cut from Ouroboros?" Fuijin asked.

"Yes neesan, if he can get into Key's head then the battle will really begin." Suijin answered her twin.

(Tournament Stage)

Dodging another sudden move by Sen Key teleported a distance away, Key then aimed Infinity towards him.

**Holy!**

Beams of holy energy fired from around the keyblade towards Sen. Sen managed to dodge some blasts but the beams that connected burned as they pierce his body.

'Is it over?' Key asked himself as he saw Sen fall to his knees.

"That one actually hurts." Sen's body then turned to smoke.

"Whoa, one hit from Key turned Sen into dust, has Kurotsubasa already win the first battle?" Plugman yelled.

(Kurotsubasa)

"It can't be that easy can it?" DB asked around.

"I know Key is really strong but my gut says something's not right here." Bella said.

"Nya, something's got my fur on end." Ravena said.

**Byakugan!**

The veins around Shadow's left eyes became more pronounced as he scanned the tournament's stage. 'That smoke it has a signature in it, too large to be from death."

"Shadow what's wrong?" Illu asked as she saw Shadow's kekkei genkai active.

"I don't think this fight is over." Shadow said.

(Tournament Stage)

While Key saw the smoke sink to the ground he didn't see some of the smoke collect behind him.

"He said something about wanting to see my transformation, why would he give up that easily if he was that determined to see it?" Key asked himself.

While Key was still in thought the smoke continued to collect until it was a black pile. Key then decided to scan for Sen using his powers as the smoke began to rise.

'Let's see if I can find where you're hiding' Key then closed his eyes and saw the signatures of everyone around him. Key looked around for Sen and saw that his presence was behind him.

"Impossible!" Key opened his eyes in shock.

"Very possible."

Key looked back and jumped away but the damage was done. Blood dripped from the knives Sen was holding as his body began to solidify from the smoke.

"A little bit too late aren't we?" Sen gave Key a closed eyed smile.

Key looked to his bloodied right arm. A trail of blood leaked from his sleeve down onto the ground, the white hue of Infinity now was turning pink from the life giving liquid.

"Bastard" Key said.

"Well I do believe it's about time you showed me your power." Sen said.

Key then rushed with a battle cry and resumed the battle. Key and Sen continued to fight, keyblades to knives, and continued to clash. Every once and awhile Sen would puff into smoke and try to surprise Key again.

(Destiny)

"Isn't Sen's snake knife supposed to be working now?" Aka said.

"One cut from Ouroboros isn't enough to sometimes trigger the effect, but I think that one cut may be enough for Sen to do what he needs to do." Suijin answered the boy.

(Kurotsubasa)

"They cut him, what happens now?" Ravena asked frantically.

"Now we just watch and see if Key's mind is strong enough." Shadow said.

(Tournament Stage)

After another clash Key started to notice his vision began to darken. Sen watched with amusement as Key was being forced inside his mind.

"Finally, now we can really begin Key." Sen's voice echoed as he started to vanish from Key's sight.

"You really think you can beat me in my mind?" Key asked as he was pulled into a void.

"Me defeat you, to be honest I hate having to work and do things myself, so I will let you defeat yourself." Sen's voice answered. "Don't worry; you have all the time in the world."

Key then began to clutch his head as painful memories began to rush by him.

One image.

"Stop"

Another image.

"Stop it"

Another painful memory.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

(Outside Key's mind)

The time of the last clash Sen was able to trap Key into a sphere of dark energy. The crowd waited as they can see Key begin to struggle inside.

"Whoa, after thinking that Destiny already lost Sen somehow came back and trapped Key into a trap!" Kyoto announced. "Has Lady Luck smiled on Team Destiny to win this fight?"

"Come on Key you can't let something like this beat you!" DB yelled.

"Bust out of there Key come on!" Bella cried out.

"You can't go out like this, come on Key!" Ravena yelled.

"Punnya!" Punnya called with her.

"Key" Illu said in worry.

Shadow stayed silent as he watched. Shadow had an idea of some of the memories Key could be seeing.

(Key's Head)

_(Flashback)_

_ Key watched a memory as he was ambushed from all sides. Many players were around him each carrying a high class weapon._

"_Hah, so much for the powers of the Betas!" A Player called out._

"_Invincible Warriors my ass, all they are are just walking textbooks about the game." Another joked about._

"_Let's finish this guy off, I bet he has a lot of good items once we raid his dead body!"_

'_So this is how it ends huh?' Key asked himself. As they began to swarm around him Key began to focus his power into one big blast._

_ Key walked away limping and didn't looked behind to see the sight left by his technique. The smoke drifting in the air lead back to a clearing filled with pixels._

_(Flashback end)_

"Yeah that was the time when everyone thought I was too good because I was a Beta. The Betas didn't have a good reputation then…but…"

"_Who are you?"_

A voice caught Key's attention, out of all the chains of dark memories one of his good ones seemed to shine through.

_(Flashback)_

_ Key stopped walking as he turned and saw a boy standing behind him. Shadow looked at him with a neutral expression but Key can see some interest in his eyes._

"_You're a Beta right?" Shadow asked._

"_Yeah any reason you need to know?" Key turned around._

"_Just wanted to prove my suspicions, I don't like to trust other people's words so I decided to look for the real thing." Shadow said._

"_Well you found me; can I get your name?" Key asked._

"_Shadow, Shadowlight0982." Shadow said._

'_Shadow, I know that name' Key then decided it was his turn to ask questions. "As in Shadow from Ground Zero?"_

_ A look of rage flashed through Shadow's eyes but he returned to his solemn look. "Maybe, maybe not, now it's your turn for introductions."_

_ Key smirked. "I guess you're right, my name is Keybladedude."_

"_Anything shorter?" Shadow joked._

"_Only to friends, are you offering?" Key joked back._

_ Shadow answered with a small laugh. "Not really in the market for friends. Nice to meet a Beta in person."_

_ Key looked confused as Shadow then walked passes him on his way._

"_Is that it, most people out looking for a Beta is either looking for info or a fight." Key said._

"_Well I ain't most people." Shadow said. "Besides I know I'm not at the level to take a Beta in a fight…not yet."_

"_Yet huh?" Key said. "So where are you heading off too?"_

"_Ever heard of something called Golden Ultima?" Shadow asked without turning around._

"_You're looking for that weapon; good luck to you, that dungeon isn't exactly easy for most people." Key warned the stoic player._

"_Like I said I'm not most people, I'm not in it for the weapon, but I'm sure I can find someone willing to pay lots for it." Shadow said._

_ Before Shadow could walk further Key teleported in front of him._

"_Well I can't exactly let you off to find a rare Keyblade…" Key began._

"_Without me coming along."_

_(Flashback end)_

"Without me coming along." Key repeated what he said in the past. "Shadow and I became friends in that quest."

Key's grip tightened on Oathbreaker and his eyes glowed power. "He wants to see a transformation huh, guess I better give him what he wants."

(Tournament Stage)

A blast of dark energy destroyed the sphere and Key stood before Sen with determined eyes.

"So you broke the mind attack of Ouroboros?" Sen asked. "I guess I will have to try harder."

"You know what Sen I saw a lot of things in there and I have to thank you." Key said.

"Huh?" Sen looked confused.

"Being a Beta puts a label on you for life, people either see you as someone above them or a living target for of secrets." Key began. "In the past I would sometimes hate being a Beta and that's what Ouroboros chose to show me, but it showed me something else to."

"And that was?" Sen asked.

"A meeting that changed my life and began my path…" Key set Infinity to his side. "As Keybladedude, Beta..."

Key rose Oathbreaker. "And member of Kurotsubasa!"

(Kurotsubasa)

"Oh yeah Key is back!" Bella and Ravena cheered as they began to cheer. Illu looked grateful to see Key alright and was too dragged into the cheering.

"The battle going to end soon huh?" DB asked.

"Yeah, time for Key to make a comeback." Shadow said.

(Tournament Stage)

**(Play Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep "Vanita's Final Battle")**

"One cut helped you realize all that, I accept your thanks but I fail to see when this is going." Sen said.

"Well I normally don't transform out of request but I think for this fight I will transform." Key's expression then turned to something sadistic.

"Just don't regret it!"

Dark energy shot from Oathbreaker towards Sen. Sen rolled out the way as the blast carved through the marble. Looking up from his close brush with death Sen watched the smoke die and Key gain a new form.

"But that's not" Sen said.

Key's outfit was now a black robe and his shirt had disappeared. Key also had on old fashioned black pants that replaced his old ones. The Infinity keyblade had become Oblivion. Key's hair was now black that matched the shadowy black eyes looking at Sen.

"Like I said…" Key then flashed in front of Sen. "DON'T REGRET IT!"

Sen raised the ultimate shield to block and the force of the two keyblade thrusts sent him flying across the marble. Sen regained himself and saw Key floating in the air. Key flew forward making Sen raise his arms to block but Key then vanished.

Key repeated these motions again and again but soon appeared behind Sen with his keyblades in the ground.

**Dark Aura!**

Dark energy shoots up from all around Key and Sen was caught inside the attack. Sen tried to harden his armor but the attack would always reach wherever the Ultimate Shield was not guarding. A shoe to Sen's face sent him out the attack as Key began his onslaught.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Um Key seems to have forgotten about restraint." Illu said.

"That forme does that too him, he tends to get a bit crazed." Shadow said.

"Reminds me of a certain kitty." Bella said.

"Reminds me of a certain ironboard." Ravena said back.

The two had to be held back as to avoid another fight.

(Tournament Stage)

"Time to end this, it's over!"

The entire field then began to turn black. Key began to chuckles darkly as he faded away into the darkness. Sen looked around to try and locate his opponent. Suddenly, quick slashes appear all over the Sen's body. The field returned to normal and Sen saw Key with his back to him.

Sen then gave a smile as he hardened his hands into claws. "You said you would end it does that me you want me to take your life?"

Without waiting for an answer Sen moved to strike the finishing blow. Key looked back and smiled as he raised a hand.

Snap!

Sen's body exploded as blood began to gush from his wounds. Sen fell to the ground defeated.

Key then returned to normal as he looked to his downed opponent.

"Wow what an upset, this battle is now officially over!" Plugman yelled all over the mike.

"The winner of the first match…Key!" Kyoto walked to the stage and raised Key's arm. "I would like to give him a bonus for the bloody finish too!"

(Destiny)

"Whoa did Sen just?" Aka asked in surprise.

"He always didn't want to get serious." Sakura said. "Look at him now."

"Mistress will still have use for him."

To cue Hagane's words Sen's body then began to break apart. Black pixels rose to the sky and began to their journey back to their master.

Key took note of the disappearing body but kept his thoughts to the back of his head as he walked back to his guild.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Couldn't keep it toned down could you?" DB asked.

"I'll answer that question next time you're in the middle of a seriously bloody battle." Key jabbed back.

"Nice comeback and good fight." DB congratulated the keyblade master.

Key was then pulled in by the cheering duo as Ravena and Bella begin to share their cheers.

"Not that this isn't something to be happy about but we still have five more battles guys." Shadow said.

"Come on Shads, live the now and have fun once and awhile." Bella shared her advice.

A tickmark grew on Shadow's head and Illu laughed at the shapeshifter's joke.

"Shadow you have to at least enjoy the fact we won the first battle." Illu said.

"I can't enjoy anything until we reach the end." Shadow said.

(Destiny)

"Can't I fight next, please please please!" Aka threw in a puppy dog eyed effect to amplify his request.

"For the last time Aka you have to wait until after this battle now sit down and eat your sweets." Sakura pointed to the corner.

Aka just pouted and walked to the respected corner of the booth. Renchard had enough of their antics and decided to ask his questions.

"Who is next and when is it my chance to fight?" Renchard asked.

"Just wait won't you Ren we still have…" Suijin's statement was stopped by Ren holding his weapon to her neck.

"Do not call me that." Renchard warned her.

"Oh I forgot, only your sister can call you that right?" Suijin just kept her calm look as the blade moved against her skin, drawing blood.

"Hey put that thing down or…" Hagane caught Fuijin's hand as she reached for her fans as he walked to the center.

"Enough of your foolishness get it together or so help me I will end all of your lives." Hagane spoke.

"Are we done here?" Suijin asked.

Renchard said nothing as he moved his sword back to his side. Everyone's attention was now onto Sakura as she walked to the stage.

(Tournament Stage)

"Ok everyone I hope you all enjoyed that small intermission, now it's time to get back to the action!"

"Alright all of you it's time for what may be an exciting fight I hope all you men out their can keep it together!" Kyoto said. "From Team Destiny we have Sakura!"

The audience cheered but mostly the men hollered as Sakura began her slow walk to the stage. She gave a small wink to the crowd that led to a few nosebleeds.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Ravena you better be careful with this one." Shadow said.

"What's there to be worried about, sure she's a magical girl too but I can still win nya." Ravena said with confidence.

"Punnya!" Punnya said excited to finally fight in the tournament.

"Ravena, Punnya she usually similar to that of Yakumo Kurama!" Illu warned them ahead of time. "If she can sketch you and erase you."

"Then I better not give her time to draw then right nya." Ravena said.

"If you need to don't forget…" Key pointed to her bell.

"I'll try not too but thanks Key." Ravena then walked to the stage.

"Hey Shads, how long was Felis out the first time you saw here?" Bella asked seriously.

"About a few hours and I know why you asked that." Shadow answered.

"It's not just her Shads, what happens if Kitty goes without her bell for too long?" DB asked.

"I don't know, let's all hope we all don't find out." Shadow said.

(Tournament Stage)

Sakura smirked as she saw her opponent was Ravena. "So Kurotsubasa agreed to send their pet cat after me huh?"

"Who are you calling a pet and you chose the order so don't blame me if you lose nya!" Both Ravena and Punnya hissed as they got ready.

Sakura pulled out her sketchbook and showed a half-finished sketch of Ravena and Punnya causing them to step back in shock for a bit.

"You know if I had finished I could have easily beaten you as soon as the battle started, be thankful I'm giving one final chance to perform your tricks." Sakura said.

"You shouldn't have shown me that nya," Ravena was now in Bakeneko stance. "Now I'm going to kick your ass twice as fast and hard!"

"Ok ladies enough trash talk, we all came for the fight!" Kyoto stopped them. "…now match#2 Sakura versus Ravena…ready…FIGHT!"

Ravena wasted no time crossing the gap between the two. Sakura took the time to dodge and saw that Ravena wasn't giving her time to use any of her techniques.

'This battle would end too quickly if I complete the sketch; she's trying to beat me as quickly as she can.' Sakura thought as she dodged a kick aimed at her head.

While Sakura was thinking Ravena was having thoughts of her own, or more like a conversation.

"You do know your strategy isn't the best one to use Felidae." Felis said.

'Don't really have any other ideas besides all I really have to do is go for her sketchbook and destroy it nya.' Then delivered another combo that forced Sakura to block the fast moving limb.

"That girl probably thinks that is your plan, if that is the case she is just toying with you." Felis said.

"Well I don't have a lot of options so unless you have an idea nya…" Felidae said.

"You can always let me out; I can deal with this magical wench myself." Felis offered.

'I think I can win this by myself nya.' Felidae ignored the offer and sent a kick that sent Sakura across the stage.

"You're never going to learn are you, fine just don't lose." Felis sat back to observe the battle.

"Sorry to interrupt your daydreaming."

Sakura's voice cut through Ravena's thoughts as she turned to see Sakura's staff glow.

"I can tell you know a bit about magic so let me show you some of my magic!"

Sakura's staff then glowed and stars began to fill the air. Ravena's fur tensed as she remembered this was the move Sakura had used before.

"Now little kitty let's see how many lives you have?" Sakura said.

**Twinkle Beam, Circus!**

Ravena and Punnya then scattered as they avoided the lasers that were shooting from multiple directions. Ravena's flexibility saved her many times from being pierced through.

With a silent command Punnya then flew between beams and joined up with her master. "Magic huh, then I guess it's my turn nya!"

Sakura ended her technique with a small giggle. "Of course, let's see what kind of magic you have."

Ravena let out a hiss and she saw from Sakura's tone she was mocking her.

**Neko-Nyanko-Punyanko**

Punnya grew into a pink ball of light and connected with her master's arm. The Punnya Cannon was formed and ready to be used.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Isn't that the move Kitty used to take out Dark?" Bella asked.

"Looks like it, I didn't really get a good look at the move back then but it looks like it can do some damage." DB said.

"I think that's the Punnya Cannon." Illu said.

"Punnya Cannon?" Bella asked.

"Yeah it's one of the main powers Ravena and Punnya have when they work together." Illu tried to explain.

"Those two keep getting more complicated." Key said.

"Let's see what this joint attack can do." Shadow said.

(Tournament Stage)

"Transformation magic, please don't tell me that is all you have." Sakura said in a dull voice.

"You haven't seen anything yet, ready Punnya?" Ravena aimed forward.

**Punnya~~~~~~~~~~!**

A pink beam formed in the barrel of the newly created weapon. Sakura's expression turned from bored to serious as she felt the power the weapon shot off. When the attack was done charging Ravena realized it all at once.

**Punya-Nyanko- PUNYANKO ECHO!**

A large beam was fired from the barrel and tore through the stage. The beam took a spiraling effect as it "drilled" through the air towards Sakura.

'To think she has this kind of magic.' Sakura tried to move and saw that she couldn't. Looking down she saw black cattails reached from the ground and had wrapped around her heels.

'Sneaky little feline isn't she?' Sakura thought. As the beam spiraled closer Sakura then formed all her stars together into a makeshift barrier.

The destructive beam collided with the wall as both magical girls concentrated on holding their attacks together.

"Amazing, these girls are really giving us a show here, will Sakura's wall hold up, will Ravena's magical beam tear through it's so suspenseful!" Plugman commented on the fight.

Sakura saw that her wall was soon crumbling so she thought of a way to free herself from Ravena's trap. Sakura then smiled as she disappeared into sparkles just as the Punnya Cannon broke through her wall.

"What the hell?" Ravena said as her attack ended and saw Sakura was gone.

**Punnya?** Punnya spoke telepathically.

"No she didn't leave the ring so where is she nya?" Ravena tried to look around for her. 'Behind me, above nya?'

(Destiny)

"Awe man, Sakura-nee got a fun opponent." Aka said with a pout.

"Enough complaining, you would have finished her easily if you two had fought." Suijin said.

"Nope I would play with Neko-neesan for a bit before then." Aka smiled.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Where is she?" Illu asked when she sensed there was no genjutsu used.

Shadow looked around with his Byakugan. "I can't find her, but I wonder why her stars are still around."

Shadow pointed to how the stars that weren't destroyed by the Punnya Cannon were now floating aimlessly around in the air.

Key closed his eyes as he tried to sense for Sakura. Key's eyes then shot wide open, "Ravena she's all around you!"

(Tournament Stage)

Ravena heard Key's shot and was about to move until she was trapped inside a funnel of wind, as the wind whipped through Ravena she heard Sakura's voice.

"Art is beautiful isn't it but it can also be so deadly."

The remaining five stars combined and formed a human body. Out of a bright light Sakura appeared in the air. Summoning more stars Sakura wasted no time in planning her next move.

"I'll blow you away little kitten." The Wind grew harsher and the funnel rose towards the sky.

**Star Sign: Gale!**

The wind began to slice Ravena from all direction and slashes appeared in her clothes, she felt herself being raised into the air by the wind as she tried to block the harsh air waves. Ravena tried to think of a way out of the move before she was cut to pieces.

**Punnya!**

"Azarath, Metrion…"

Outside the tornado Sakura marveled her work as she saw little drops of blood being carried by the wind.

"Shame she couldn't have lasted longer." Sakura said.

"Care to say that again nya!"

Sakura turned around in shock as she saw Ravena rise out of her shadow. Sakura felt her body shut down as Ravena struck various pressure points around her body. As Sakura began to drop Ravena planned her finale.

Grabbing Sakura she used her strength and sent her directly up in the air. Aiming the Punnya Cannon one more time Ravena fired another magic beam.

**Punya-Nyanko-PUNYANKO ECHO!**

This time the beam connected and Sakura was enveloped by the destructive technique.

"Is it over?" Kyoto asked as she saw the attack connect.

"Has Kurotsubasa received yet another victory, a few more and Destiny can kiss the prize goodbye!" Plugman added.

Punnya returned to normal as both she and Ravena looked up to see if Sakura had really been beaten.

"I didn't think I put in that much power to destroy her but…" Ravena said.

"Punnya" Punnya said.

"Yeah something is not right nya." Ravena agreed with the neko-manju.

"**How right you are."**

The sound of a mirror breaking filled Ravena's ears as she saw Sakura was standing in front of her, her clothes were dirty and singed but she was still alive.

"Whoa, a genjutsu, a surprising tactic from Sakura but it looked like she couldn't completely dodge Ravena's move!" Kyoto said.

"When did you…nya?" Ravena asked.

"Right before your blast hit me, it was hard using magic for a bit after that trick you did up close but not impossible." Sakura said.

"Combining magic and genjutsu nya, it's going to be harder since I blocked you chi." Ravena said.

"I know you proved to be a fairly good opponent, unlike the one known as Zane." Sakura smiled as she pulled out her sketchbook.

Ravena was shocked when she saw Sakura had completed the sketch she had shown her. The neko's world turned white as she felt the effects of Sakura's power. Punnya tried to get to her master but was blown back as Sakura and Ravena were swallowed by a white dome.

"Ah man, come on girls no need to finish this inside that dome, at least comeback out and tear each other's clothes off!" That statement got Plugman a fist through his tube by Kyoto.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Illu is that the same move Sakura used on Zane?" Shadow asked.

"Yes and no, it's more powerful than last time." Illu answered.

"It must be because she's having a harder time using her moves while her chi is blocked." Key said.

"I hope Kitty is alright in there." Bella said.

"You're not the only one." DB said.

Shadow glared at the dome as he watched as Punnya desperately rammed into the dome as she tried to help her master.

"_What's there to be worried about, sure she's a magical girl too but I can still win nya." Ravena said with confidence._

'You better win this Ravena I don't want to think about what would happen if you lose." Shadow thought.

(Sakura's pocket dimension)

Ravena's vision finally started to clear and saw that she was strapped against a wall by vines. Sakura was watching the sakura petals fall in her realm before turning around to her opponent.

"Well you may have been a better opponent but you still ended up here huh." Sakura joked.

"Nya let me out of here so I can kick your ass nya!" Ravena tried to struggle out.

"You would want me too, I would let you out but can you answer something for me?" Sakura asked.

"And what is that nya?" Ravena said.

"Why you were holding back." Sakura said.

"Meow, I don't know what you're talking about I've been fighting with my all!" Ravena argued.

"Your all, are you sure." Sakura's attention moved from Ravena to her bell. "Then why didn't you take the chance to remove your bell?"

Ravena stopped struggling for a bit as she stayed silent. "Why do you want to know about my bell?"

"I remember your battle with that girl Rose and when that bell fell you became a whole other person." Sakura started. "When you fought the way you did I figured that was your true form and this was just a façade."

"Your wrong nya!" Ravena argued. "What you see is what you get I am Ravena!"

"Then who was the one that fought for you in your last battle?" Sakura asked. "Or maybe…that was a whole other side of you."

Sakura began to walk towards the bound cat, Ravena then struggled more to escape her bindings.

"Get away from me nya!" Ravena tried with all her might to escape from the wall. Ravena stiffened as Sakura reached for her bell but her hand stopped.

"No that would be too easy." Sakura pulled her hand back.

Ravena opened her eyes and saw Sakura was now sketching another page in her book. "If you won't do it willingly I will have to do the next best thing."

Another wall appeared in the world and a figure appeared bonded as well. It took some time for Ravena to see who it was on the wall.

"No way, there's just no way nya." Wrapped in vines much like she was, there was Ravena…Felis.

"How did you?" Felidae asked in shock.

"This is my world, I can do anything." Sakura said. "So this is the form you took last round."

"Little witch, you have no idea what you are doing." Felis hissed.

"What can you do, both of you are bound and if I'm right by separating you two you are now at half power." Sakura explained her logic.

Felis hissed as she heard that. Felidae tried to think of a way out of this situation.

'What do I do nya?'

(Outside the dome)

Punnya was once again rolling on the ground after her latest attempt to break the dome. Punnya was panting as she tried to think.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Punnya, trying so hard." Illu said.

Mukurowl hooted as he felt sympathy for his friend.

"Is there anything she can do?" DB asked.

"Unless Punnya can become more powerful to break the dome I don't think so." Key said.

(Tournament Stage)

Punnya let out a sad meow as she couldn't think of anything that could break the dome. Punnya almost thought of giving up haven't she heard a loud roar from the crowd.

(Audience)

"Mazareth what is wrong with you?" Rose asked after his outburst.

Mazareth turned to his master and the look was enough for Rose to understand.

"I see, and I agree with you we never did finish our match." Rose said. Mazareth then let out another roar as they turned back to the match.

(Tournament Stage)

"Punnya~~~~~~~~~!"

Punnya's body glowed as she underwent a transformation. Punnya's body began to change as she grew now to the size of a large tiger.

(Inside the dome)

"Two little kittens, what to do with you." Sakura turned her pen around and began to erase. Part of Felidae's feet disappeared after this action.

Gasp. Felidae looked down and saw that her feet had vanished.

"You're going to erase us, can't fight us evenly yourself?" Felis mocked her.

"Fight 2 on 1, hardly far, plus I want to see you BOTH show fear as you will be erased from existence." A few more markings and Felidae and Felis slowly began to vanish.

"I am Kami of this world and you two are blotches in my beautiful artwork…" Sakura said dramatically. "Imperfections like you should be erased!"

A beam of light shot from nowhere and knocked Sakura a fair distance away. The sketchbook went up in pink flames and Felidae's and Felis' bodies returned to normal.

Roar!

"Punnya!" Both Ravena's called out.

From the smoke a large cat walked inside the dome. The tiger had pink fur with black markings, large black wings, and two flowing tails. Two large fangs formed from Punnya's jaw as she let out another roar.

A burst of speed and Punnya used her new claws to tear both Ravena's from the walls. Felis saw she was slowly disappearing as she was only summoned thanks to Sakura's sketchbook.

"Finish this Felidae, don't you lose." Felis said before she vanished.

Punnya returned to normal and jumped into Felidae's arms. "Punnya!"

"I missed you too Punnya nya!" Ravena said. Their reunion was cut short as Sakura rose to her feet.

"How is that possible, I am Kami, this world is mine." Sakura mumbled.

"Sorry to tell you nya but…" Punnya formed the Punnya Cannon and Ravena took aim.

"Being Kami is overrated nya." Ravena said.

**Punya-Nyanko-PUNYANKO ECHO!**

(Tournament Stage)

The dome shattered and disappeared and the audience saw the victor. Ravena and Punnya were standing proud over Sakura who was face first on the ground.

"Wow in a stunning twist the winner is Ravena!" Kyoto announced.

"Kitty I knew you had it in ya!" Bella said.

"Nya, to be honest if it wasn't for Punnya I don't think I would have made it." Ravena admitted.

"Hey Rave you feel ok you look a little shaken?" DB asked.

"It was really twisted in there nya." Ravena said.

"You take a rest Ravena, genjutsu can really mess with you mind." Illu said.

"All I need is a small catnap nya~~~" Ravena yawned.

Punnya followed her example and rested on Shadow's head. Shadow shook off his irritation as the two had a long hard match.

"Go ahead and sleep, you two deserves a rest." Shadow said.

"Nya I can't sleep now, I need to see whose next up." Ravena said.

"Ok everyone its time for the next round, a joint battle!" Plugman said after he regained consciousness.

"Joint battle?" Illu asked.

The guild looked at the screen and saw the two people from each side.

**Suijin and Fuijin vs. Illusionist Owl and Generalhyna**

"Looks like it's our turn Illu." Bella said as she got pumped.

"Do I even have to say it?" Shadow asked.

"Don't worry Shads we got this one." Bella said.

"Bella's right, they may have an edge with joint moves but they have never seen us fight together." Illu said.

'Neither have I,' Shadow thought. "Bella just try not to destroy the stage and Illu be careful while you run support."

"Aye aye boss!" Bella then walked to the stage. Illu took the advice to heart and walked with Bella and Mukurowl.

"Random Bella and quiet Illu, I wonder how this will end." DB said

"I'm sure they can win and Illu still has that summons of hers nya." Ravena said.

"Their opponents have more experience working together thought." Key said.

"So does Illu and Bella." Ravena argued.

"Dragging Illu into you and Bella's pranks don't count." Shadow said.

"Meow…what do you think will happen Shadow?" Ravena asked.

"For some reason I have a bad feeling about this match." Shadow said.

(Tournament Stage)

"Against me and my sister you have no chance!" Fuijin boasted.

"You may as well save yourselves the trouble and forfeit this battle." Suijin said.

"I don't know the meaning of the word forfeit!" Bella said. "And were going to win, no doubt about it!"

"We know what your plans are and we cannot let you win!" Illu faltered when she felt a strange pulse race through her body.

Mukurowl noticed the pulsation but thought nothing when Illu showed him she was ok.

"You knowing our objective means nothing, the point is that you both will not be leaving this battle." Suijin said dramatically

Illu had a look of worry but steadied her nerves as she pulled out her glaive. Bella had a hand ready on the omnitrix as she waited for the signal for the battle to begin

"Ok everyone joint battle, Illu and Bella versus Suijin and Fuijin…ready…FIGHT!"

**TBC…**

* * *

><p><strong>You must hate me now right, well sorry but I had to cut it right here. The next two battles will be next time along with a surprise ending to the finals. Every stay tuned and wait for the next update.<strong>

**P.S. Heres the info for characters outside of FFW.**

**Name: (Just a name for the person behind the player, I don't expect any real names.)**

**Age:**

**Race:**

**Physical Appearance:**

**Clothing: (If you could wear only one outfit in the world, because that's how these things are.)**

**Location:**

**Visor Design: (The design your visor looks like when you use it for the game, if you need a reference Ravena has the default version on her deviantart page)**

**REVIEW**

**REVIEW**

**REVIEW!...And I'll see you all next time.**

**-Shadowlight0982 out.**


	17. Chapter 15: Chaotic Battle

**Shadowlight0982: Hello everyone, its Shadow back with a brand new chapter! I know it's been a long waiting but a lot has happened. Still excused aside I am back.**

**Shadow: What do you mean by your Shadow, aren't I Shadow?**

**Shadowlight0982: We're basically the same person; wait until the next arc for crap like this to be explained.**

**Shadow: Lazy bum you haven't even finished ****this ****arc!**

**Shadowlight0982: I know which is why I'm writing as we speak; don't you have a job that I assigned you to do?**

**Shadow: -Sigh- If it wasn't for the fact that your technically god right now I would kill you.**

**Shadowlight0982: Suicide is the coward's way out, and I think we've established to everyone that we are not cowards.**

**Shadow: So true, alright I'll so my job. –Leaves to get ready for the story.-**

**Shadowlight0982: Well enough with me talking to myself on to the announcements!**

**Announcements:**

** I know you all want me to get to the story but these have to be spoken now otherwise they will not be heard. Now to everyone that is involved with the wikia page, my thanks goes to all of you, a few days ago we've reached our 10 DAY ANNIVERSAY! (Insert applause) My thanks to all of you and I hope that we will soon reach 300 pages so that the wikia can receive more goodies.**

** Now on to the deviantart page, to everyone that does not know the page for FFW has been accepted onto Deviantart. These few sites are just the beginning and are some of the few pages where we can post and share ideas (right now I am debating whether to create more places, if we ever get videos we can create a YouTube page! ^_^). Now to those on the site concerned about the theme song, while having it original will be great and I would appreciate anyone who is willing to make it, please message me if you are interested to make it.**

**Shadow: Right now all you guys can do is just make AMV's with your person's theme song you chose.**

**Shadowlight0982: Aren't you supposed to be in the story and working on the surprise for our viewers.**

**Shadow: It's all set up; also some of your Gaiaonline stuff is packing up again.**

**Shadowlight0982: Why did I join that site again?**

**Shadow: Cuz you love anime and social sites about it.**

**Shadowlight0982: Fair enough, now before I get sidetracked onto the reviews!**

**Shadow: The most important part of the story!**

**Shadowlight0982: Next to the plot!**

**Reviews:**

**Death5367: Yes that's what I need.**

**Keybladedude: Just one of those few surprises I like to show everyone.**

**Mister Grim: Well here's the second part of this three part climax.**

**Renchard19: One can only read and find out, plus you might want to save that energy for you battle.**

**Ravena Felidae: Glad to know.**

**Illusionist Owl: All of your questions will be answered soon.**

**Deus-rasengan2: Just wait until your part; soon you will take your place as a reoccurring character.**

**GeneralHyna: Then let the fight begin.**

** That's it for all the boring stuff for now, be sure to read the end of the fic for additional information. Now everyone you have waited and now the wait is over…ON WITH THE SHOW!**

"FFW"-Speech

'FFW'-Thought

'_FFW'-Flashback_

"**FFW"-Attacks**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any reference to any anime/game/show/book, etc. that appears in this story. I own the original plot (at least I hope its original) and my own characters and OC's. All other characters and references belong to their original creators.**

"_Congratulations, you graduated from pissing me off to __royally__ pissing me off!"-Shadowlight0982._

**Ch.16: The Chaotic battle, Three way Final Round?!**

* * *

><p>(Tournament Stage)<p>

A soon as the battle started Bella changed forms and rushed with great speed. Fuijin barely had time to make a barrier of wind against the shapeshifter's attacks. Hyna-Wolf's claws were barely being held off by the wind as they were just inches away from the kimono clad warrior. The wolf girl growled before jumping back towards her starting point. Fuijin let the wind die down as she knew now not to underestimate the Toon-girl.

As Bella rushed to get the sister's attention Mukurowl flew off of Illu's head and took to the skies. Illu detached the blade of her glaive and sent the steel and chain flying around to strike the sisters from behind. Suijin seemed to spot the weapon as she stabbed the ground with her trident to create a pool of water. Like a geyser it rose up and became solid enough for the blade to be sent off course. Illu twirled the staff of her weapon and returned the blade back to its place on the top.

"Well it seems like these two actually have a shred of teamwork between them." Suijin said in a bit of a happy tone.

"Either way it does not like that will help them win, no one has bested our Nami-Kaze strategy." Fuijin opened her fans to express her point. "Mistress-sama only cares for Shadow; these other ones can go to hell for all she cares."

In a red flash Bella returned to her original form. "These two aren't messing around they play for keeps, we need a plan against their teamwork strategy." The girl looked to Illu. "Any ideas?"

Illu thought back to the sister's last match. It was true that the two worked best together, but separately…

"Bella, I think I might have something!" Illu said. She then mentally called Mukurowl down to her so that they could start their attack.

"Lay it on me Owl-girl!" Bella began to listen to Illu's plan and smiled after hearing her part in it. "Alright, let's get this fight started!"

(Kurotsubasa)

"What do you think their chances are?" Key asked.

"Don't say that Key, I know they got a plan to beat those two nya!" Ravena shouted.

"Punnya!" Punnya meowed in agreement.

"Got to admit to get around the tag team thing will be a chore, if they can use a joint move then that means they are perfectly in sync with each other." DB said.

"How does a joint move work exactly, I know all the basic stuff but I've never been able to pull one off with any of my friends and I don't think Punnya counts." Ravena asked.

"Joint moves work on one principle, balance." Shadow started to explain. "Not only do the users have to be in sync but the attacks they are combining have to combine evenly as well or it all blows up."

"Those two sisters have compatible elements, wind and water, having elements that are compatible is the easiest way to make joint moves." Key said.

"The key word is 'joint' though, how do those girls work when it's one on one?" DB put the question in the air.

The guild heard Punnya's cries and looked towards the stage.

"Looks like we're about to find out." Shadow said.

(Tournament Stage)

As the twins got ready they were shocked to see the air waiver around them for a second.

"What was that?" Suijin asked in surprise.

"No time, here they come!" Fuijin got into position.

Both Bella and Illu were running in a straight path towards the elemental duo. Soon the two broke off with Bella running towards Fuijin and Illu running to Suijin with her daggers revealed.

(Destiny)

"Wow a frontal attack, they must have lost their senses." Hagane commented on Bella and Illu's strategy.

"That will never work, Fuiji-nee will blow one away and Suiji-nee will just wash the other one with them. Those Nee-chans will have to learn the hard way!" Aka said from his spot as he watched.

Renchard watched the fight as well but also noticed something that apparently the rest of his "team" did not notice right away. 'Kurotsubasa has a history of being unpredictable in battle; let's see if what the blogs say about this group is true.'

(Tournament Stage)

**(Play: ****Fairy Tail OST: I Wish)**

Suijin smirked as Illu got into close range. "I would expect your half a mind partner to try a plan like this but I had high hopes for you."

Illu smirked though a tick mark did appear on the back of her head. Suijin made the created a torrent around her trident to attack. 'Illu' took the attack head on and the trident pierced through her, Suijin was surprised but not by the fact the girl was impaled.

She was surprised that the trident just phased through the girl's body and that the water around her weapon began to freeze. A gust of frozen wind sent the girl away from her sister as Illu's form shifted to that of a blue alien.

"**Big Chill and I do NOT have half a mind by the way!" **The Necrofriggian mocked the girl he had just tricked.

At the same time Fuijin crossed her fans and released an X-shaped blade of wind towards the girl in front of her. 'Bella' took a direct hit and flew back as her chest was cut open by the razor sharp air blades.

"Too bad it had to end this soon, from what I saw during the tournament I expected a little more of a challenge." Fuijin stopped gloating over her 'victory' to notice one thing.

Instead of shreds of cloth and drops of blood, white feather began to pour from a smirking Bella's body as her form burst into more feathers. The feathers circled around her in a manner of a cyclone.

"You think a wind attack will work on me!" Fuijin made an attempt to blow the feathers away only for a large force to slam into her body.

The illusion broke as Fuijin was knocked ways away from her sister. A much larger Mukurowl hooted as he circled back around after the collision with Fuijin's torso. Illu rode on his back as she prepared for her next attack.

"You wanted more of a challenged, and then let me give you what you want!"

**(Fairy Tail OST: I Wish end)**

"Amazing, the two girls of Kurotsubasa managed to split up the twin goddesses of nature! Now we have two one-on-one battles, so far I like where this cat fight is heading!" Plugman commented.

"I have to agree except with that last part." Kyoto said. "We've already seen how deadly Fuijin and Suijin are as a team, by themselves let's see where this battle goes!"

(Destiny)

"So it was a trap." Renchard said simply after seeing the two separated.

Aka turned towards the teen. "You knew, then why didn't you warn us or them!" The lightning boy angrily spoke.

"It's not like they're my friends or anything, and they should have expected it if they knew about that girl's powers." Renchard said referring to Illu.

"Why you…" A steel hand block Aka as Hagane made his voice known.

"Fuijin and Suijin did not come to the beginning of the tournament with us; they had no clue about Kurotsubasa's abilities except for what Sen gathered." Hagane said. "Why didn't you all out something Aka, out of all of us remaining you've been in the tournament the longest?"

"Aw but I wasn't around when that boy-girl was fighting and the purple haired one lost her fight so I didn't think they were anything serious."

Big Chill stopped mid-fight. **"Who the heck just called me a boy?!" **The winged alien then dodged a water whip to the head as he focused on the battle.

"Serious or not details need to be remembered Aka." Hagane said. "It is true that Fuijin and Suijin get weaker as they get a few meters of distance from each other but those girls aren't the first to try a strategy like this."

(Bella vs. Suijin)

**(Play: The World Ends With You: Calling)**

Another frozen breath later and the water froze into a spike of ice. Big Chill landed on the ground and his wings formed his robe around his body.

"**This fight isn't getting anywhere; I can freeze your attacks all day!" **Big Chill called to the girl.

"That is true; your cyrokinesis is rather troublesome." Suijin said. "While Ice may be a subset of water I don't have much control over it without Fui with me."

"**Then why don't we get this over with!" **Big Chill tried fly forward but suddenly all the ice began to spike outward, an almost skewered the alien. He went intangible in the nick of time as he looked to a smiling Suijin.

"Just because it's harder doesn't mean that it's not impossible." Suijin manipulate the ice together to make a dome around Bella.

"**If you think this will stop me, you're mistaken!" **Bella paused at the thought of just phasing through the dome when another plan filled her head.

Inside the dome a green light went off as a burst of heat was released. A new alien stood before Suijin as the ice and water around her began to evaporate from the intense heat.

**Heatblast!**

"**What do you have to say now, its fire versus ice!" **Heatblast stood with fists aflame.

"I'm afraid you have forgotten something." Suijin said.

"**Huh?"**

A large pool of water appeared behind Suijin as a huge wave rose to the sky. Suijin smiled at the fire attribute as she held the massive tsunami at bay.

"My element isn't ice, its fire versus…WATER!" The name of the element was enough to send the tidal wave crashing down as Heatblast looked at it in shock before it hit.

"**Bad day!" **A small amount of steam went upward as the Pyronite was swallowed by the raging waters.

**(TWEWY: Calling end)**

(Illu versus Fuijin)

After she recovered from the surprise strike she looked and saw the pet and master in the air.

"You two seem cocky playing around in my home turf." Fuijin then got her fans ready.

**Dance of Blades!**

Large crescent shaped blades launched themselves towards the large owl and his rider.

"Here it comes Muku-chan get ready!" Illu yelled. Mukurowl hooted as his master began to send out mental commands.

The large owl then shrunk back to his original size allowing him to weave through the blades. Illu showed offed some flexibility as she was able to twist her way out of the blades. After she was out of harm's way she opened some vials from her coat and released four large clouds of purple vapor.

**Beasts of Miasma!**

The clouds soon morphed as they took beastlike appearances. The bestial clouds roared as they made their descent towards the wind- natured girl.

Another flick of her fans and Fuijin sent out a gust of wind and blew the vapors away. Mukurowl grew once more to catch his master as he gave her an easier drop back onto the marble floor of the stage.

"So illusions and poison are how you play huh, I hate to break it to you but you're hopelessly outmatched against me." Fuijin informed her.

"What makes you say that?" Illu said as Mukurowl shrunk down and perched on her head.

"From what you've shown me you like to create distance and use ranged attacks but I'm the worse opponent to use ranged attacks against." Fuijin mocked her. "And even if you did have close range attacks you will have to battle against the wind to even get close."

Illu held her glaive firmly as she glared at Fuijin. "You're wind won't be able to protect you forever."

Fuijin let out a laugh at Illu's statement. "Unlike my sister I don't have the weakness of having to summon my element…"

The girl held a fan high in the air as the air started to shift and swirl around her. "The wind is everywhere!"

**Dance of the Dragon!**

The large funnel of air formed in front of her and was launched at Illu. Illu knew she couldn't escape the cyclone so she planned something else. The symbol on Illu and Mukurowl glowed however Illu felt something extra as well.

The cyclone swallowed the two as they took the wind head on.

(Eclipse Stadium)

"Cast you've been around these guys before." Rina said. "From all the information I was able to get Kurotsubasa has a slim chance of winning."

"Information can't tell you everything." Cast said. "Kurotsubasa has a few things the other teams here do not and I'm not talking about the Wings of Creation."

"They have trust and powers amongst themselves that all the other teams do not have." Cast tried to explain. "If there is a way for them to turn this battle around into a victory they will find it."

Rina listened to what her cousin had to say and then turned to the battle. 'Kurotsubasa has been the proverbial underdogs in this tournament yet they made it this far, I'll take your words into account Cast let's see what they can do.'

(Eclipse Stadium)

In the hands of one of the many watchers of the fight was a small crystal ball no bigger than the man's palm. Inside was clouded with the glowing kanji of chaos in the center. Chaos tossed it up and down as he watched.

Amaterasuice watched as the fighters separated and knew soon that they would make their move. "So should we start now or give them a bit more of a show?"

"What kind of question is that?" Chaos smiled as he caught the ball once again but this time held it as he slowly filled it with his own energy.

"We give the people a show of course, a show that they will never forget."

(Bella versus Suijin)

Out from the waters a figure jumped in the air as he flew into the air. Jetray looked down to Suijin.

'Shoot and I thought that plan would work!' Bella thought.

"**Hey Bella I think you're going through this all wrong." **Jack Spicer thought back to her.

"**He's right; maybe you should try this from another angle." **Optimus said.

'And that would be?' Bella asked.

"**Do we need to spell it out for you, let me try against the water-girl down there; we'll give her a classic Hyna Squad beatdown." **A new voice said.

'I like the way you all think!' Jetray landed on the ground and moved to change forms.

"I've had enough of your transformations for a day." Suijin yawned out as she sent another blast of water towards the alien.

In a flash of light a new being stood in the path of the water. He smiled as he took the blast head on, at the same time arcs of water traveled back through the attack and back at Suijin. Suijin cried out in pain as she was electrocuted.

After the attack died the new form stood proudly as he looked to Suijin. **"I think it's time we changed the game up!" **Electro (Spectacular Spiderman) took the stage.

Suijin got up panting a bit after the brief electrical shock. She patted her frizzy hair back to normal and wiped the invisible dust off from her clothes.

"I had a feeling you were going to be the more troublesome of the two." Suijin stated.

"**Well a fight is a fight so what can you do about it?" **Electro said nonchalantly. **"All I have to do is beat you and that's one less member of Destiny to deal with."**

"Just because you can use electricity now doesn't mean you're any bigger of a threat." Suijin said. "You're just going to be more troublesome to fight, but you've left yourself open for a bit."

"**What do you mean by that?" **Sparks flew from the villain.

Suijin just smiled. "You'll find out soon enough."

(Illu versus Fuijin)

**(Play Buso Renkin OST: Makkai no Chikai)**

Fuijin watched as her cyclone still raged in the stop where Illu was. 'Not much of a challenge that one, I might as well help Sui-nee with her opponent.'

She was about to turn around and walk around away before her attack suddenly exploded. Out of the tornado came the silhouette of a large bird. Fuijin brought out her fans to get ready but a blast of acid hit her hand, she screams as it ate away at her right hand and the fan she dropped was reduced to a puddle.

Hybrid-Illu stood, or hovered, in her full glory as she saw her attack connected. She didn't waste any more time as she flew towards her wounded opponent.

Fuijin cringed at the pain on her hand but put it aside she saw Illu approach. She used her remaining fan and sent a few blades towards Illu.

Illu saw the attacks and made a move to increase her speed.

**Vernier!**

She flew so fast that she left afterimages as they all dodged the wind blades. Illu then made her speed copies solid as she went for her attack. Four Illu's swooped down for a combined attack.

**Birds of Prey!**

The Illu closest to Fuijin blew up in a gust of wind after Fuijin's attempt to block her. As she was lifted up a second Illu lit on fire and the kimono-clad girl was enveloped in flames. As she screamed another Illu turned to water and slammed down on her while dousing out the flames. The final Illu grabbed her with her talons and slammed her onto the ground.

**(Buso Renkin OST: Makkai no Chikai end)**

"Amazing, I didn't think the small girl had it in her, in a devastating four hit combo Illu may have already won her match!" Plugman announced.

Illu landed on the ground as she saw Fuijin did not move. A small wave of pain hit her head but she shrugged it off while turning to Bella's fight. 'I shouldn't worry about pain right now; I have to go backup Bella-chan.'

She was about to take off once more but then let out a scream of pain as a slash of wind sliced her back. Illu slowly turned around to see an angry Fuijin with scorched and wet clothes.

"Forget this tournament I'm going to wipe you out from the face of this world!" A large tornado was summoned before her but this time it had a dark and ominous feel to it. With rage Fuijin sent the storm towards the object of her rage.

**Tempest: Dance of the Dragon!**

Illu's eyes widen in shock as the attack made its way to her. She tried to fly away from it but the air currents were pulling her in. She was sucked into the large tornado, as curled herself up as the wind sliced at her but another force hit her that she was not expecting.

Illu screamed again as a bolt of lightning flew from a corner of the windstorm and shocked her. The pattern continued with Illu being occasionally hit by the arcs of lightning.

"**Illu!" **Electro turned around only to be shorted out by a blast of water. Suijin stopped her short plan of overloading the pure electric villain as she saw her sister's attack.

"Oh dear, it seems that she's really lost control now." Suijin then looked back to the down and almost human Electro. "You best concentrate on your own battle, she'll be dead soon."

Electro huffed as he got back up. As much as Bella wanted to help Illu right now she had to first deal with her own fight first.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Illu!" Ravena cried out.

"Punnya!" Punnya called out to her friend.

DB and Key looked with shock and rage as they saw the "little sister" of the group have to endure the devastating attack. DB had to calm himself from not jumping into the fight.

Shadow's fist clench as he could only imagine the pain that Illu must have been in. His rage grew every time he heard Illu's screams.

(Tournament Stage)

Illu fell to the ground after the attack ended, the hybrid separated back into Mukurowl and Illu as Fuijin slowly walked over to them. Some of Mukurowl's feathers were singed while parts of Illu's coat were charred. Illu lifted up her head seeing Fuijin walk with murderous intent.

"Now should I kill you now or make you suffer?" Fuijin asked. The wind swirled around her fan making a large transparent blade of air.

Illu struggled to life herself up from the ground as Fuijin approached. The wind user stopped before the girl. Instead of aiming the blade to Illu she held it in a stabbing position above a downed Mukurowl.

"Of course…I'm going to make you suffer!"

(Eclipse Stadium)

"Now?" Amaterasuice asked.

Chaos' hand grew crimson as he concentrated on the ball as it glowed. "Now…the show will begin."

(Tournament Stage)

The pain returned but it soon dulled and was slowly replaced with power. The mark on Illu's head glow a dark red and a seal became visible through her clothes on her back…the seal for chaos. In a speed Fuijin didn't anticipate Illu was holding onto her wrist preventing the blade from dropping.

"What the…" She then had to jump back to avoid the knife in Illu's other hand. She knew the girl used poisons but that time she deliberately aimed for her heart. 'She tried to kill me with that move!'

After she felt Fuijin back away Illu looked back to Mukurowl who was still on the ground. The mark on her head began to vanish as Illu's transformation began.

"What the hell is going on here, ladies and gents just when you think the little bird is down for the count she gets back up?!" Plugman said.

"I don't know about you but I feel something strange coming from that Kurotsubasa girl." Kyoto said as her fur was on end.

"You're going to have to be more specific Kyoto, from where I see both girls are strange!"

(Bella versus Suijin)

"**I got a bad feeling about this." **Electro said.

"Again you best concentrate on your own battle before focusing about your teammate." Suijin criticized the shapeshifter once again. Water formed from the air around her trident as she used it to launch a sphere of water.

Electro wasted no time slamming down the Omnitrix to change forms. The sphere splashed the new arrival to the battle but the water was absorbed through his…shell. Water Hazard glared as he had to think of a way to end the battle.

'I have to finish this and help Illu, something doesn't feel right and it isn't because Petey's Spidey Senses are tingling.' Bella thought.

(Illu versus Fuijin)

Illu's already long purple hair extended until it touched the ground and turned a snow white color. Though she was still crouched down her body became more mature and taller. Her charred and torn clothes were changed into a sleeveless kimono with the same color scheme as her jacket with a slit on the right side for easier movement. The scarf fell from her neck and became the obi that wraps around her waist. Her boot disappeared and she became barefoot. Her wings appears on her back as her ears sharpen and purple marks appears on her face, thought mostly around her eyes giving them the look of an owl.

"Another one, what is up with these humans?" Fuijin asked in a small voice.

"…pain…" The demon-Illu said. "You… made Muku-Chan feel pain…"

Fuijin noticed her odd change of tone but pushed it away. "So what if I hurt your little pet, what are you going to do?"

Illu remained silent as she spread out her new wings. Her avian eyes bore through her opponent. A violin then appeared into her hand.

"…pain…I'll make you feel it."

(Eclipse Stadium Audience)

"I didn't think your seal had that effect on a subject, fascinating." Amaterasuice said.

"Ah my dear friend, while her behavior may be the cause of the seal her transformation was not." Chaos said.

"Huh, so you're saying she's just like that other girl from Kurotsubasa?" Chaos' right-hand man asked.

"I don't think so but whatever the reason it will still provide some entertainment." Chaos said. "Remember to do your part at the right moment, everything else is set up."

"Ok, but for now let's watch this demon run wild." Amaterasuice said.

(Kurotsubasa)

"What just happened, could Illu always…?" DB asked what was on everyone's mind as they watched the fight.

"I knew Illu was a hybrid but this goes beyond her Hybrid-form, it could be a last resort kind of thing." Key said.

"No" Ravena said. "I know the feeling Illu had around her; this was something that was sealed away for a reason."

'It's just like…' Old memories flowed through Shadow's head as he watched the battle. Winning or not he knew something had to be done.

(Bella versus Suijin)

"**I don't have time to play with you anymore!" **Water Hazard said.

"Oh we were just playing?" Suijin joked but knew she had to put an end to the fight soon to help her sister. "I agree, let's put an end to this battle."

Suijin concentrated all the water around her and even in the air to form her next attack. The water gathered and rose into the air as she made several hand seals. Its form gathered together and became a dragon, its yellow eyes glaring at the alien.

"**So that's how we're going to play it?" **Water Hazard slammed a fist into the ground and made dust fly to create a cover. A bright light within the dust cloud showed Bella had transformed once again.

"No matter what transformation you have its useless!" Suijin finished her seals.

**Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!**

The dragon roared as it was unleashed towards its target. Within the smoke something appeared and intercepted the dragon.

**Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!**

Another dragon appeared and slammed into Suijin's jutsu. The two masses of water canceled out as droplets fell onto the stage. Suijin looked in surprise to see that her jutsu was canceled.

"**You're probably wondering how that happened?" **A calm but lazy voice said from the dust.

Suijin looked and saw the recent transformation. It was a Konoha shinobi but it didn't explain how he canceled her move, the dust cleared further and she saw what had copied her technique. A sharingan eye focused on her movement as the shinobi's form appeared.

"**Well I would explain it to you but I have a teammate to rescue." **Kakashi shifted into a familiar position.

**Lightning Blade!**

Lightning natured chakra flowed through his hand as he prepared his original technique. The sound of birds and lightning filled the arena as Kakashi glared at Suijin. In a flash he was soon inches away from the shocked girl.

"**You're future is…DEATH!" **

The technique pierced through her torso without any resistance. Kakashi's hand broke through her back as the technique began to die down. Suijin seemed stunned as the pain of a fist flowing right through her didn't register yet. Kakashi took his hand out of her and let her fall to the ground.

"Whoa I really have to remember that there are TWO battles going on here and it looks like one has just ended!" Plugman said.

Kakashi didn't take time to notice his victory as he rushed towards Illu.

(Illu versus Fuijin)

"You're going to make me feel pain?" Fuijin asked. "I'll admit your daggers were a useful weapon but what will a violin do, are you going to play a lullaby and hope I fall asleep!"

Wind circled around her fan. "Well it's not going to work!" She sent a wind blade towards the demon-girl.

Illu didn't appear to notice the wind attack but with a whip of her hand something destroyed Fuijin's attack. It didn't stop there as whatever Illu did as whipped Fuijin across her face, not only did it sting but it began to burn and eat at her skin.

'Poison, but how?' Fuijin set out multiple blades this time.

**Dance of Blades!**

The blades flew; this time more clustered together so there was no way to weave through them. A ball of energy appeared in Illu's hand before it extended and created a whip, she then did a pirouette. She spun and her speed increased as the whip created a shield that sliced the blades to pieces. After all the blades were destroyed Illu stopped her spinning. "What how is any of this possible?" Fuijin questioned seeing as Illu brushed off her attack. Illu's whip disappeared as she brought her violin up and began to play (Legend of Zelda: Lost Woods Violin version). The melody filled the air as its effects soon took place. Fuijin then saw Illu's appear out of thin air and began to surround her. She tried to use wind to destroy the copies but the wind only passed through them. The Illu copies all spread their wings as they began their nest attack. Feather Stream They all focuses power into their feathers and from every direction began to strike Fuijin. The wind user used wind to make a makeshift shield but some feathers we're able to get through and slice her skin. As she tried her best to fight back to all those around her it appears as though she was frantically moving as Illu played her song. (Kurotsubasa) "Not only are Illu's poison powers more powerful, so are her illusions." Key said. "That illusion seems too real to me." DB said as he can see and smell the blood starting to appear on Fuijin. "She's actually causing physical harm." "This battle has to end soon." Shadow said. "Huh why is that?" Ravena asked as she and Punnya listened to the song. "I don't know if you can see it but I don't think Illu's in control." Shadow said. "Well there goes Bella; maybe she can snap her out of it." DB said. (Tournament Stage) Kakashi finally made it to Illu only to see she basically had everything under control. He covered his sharingan as he tried to get Illu's attention. "Yo, Illu, I think that's enough let just stop the fight ok." Kakashi tried to touch her but was blown away by a loud scream. Kakashi got up dizzily as he saw several Illu's around him too. 'What's going on, why did Illu?' Bella thought in her mind. "Bella I think we have other problems." Kakashi said. His vision was hazy as he saw the world around him begin to warp. "I think your friend put us in an illusion." 'What but Illu would never…' Bella tried to think of a reason why Illu would do this. "Either way we have to figure out a way out of this." Kakashi said. He tried to reach for the Omnitrix symbol only to have to jump out of the way of several feathers. The Konoha shinobi had to dodge the owl's attacks.

(Eclipse Stadium)

"Looks like that Hyna girl tried to ruin the fun." Chaos said. "We can't have that now can we?"

"While this is fun and all when do we start, it's getting boring hearing that little girl play her song." Amaterasuice said.

"I have to agree, this battle requires much more destruction." He pushed more chaotic energy through his crystal and into Illu's system. "Fortunately I have a way to make that happen."

(Kurotsubasa)

"Nya, what is she doing!" Ravena tried to call out to Illu to get her to stop.

"Punnya!" Punnya said.

"Illu's gone crazy out there, what do we do?" DB asked.

"The only thing we can do, this battle isn't ending quickly enough I'll have to step in." Shadow said.

"Remember you'll cost us a win for the tournament." Key reminded him. "But for right now the tournament doesn't matter, we need to snap Illu out of this."

Shadow was about to leap into the stage before he felt a strange wavelength. "What the hell?" He said as he stood frozen.

"What is it?" Key asked.

"Shads?" Ravena said.

(Tournament Stage)

Suddenly Illu's song stopped as her instrument fell to the ground. She fell to her knees as the owl girl placed her hands on her head in pain. The illusions around Fuijin ended as the song had stopped. She was about to attack but felt a strange aura coming from Illu.

"Now what?" She asked. Fuijin tried to find her sister only to find her body on the ground. 'Suijin is…' Her thoughts stopped as she felt power explode from Illu.

"**Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah !" **Illu screamed in pain. Power flew everywhere as she lost control.

Waves of energy slammed against the barrier around the Audience but they could all feel it. The energy gave them all a feeling of fear as it filled the air, everyone was frozen wondering what was going on.

On the stage Kakashi saw the Illu's fade and his vision cleared but he was then hit by the wave of madness. In a flash Bella was back as she stood still feeling the energy coming from Illu.

"This is bad, this is really bad!" Bella said.

Fuijin didn't know what had happened but suddenly Illu was now in front of her slashing wildly with her knives. She was able to dodge her because her moves were sloppy but saw the look of madness in the girl's eyes. Illu's mind was blank but only one thing remained, she wanted to destroy.

Fuijin ducked another slash to her head but a surprise kick to her gut sent her on the ground. She tried to move but the knives were thrown and pinned her down by her outfit. She sat helpless as Illu walked to her with her glaive.

"**Disappear, disappear" **Illu raised her glaive high. **"Disappear!"**

The sound of something hitting flesh filled the air.

(Destiny)

"What the…what is happening?" Aka asked seeing the conclusion.

"Chaos happened." Hagane said.

Renchard sat up watching what had just happened. His grip tightening around his massive sword.

(Kurotsubasa)

"What the…" DB said.

"No" Tears began to build up in Ravena's eyes. Punnya stayed silent as she just watched.

"Those bastards" Key said.

Shadow said nothing as his rage began to reach its boiling point.

(Tournament Stage)

Fuijin looked up having felt no pain; she lifted her eyes to see Illu was frozen. She saw someone walk from behind Illu after he took his hand out of her back and pulled something out. Illu fell to the ground, lifeless.

"As fun as this battle was…" Amaterasuice stood proudly. "I'm afraid we need to end it here."

"Wwwwwait what just happened, not only did the girl go psycho but some stranger appears and interrupts the fighting! Where the hell is security?!"

(Admin Booth)

"What did you say?" Cast asked.

"All of the guards posted around the Stadium have been intercepted, some are dead but most are wounded!" A guard said to her.

"No wonder he got through without interference!" Rina said. "Who all is left?"

"No one besides us three!" The A.G. said. "Speed and Leon still haven't reported back yet and everyone else is down!"

"Damn, so CHAOS decided to strike but why what motive does he have?" Rina tried to figure it out.

"Attention Audience, Teams, and Admin!"

"Chaos" Cast said.

(Tournament Stage)

Chaos appeared and stood next to Amaterasuice. "While the fights so far have been entertaining it's missing a little something, so I figured why not help the Admin by spicing things up!"

"While all these Finals matches may be fun to watch let's decide things with this, a three way battle to decide the winner!"

Most of the audience started to chatter what was going on, some tried to leave recognizing the group. Cast walked to the balcony and spoke to Chaos.

"What makes you think we will allow this?!"

"Simple, because we hold the fate of everyone here in our hands" Chaos said. "You see not only are your guards indisposed but we have blocked all the exits of this area."

"We've looked down this whole stadium, nothing short from being a part of our group will allow you exit." Amaterasuice said. "And before you even think about trying to team up to escape…"

A snap of the boy's hands and the barrier around the stage became solid. People tried to rush at Chaos to try and escape but the barrier bounced them all back. The audience couldn't leave the stadium and now they couldn't even put up any resistance to CHAOS.

"Now then as I was saying." Chaos said. "A three way battle with the remaining teams!"

"Even if we allowed this only two teams are left, hence the finals!" Rina said.

"Oh really?" Amaterasuice said. "I'm still here as I am the leader of DarkBlade or should I say Team Chaos."

"What?!" Cast said in shock.

"You would be surprised what fighters would do for a second chance in the tournament. Now it's Kurotsubasa, Destiny, and Chaos I wonder who will win."

"Really you have no faith in me sir?" Amaterasuice sarcastically asked.

"I have faith you will make this exciting." Chaos then turned towards the team's booths. "So who will figh…?"

He was cut short by a scythe blade being position around his neck. "It seems we have a volunteer."

Shadow just glared at the two. "What did you do to Illu?"

"Oh the girl nothing yet." Amaterasuice tossed the purple sphere a bit as he held it. "We have the girl's soul, though she isn't dead…yet."

"Screw the tournament, what's stopping all of us from kicking your ass?" Shadow rhetorically asked.

"Well it's too late for your team but the barrier around your booths faded only a bit to let ONE member out. The rest of your guild is trapped and we hold the girl's soul, you also have a time limit." Amaterasuice said.

"Time limit?"

"The barriers have to be power by something, though they don't last forever unfortunately." Chaos said. "Do you remember a person named Darksin?"

"He was one of your goons right, I remember him." Shadow said.

"His powers over barriers were one of a kind, he created these barriers years ago and they run off a person's spiritual energy." Chaos began to explain. "Sometime before the finals I tagged your friend over there with a seal that is linked to the barrier, she is "powering" it in a way."

"So if the barrier uses up all her soul power…" Amaterasuice stopped playing with the sphere. "It will fall and her soul vanishes."

Shadow stood froze hearing this information. He took his weapon away from his neck. "Then I don't have time to waste do I?" He glared at them.

"Brilliant now for Destiny." Chaos said.

Hagane looked to Renchard. "Go and prove your worth, this may be your only chance to win and get the money."

"I know that" Renchard walked towards the stage.

"Why did you let him fight I could of…" Hagane stopped Aka's argument.

"We do not have time for this, with him fighting we will at least complete Mistress' request. Take Suijin and Fuijin and leave, I'll collect the data." Hagane explained.

"But…?"

"Do you want to tell Kusanagi-sama why we failed, go!"

Aka nodded and used his powers to leave at the exact same time Renchard did. In a flash he and the two girls were gone.

Bella tried to attack seeing they forgot about her but she was soon sucked through a portal and back into the Team's booth.

"Sorry no surprise guests." Chaos said. "Now let's clear the stage."

Illu's body was lifted inside a ball of light followed by her soul. The two were moved outside of the stage away from eminent harm.

"Now try and make this exciting or I may have to deplete the barrier faster than it already is." Chaos then vanished making the knife Shadow threw miss.

Shadow just got ready as he looked to his opponents. Renchard got ready as he prepared to fight. Amaterasuice looked amused as he just stood there.

"Wait a minute, this battle wasn't…" Kyoto was stopped after a shot was fired at hers and Plugman's booth.

"I suggest you two start the match." Chaos said.

"O…ok then, what could possibly be our final Final round…Shadow vs. Renchard vs. Amaterasuice. What might happen, no one has a clue."

"Let's get the games started then." Kyoto said nervously. "Ready…FIGHT!"

**TBC…**

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><p><strong>Sorry for the long hiatus and for the cliffhanger but I have to stop it right there. Life goes on and I used all the time I had to give you all this chapter, now first a few extra Author's notes before a present for my hiatus.<strong>

**Credit to Illusionist Owls for reasons you could possibly guess, also check out ****An Owl's First Flight written by Illu as well.**

**Also to anyone who is good with videos and editing, a family member showed me something on YouTube that maybe is perfect for FFW incase no one is good on Animation. It's called 2nd CHANCE! On YouTube and if you cannot find it I will send a link.**

**-Shadowlight0982 out.**

**Now enough of that random stuff here's your present.**

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><p>(Scene Change)<p>

"Now ladies and gentlemen welcome to, 'What would Shadow do?'" An announcer called out.

"Now everyone here's your protagonist, the face of darkness, the wielder of creation…Shadowlight0982!" After that Shadow walked to the stage and looked to the announcer.

"What am I supposed to be doing?" Shadow asked.

"That's simple; you have to explain to everyone the rules!"

Shadow sighed. "I just had to do charity work." He turned to the crowd. "Well everyone this is where you ask any questions you have about FFW apparently if I read this right. Before you message any questions there are certain rules."

"First, no spoilers under any circumstances, no freebies to the plot, next arc or anything else." Shadow said. "Second only the first five questions sent in will be answered, why five because this is the end of the chapter and while we would like to answer everything we don't have the time."

"Well you heard the rules everyone, send in your questions and we will see you next time!"

"Remind me to kill Bella and Ravena for signing me up to this." Shadow said as he left.


	18. Halloween Filler

**Hello everyone, I'm back again with some news. I want to say sorry for not updating for so long because projects take up most of my time and writer's block loves to kick me while I'm down. So while I had some spark of creativity left I decided to make this filler as a present for putting up with my lateness as I work on the next chapter. Now here's some news that you all ****must**** pay attention to.**

**Announcements:**

** For those who have read my other stories or has seen my favorites list you know what kind of stories interest me (no not just Naruto) harems. I am a harem writer that's been established but I didn't really see FFW as being a story to add a harem into, love triangle maybe but not sure about a harem. So I will leave up to you all how that's decided for a particular set of pairings (yes you all know what I'm talking about). So send me your thoughts and vote yes or no to the harem option.**

** Along with this and the next chapter, I plan on rewriting FFW. It's a chance to fix mistakes and even add new things that were not there before. So everyone has ideas for their characters, if you want to make anymore last minute changes tell me now because if it's not sent to me by PM or you wrote it in the wiki I will not know and I'm using what you send me.**

** Also I had my fic compared to Sword Art Online that was before I knew about the awesome anime. A question for the rewrite is should I add more game mechanics or keep the story as is. I have no problem keeping the story the same as everyone seems to love the whole alternate reality that it has but at the same time I planned for FFW to be a game so that's another vote I want you to make.**

** All polls will be posted at the end of the chapter.**

**Now I will not worry about reviews this time because I kept you waiting long enough, though this may be filler…**

**ON WITH THE SHOW!**

"FFW"-Speech

'FFW'-Thought

'_FFW'-Flashback_

"**FFW"-Attacks**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any reference to any anime/game/show/book, etc. that appears in this story. I own the original plot (at least I hope its original) and my own characters and OC's. All other characters and references belong to their original creators.**

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><p>Halloween Hunting<p>

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><p><strong>(Tokyo City)<strong>

Illu was humming a tune as she walked down the streets of the small city. Mukurowl was perched on her shoulder as they both made their way to the guild building. The girl and owl occasionally looked around to see new decorations and even new stands and shops open for the following holiday.

Halloween was only a day away, and like many holidays it had an effect in the gaming world that is FFW; players running around and scavenging for costumes or materials to use during the event, Admin guards stopping various pranks before they could be set up, and the occasion group of children looking around for great trick-or-treating grounds. The owlgirl and her pet eventually made it to Kurotsubasa only to see a surprising sight.

"**Find it yet DB?" **A human-sized Optimus Prime asked as he lifted up the couch in the middle of the lounge.

"Nothing Bell, I swear he gets craftier each year?!" DB said as he popped from the kitchen area.

Illu slowly walked over to her fellow female member who was just watching from the sidelines with a familiar neko on her head.

"Ravena, do you know what's going on?" Illu asked as she watched the chaos ensue.

"This was going on since I got here nya." Ravena laughed as she found the scene humorous. "I haven't seen Key or Shads yet nya."

"Punnya" The neko manju meowed as she also watched the search.

"**Oh you won't find Shads, least not yet." **Ghostfreak said as he phased through the floor and ino the ceiling.

"What does she mean by that?" Illu asked.

Key then walked into the shop and saw the search the two players were causing. "Guys really, I know it's that time of year again but you can't always tear the base apart looking for it." Key said to his teammates.

"That time of year again nya?" Ravena asked as her tails curled into question marks. Illu also looked confused as she looked to the Beta-player.

"Key what's going on, and do you know where Shadow is?" Illu asked.

Key walked into the now ransacked lounge. "It will be easier to answer if I just show you."

First Key grabbed Bella and DB from their search and brought them all to the meeting room. Key found a CD on top of the computer terminal and saw it had a familiar crescent moon symbol.

"He's using a disk this time?" Bella asked as she returned to her human form.

"Let's just hope this will be easier than last year." DB said as he dusted off his coat.

The newer members of Kurotsubasa continued to look in confusion until they saw Key mouth 'just watch this.' Taking the disk, the keyblader inserted it into the terminal and cut off the lights. Soon on their large screen computer was Shadow.

"Hey guys, I'm guessing Key finally stopped Bella and DB from destroying the place trying to find this disk." Shadow spoke from the recording.

The two said members sat in the corner as chibis with depressed looks as the others continued to watch.

"Illu, Ravena, Mukurowl, and Punnya are still new so they don't know about our holiday traditions. So I started much earlier than I usually do to get them all up to speed with the rest of you." The guild leader said.

"Tomorrow is Halloween, which means it's a perfect time to test how far we've come as a guild. The reason why the test is on this holiday will come up soon but now I have a job for the guild, for you guys to complete without my help." Shadow continued.

"Nya, what's the job Shads! We'll get it done in no time nya!" Ravena cheered.

"Punnya!" Punnya cheered with her owner.

Even though it was a recording Shadow appeared to be chuckling a bit at the two neko's cheers. "Now before you get to over confident here is the job codenamed by all of us: Halloween Hunting."

"Hunting, as in we'll be trying to find and capture something?" Illu asked Key.

"More like someone, pay attention to the next part." Key turned their attention back to the screen.

"Tomorrow evening at the Halloween Festival in Tokyo City you will have only one objective." Shadow began. "Find my Location."

"That's all, how hard can that be nya?" Ravena asked her question.

"Very hard, trust me when Shads wants to avoid someone he does a good job of it." Bella said.

"It only sounds easy to you guys now was because he just gave the objective, you know what happens during the Festival right?" DB asked the two girls.

"It's a chance for everyone to dress up as certain characters." Illu explained. "It's one of the few days that cosplayers like to sign on and dress up as their favorite characters."

"And you get to enjoy festival games and snacks, especially some yummy sweets nya!" Ravena added.

"Exactly, everyone will be dressing up even…" DB turned back to the recording.

"During the festival I will dressed as a certain character, your job will be to find me. It is that simple." Shadow said. "We haven't been doing this long as this will be the third annual Halloween Hunt, and maybe having Illu and Rave my boost you guys luck."

Shadow snapped his fingers and let a small clock appear next to him on the screen. Everyone in the base looked and saw the time that read on the icon: 12:00 a.m.

"That's the time limit; the festival starts at 8:00 and will continue onwards until 12:00 when the moon reaches the center of the sky over Tokyo City." Shadow explained more. "Watch the moon for it will be your timer; after midnight if you don't find me…well I'll let that be a surprise."

Shadow snapped his fingers again and let the clock disappear. "The score is 1 to 1, so this year will be a tiebreaker and you have more manpower to search with. You won't see me online until tomorrow night since I'm busing with some work I have to finish, happy hunting." The screen then went blank signaling the recording ended.

"Meow, so we just search through the streets for Shads wearing cosplay?" Ravena asked trying to understand the mission.

"Kitty everyone will be wearing cosplay, it's a requirement to even go to the festival." Bella said. "The festival is held in random towns across the server and Tokyo City happens to be this year's stop."

"So now you can dress like a boy and not get judged nya?" Ravena poked fun at her friend.

"You want to say that again Kit-Kat girl?" Bella said in an almost evil voice as she reached for the omnitrix.

"Girls as much as we really want to see another fight we have to start planning." Key said.

"Key is right; we need a strategy for the mission Shadow gave us." Illu said as she tried to calm the storm.

The two girls were glaring anime lightning at each other until they realized their friends were right. DB was just against the wall drinking from a bottle of alcohol as he waited for the planning to start.

"So what kind of characters would Shadow dress up as?" Illu asked trying to plan for the mission.

"Well to me Shadow is almost like the loner anime type of guy, so he might want to go for something like that!" Bella spoke her idea.

_**(Bella's Theory)**_

_ Bella strolled through the crowded street of costumed players looking for her guild's leader. Soon she walked into up to a player as his back was turned to her. The shapeshifter smirked as she raised her hand and pointed to the boy._

"_Got ya, you didn't think you would be able to hide from me did you Shads?!" Bella said._

_ The player was dressed as a familiar warrior. He had on a body mesh underneath a blue v-neck shirt, a sash around his waist, and blue pants, all underneath an Akatsuki cloak. He turned around and showed he had a large bamboo hat with several white strings streaming down from it obscuring his face._

_ The shinobi took off his had to show Shadow but with two red eyes with a black three-blade shuriken tomoes inside them._

"_Took you long enough…Bella."_

**(Reality)**

"So what do you guys think?!" Bella said as she had a crude, cartoonish picture of Itachi Uchiha hanging on the board. "No doubt Shads will go for a look like this!"

"I think that would be a bit obvious Bell." DB said as he looked at the drawing. "Plus do you know how many players will choose someone like Itachi to cosplay as?"

"Exactly, it will let him hide more in plain sight!" Bella argued back.

"Well that makes sense, but you are missing a few things." DB said.

"And what am I missing?" Bella asked.

"In the end, Shadow is a hero right?" DB let his question linger in the air. "So maybe he might go as a hero from his childhood."

"That does seem like something he might do." Key agreed.

"And I remember when we all talked about our favorite heroes." DB said with a smirk.

_**(DB's Theory)**_

_ DB hopped the rooftops of Tokyo City as it appeared to have a much darker look around it. He reached another building only to stop and see it occupied by someone else. DB rose to his feet and acknowledges the player._

"_It took longer than I wanted to, but I finally found you Shadow." DB said._

_ The player then turned from his spot overlooking the city and started at DB. He was dressed in a full body grey suit, black gloves and black boots. He wore a yellow belt with many pouches for items and a black cape that led to a mask that covered half his face. He glared at Key with a famous scowl and pointed to the symbol on his chest._

"_I am Batman."_

**(Reality)**

"No one he would choose something like that!" Bella argued.

"You can't say he wouldn't make a good Batman!" DB argued back. "It wouldn't be that hard to get the cape and cowl, and with everyone mostly going around as anime characters it's easy to pull attention away from comic characters."

"It would give him the benefit of keeping out of sight." Key reasoned with Key.

"You're both wrong nya!" Everyone turned to look at Ravena. "You guys are forgetting the obvious thing, a cosplay he would use that no one would think about!"

"Well what do you think it is Ravena?" Illu asked interested in what she had to say.

"We have Itachi and Batman I doubt it can get anymore crazier than that." Key said.

Ravena smiled at all in the room.

_**(Ravena's Theory)**_

_ The catgirl and her pet walked from one of the alleys as they entered the streets of Tokyo City. They had finished searching all the underground paths and now continued their search topside._

_ Ravena allowed Punnya to fly about and find their target's scent as they rushed through the crowd. After a while Punnya flew ahead excitedly leaving her master behind._

"_Punnya what are you doing; get back here!" Ravena called after the neko._

"_Punnya!" Punnya stopped and gestured to a figure that was facing another direction._

_ Ravena heard what Punnya said and smiled a large catlike grin. The two then slowly snuck towards the player. When they got close enough they they let out a loud noise to grab his attention._

"_We found ya good guy, nya!" Ravena yelled._

"_Punnya!"_

_ The player grumbled in annoyance as he turned around to the girl and her neko. The boy had white spiky hair, and heterochromatic red and green eyes. He had on a black shirt with three belts, black hakama style pants, and black boots. Over those clothes he had an opened Red jacket with two tails that dangled from the jacket and a large sword that hung on his back._

"_God dammit Rave, did you have to yell in my ear?" Shadow asked the girl._

**(Reality)**

"Ragna…the Bloodedge, I didn't think about that." Illu admitted as she heard Ravena's guess.

"Choosing a character he can relate to, and one he likes as well." Key said as he thought about the idea.

"Come on Shads wouldn't do something that easy, part of his powers is based from him." Bella said.

"Bella's right in a way that would be laziness on Shads part." DB said.

"Though it would be a mistake to not think about the obvious," Key said.

"Well we got Batman, Ragna, and Itachi, what do you think Key?" Bella asked the Beta.

"Hmm, well considering he did a small pattern is the only reason we found him last year, I think he might go about the favorite's alley." Key said. "You guys are on the right track but you are forgetting one thing, how Shadow thinks."

"How Shads thinks nya?" Ravena asked with a confused look.

"Shadow likes to challenge his opponents anyway he can, and this time we are his opponents. He would do something that we probably wouldn't think about even if he had a giant spotlight that says here I am." Key continued his explanation. "And I have an idea of what that is."

_**(Key's theory)**_

_ Key walked through crowds as it began to get thinner and thinner making it easier for him to travel the crowded streets. He kept his senses open for signs of his target until he heard a small commotion coming from the square._

_ He pushed past crowds to see the commotion was all over a particular dressed character. The Player he was looking at was modeled in grey armor. He was covered head to toe in grey plating and black suit that could be seen under the metal; from his helmet no one could see his face as a visor kept it from view._

"_I didn't think you would go for this kind of look Shads, armor doesn't suit you." Key joked as he walked to the armored man._

_ The man silent walked over to Key slowly with a pistol in his hand aimed at the Beta's head. After a while he put the gun away and reached for his helmet. The latched released and from under the metal revealed his true identity._

"_Did you have to search long Key?" Shadow asked._

**(Reality)**

"I'm sorry Key but that's a bit farfetched even for me." Bella said as she saw Key's choice for who Shadow could be.

"Shadow as a Spartan, it would be an easy way to avoid us entirely." DB said as he thought it over. "Stealth and all that equipment, plus it's easier to pretend to be a noob dressing up an acting the part."

"I still like my idea more nya." Ravena said.

"You don't have to like it, I'm giving my opinion." Key said.

"That leaves only one more then." DB said as he looked to Illu.

"Huh, me?!" Illu asked as she pointed to herself.

"Come on Owlgirl, we all gave a guess, might as well throw yourself into the ring." Bella said.

"Besides it's fun nya!" Ravena said.

Illu blushed a bit, embarrassed by the amount of attention she was getting, before she sighed and complied with them. "I think I agree with Ravena when she said it would be obvious."

"So what's your thought?" Key asked.

Illu took a deep breath and showed who she thought Shadow would be dressed as.

**(Illu's Theory)**

_ Flying through the skies, the hybrid girl searched through the starlit sky looking for her target. She figured she was close to completing her mission and then saw a bright flash of light and a small figure land on a roof._

_ Illu landed on the same roof as she returned to normal with Mukurowl now in her arms. She approached the player who appeared from the shards of glass._

"_The mission was hard like I thought it would be, but I still found you." Illu said was a victorious look._

_ The player was wearing dark clothing as he had on a black shirt, pants, and boots, all with a black coat with grey trim and accents. He had strapped to his back two blades as the wind blew through his black hair._

"_And I thought I would be able to hide using a costume a lot of people would be trying out." The black swordsman spoke as he turned around to Illu._

"_Good job tracking me down, Illu." Shadow said._

**(Reality)**

Everyone was silent as they thought about Illu's idea. They all began to think as they all have their own idea of who Shadow was dressing as.

"The Kirito and Asuna costumes would be a popular cosplay to try out this year." Key said.

"Sword Art Online has been gaining a lot of popularity." DB said.

"Well we all have our ideas and we can't seem to agree," Bella started out saying. "What if this year we make it more interesting?"

"And how can we make this interesting flatchest?" Ravena asked.

"I'll let that one slide this once Rave, how about we bet some munny on this?" Bella asked around the room.

"Oh, it's a bet now?" DB asked getting interested.

"A bet and a race," Bella said. "Not only on whose choice is right, but also the one who can find Shads first; anyone interested?"

"A race, shouldn't we be working together?" Illu asked.

"It's not like we can form perfect teams with the numbers we have now; beside a little healthy competition is good once and awhile." DB said.

"How much munny are we talking about Bella?" Ravena asked already counting the amount in her mind.

"How about 500 for the guess and 500 for the capturing," Key offered.

"That seems fair" Bella said as she agreed to those terms. That means one of us will walk away with 5,000 munny."

"Or none at all" DB said reminded the original members of the first annual hunting.

"Well let's all meet up here at 7:30 ready to start." Key said.

"And everyone has to be in full costume nya!" Ravena added.

Illu sighed. "I guess there's no way around it, good luck to everyone."

"This year might be a night to remember." Bella said.

**(Tomorrow)**

All over Tokyo City, the scenery was changed to that of perpetual night. A large chuckling crescent moon hung in the air as small rivers of blood flowed between its teeth **(The Soul Eater Moon, basically)**.

Outside of the Kurotsubasa building the first few arrivals were waiting for the others to show up. DB waited against the wall with an annoyed look on his face.

"All this waiting, I could have gotten a head start by now." DB said.

Instead of his usual outfit DB was now dressed in a different kind of coat and pants. He wore a black buttoned suit, with a large red tie and a red coat over his clothes along with boots. He had on white gloves as well and a red hat on his head along with a pair of glasses.

"Calm yourself 'Hellsing' you don't want to get ahead of yourself, and they're not even late its only 7:20." Key said.

"Yeah and the festival starts at 8, so we don't have much time 'Riku.'" DB said taking a jibe at Key's costume.

Key had his hair more tame but it still spiked, and he now had on a black, white and yellow sleeveless jacket that was zipped up, a belt, blue pants, and sneakers. To keep the theme of his character Key had his keyblade ,Oathbreaker, out with him.

"Speak of the devils, there they are now." Key said as he pointed over to the three girls running towards them.

"About time, let's get this meet and greet over with." DB said as he stood up straight.

The girls of Kurotsubasa arrived and Key and DB took time to observe their individual outfits.

Illu was wearing a school uniform which had a green long-sleeved top and skirt as well as a black eye patch over her right eye, black belt and boots with a few skull designs around her clothing. Mukurowl flew at a small pace next to the girl.

Ravena was wearing a large tan coat, with large sleeves in the shape of cat paws. The coat covered much of Ravena's body except for her legs, she had on boots and her tails flowed from under the coat. The large hood of the coat that also had cat ears was down on she had a mask that was now not covering her face but was black with small red dots for eyes. Punnya rested on her head.

Bella was dressed in a full body red suit with black in certain places and what looked like armor attached to her shoulders, gloves, and boots. She had two swords strapped to her back and wore a mask but her ponytail came out from the back of the mask letting the boys know it was her.

Key nodded his head impressed as he saw the girls arrive. "Chrome, Taokaka, and Deadpool…interesting choices."

"I always though Bella would pick a goofball like that as her costume." DB said.

Said goofball took off her mask to show a slight angry face. "Bite me D, but we're here aren't we?"

"We're still early; it's not even 7:30 yet." Illu said trying to calm the situation. "So where's the chest Key?"

Key then pulled out a small chest and placed it on the ground. "Right there, let's start with everyone putting in 1,000 munny."

Soon all members put in their wager and Key then sealed it and placed it in a secure room in the base. He then came back outside to talk more with his fellow members.

"Alright, we all know the rules of the hunt right?" Key asked.

"Basically you can't help each other and it is a race to see who can find Shadow." DB basically summed it up.

"But I think we should also add more to it." Key said.

"Add more how?" Illu asked.

"Let's make this a combination of skills and abilities, no powers used." Key said with a smirk.

"What, no powers?!" Bella said.

"What's the matter Bella, afraid of not being able to transform and all that?" Ravena asked.

"Bella does have a lot of things that will let her cheat in this hunt." DB said.

"Bella has some transformations and you all know my powers of perception. This will make us all more even when we start searching." Key explained.

"Fine, but I'm using powers if I need to not to hunt for Shads." Bella said.

"Likewise, if you need to use powers for emergencies then you can." Key added.

"Well I wish everyone the best of luck." Illu said. Mukurowl hooted as he landed on his mistress shoulder.

"Tonight this is going to be the best night ever nya!" Ravena said as she lifted an arm in the air.

"Punnya!" Punnya called from her spot on the catgirl's head.

As they all talk none of them noticed they were being watched by a person from a nearby building. It stared down at them for what felt like an eternity before vanishing in a burst of speed.

**(Scene Change)**

Many people were gathered around a small platform right in front of the festival grounds. Several Admin guards, all dressed as different era soldiers, were placed around the platform in order to keep the more eager players from rushing into the festival.

Leon soon appeared as he walked with the speaker. He didn't change much from his usual armored outfit but he was convinced to dress up as another character. 'Hakumen' proceeded to stand on the side of the platform as the speaker walked to look at all the players.

The speaker took the stage and began to give the opening speech.

"Welcome everyone, we usually would give a long speech but with how small the event is we can all skip that part." Cast said with a small smile. "The festival is now open, as an Admin I give you permission to enjoy the festival to your heart's content."

The crowd didn't need to be told twice. As soon as the guards moved out the way of the celebrations, the people shoved against each other to be the first to the various stalls around the city.

"Looks like this year will be as crazy as ever." Leon said.

"Oh come on Leon, why don't you the event like everyone else?" Cast asked her knight.

"Just be lucky you convinced me to get into this outfit." Leon said. "Besides you're dressed like you are going to enjoy the festival yourself."

Leon pointed out the fact that Cast was also dressed in cosplay. The Admin just smiled as she enjoyed being in costume.

"If only you would have put on the first costume we would be matching Leon." The Chosen of World Regeneration joked.

Leon just turned his head away glad that he had the helmet so she couldn't see his blush. "This costume was better than all those I've seen; also I wouldn't have enjoyed dressing up as Lloyd."

'Collete' laughed at his response before grabbing the warrior's hand. "Come on 'Hakumen' we need to oversee the festival and what better way than to actually participate."

Leon just grumbled, once again glad the helmet hid his blush, as his superior dragged him into the festival.

**(DB's Halloween Date)**

Soon as the festival started DB immediately took to the roofs of the buildings. He was confident in his guess of what character Shadow was as he looked down from roofs into dark alleys.

"Man, you would think I have seen a clue by now." DB said after five minutes of searching the roofs. He dropped down to ground level thinking that he hadn't left the street yet.

"The festival has just started and the moon hasn't even moved yet." DB looked an saw the grinning moon has not moved an inch. He then began to walk into he bumped into a figure.

"Hey what's the big ide…?" DB stopped talking as the words left his mouth.

"Huh, DB never thought I would see you so soon after this even started." Naenia said as she saw she bumped into a familiar face.

DB was frozen because of the cosplay he saw her wearing. She was wearing a Chinese style outfit similar to her normal outfit but it was white, with red leave designs and a large black obi. The kimono had blue sleeves and she had a pink rose on the left side of her hair **(Ran Mao from Black Butler)**.

"Ah hey!" DB finally said regaining his senses. "So what are you doing around here, usually your busy with a job." He asked out of curiosity.

"I take holiday events off, plus you have to be an idiot to miss events like these." Naenia answered. "Speaking of events, I have one that might be up your alley."

"Depends on what it is?" DB asked though he had a small blush thinking how Naenia thought he was perfect for something.

"I'm sure you know holidays like this have several things you can't get every day." Naenia then pulled a poster from hammerspace and placed it into the vampire's hands. "Ever heard of Hollow's Cider?"

DB stood frozen as he read the poster over. "Hollow's Cider, that's an extremely rare drink only sold out during the Halloween event, how could I forget about that!"

"I was thinking of going down to the bars and giving it a try since I never have; care to join me, I'm sure things like this are better with company?" Naenia asked him.

Suddenly all thoughts off the bet disappeared as the poster lit up in flames and DB gave her a wide smile. "Sure let's go, I've been meaning to give that drink a try myself." He said as he kept the famous Alucard smile.

After taking some time walking, chatting, and trying out the various stands, the two found themselves at the one Halloween themed bar of the night: Hueco Mundo.

"To think the legendary drink is in there." DB said as he looked at the masked covered doors of the bars.

"We'll never know unless we give the drink a try ourselves," Naenia smiled to her companion.

"Ladies first," DB said as he held the door open. Naenia let out a small chuckle as she walked inside the building; DB then followed after her.

Hueco Mundo was like any other bar in FFW. The only differences were it was filled with mostly villain themed cosplayers various bones, skulls, and masks scattered across the room. The two players walked to the bartender noticed he had on a visored mask.

"What can I get you two, or are you here for the house special?" 'Shinji' asked the two.

"This is the place where we can find Hollow's Cider is it not?" Naenia asked in a business type tone.

Though they couldn't see past the mask the could sense him smirking at them from his tone of voice. "Nice, it's nice when customers come here and ask what they want instead of trying all the usual crap. Would you like your free bottles now or later?"

"Free bottles, something rare as this can't be for free." DB said to the barkeep.

"Your first bottle is free," The bartender clarified. "It's roughly 100,000 munny to buy more of it."

"We'll just take our bottles now and sit down if that's alright?" Naenia asked the bartender.

DB sensed some eyes on them as he noticed some heads turned to him and Naenia when the words Hollow's Cider was spoken. Naenia, herself, could see a bit of a mischievous glint in the bartender's eyes before he left and came back with two large bottles.

"Here's your Hollow's Cider…enjoy." The Visored left the bottles on the table in front of them.

The two grabbed their bottles but when they turned around DB once again found himself crashing into another person. The one dressed as 'Ganondorf' looked to the one that bumped into him.

"You think you can collect a rare bottle and not have to worry about a fight for it?" Ganondorf asked.

DB glared as he saw the three thugs around them. Naenia was glaring when he saw some of their eyes linger on her for too long.

"You obviously don't know who we are because of the cosplay so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt." Naenia began. "Just sit down and let us through, or we're going to have to hurt you." Naenia had already drawn her fan.

"Oh yeah and what if we don't, gonna sick your boyfriend on us?" One of them joked which caused them all to laugh until the sound of guns cocking filled the air.

"This is the ONE night I don't feel like getting into a bar fight." DB said as his eyes began to glow red. His guns were aimed at two of the three thugs; he also saw the air swirling around Naenia's fan. "Now we can either do this the easy way, or the DB way…chooses wisely."

Even with guns held to then they didn't seem to back down. "Screw you, once a year you get good stuff like this and you don't think we won't take advantage of this!"

"So hand over your bottles, I don't think you know who you two are messing with!"

DB only continued his glare until it turned into a demonic smile. "DB way it is then…**your funeral!"**

From a distance away a large explosion of fire could be seen, startling all as the flames lit up the night sky. Several Admin Guards moved to the scene of the fire already cursing that an inciden already happen within the first hour.

The bartender only looked in shock as he saw that all that remained of the bar's front were cinders and bodies of various customers. He moved to leave only to scream seeing he wasn't the only on conscious.

"It seems a huge battle took place here, care to talk about it?" A black mass asked him.

"Look all I saw was a normal bar riot, but this time the Frost Empress and even that guy from Kurotsubasa had to get involved in this!" The bartender yelled.

"Kurotsubasa huh, sounds like a funny name." The bartender looked in astonishment hearing the costumed player's comment.

"I don't know if now is the right time but do you still have any of those Hollow's Ciders left?"

**(Scene Change)**

On a roof in the distance DB sighed as he looked down on the half charred building that was once the Hueco Mundo.

"Sorry about that, I forgot what happened when you mixed fire with wind." DB apologized.

"Don't worry about it." Naenia brushed off some ashes off her costume. "Besides I did have some fun tonight," She said with a smile.

DB blushed a bit but he smiled at her as well. He noticed a light over them and his mood suddenly took a downed one as he saw how much time he wasted. DB sighed but turned back to Naenia with a grin.

"It was fun, we should hang again sometime…without the bar violence and explosions." He said jokingly.

Naenia let out a small laugh. "Yes, maybe we should."

Before DB could even think of leaving Naenia pulled out two shot glasses and turned to him with a challenging look; the vampire smiled and sat down to drink with her (soon forgetting the reason why he was downed before).

In the air a figure was flying looking at a bottle in his hand. "All of that over this little bottle." He placed the bottle inside his robe and was about to leave until he noticed DB and Naenia.

"Well that's one out of five; I wonder how everyone else's search is going?"

**(Bella's Halloween Pranktacular)**

The Hyna Squad Leader was walking through the streets looking at the various costumes of the passerbyers. Bella silently ate candy as she continued looking with a bored expression.

"This is so boring; it sucks that I can't use my powers to search." Bella complained.

"**Boring on Halloween, well we can't have that can we Bella!" **A voice spoke in the Toon girl's head.

Bella watched her omnitrix activate on its owned as it summoned one of the various toons in her head. "Jack what are you doing, if the others see you they will freak!"

Skeleton Jack looked to Bella with an amused grin. **"You're concentrating so hard on the bet that you forgot that Halloween is supposed to be about fun!"**

Bella took a thinking pose as she thought about what the man was saying. "I'm not usually one to cheat on a challenge, but it is a crime that I'm bored and not having fun."

The shapeshifter then turned to the Pumpkin King with a mischievous look. "So what do you have in mind?"

"**Well instead of you finding your friend, let him come to you!" **Jack announced.

"Now you're talking my language, I can worry about the others complaining about my powers when the night is over." Bella now grinned at her toon friend.

"I have something that I have been saving for a special moment, why not now on Halloween?"

**(Time Skip)**

Many people looked confused as they saw a large circus tent set up in one of the festival areas. One of the braver ones walked up and grabbed a note that was above the entrance. He turned to the rest of the crowd to read off the note.

"Ladies and Gents, this adventure comes once in a life time, so come on in if you are brave enough?" The player read off the note for all to hear.

Some of the crowd turned and walked away not wanting to travel into the mysterious tent while the rest stayed curious of what kind of event the Admin could have created. The group thinned to about thirty people that walked into the tent, what they didn't see was a snake that was watching them before if popped out of existence.

The group stayed close together trying not to lose one in the darkness of the tent, as they walked they noticed the path was longer than the tent itself.

"What's going on?!"

"Are we in another dimension?"

"I guess we can only turn back." One of them guessed.

Some got instantly scared and ran out of the tent back to the entrance. The rest continued onward. Their visions began to clear as the space around them lit up and they heard the beginning of music. With little visibility they saw a scarecrow holding a sign.

Before any of them could read it the music grew louder and they ran down the path. Soon they heard several voices as they ran through tombstones. A girl shrieked as she saw a shadow appear on one of the graves.

**[Hyna Squad Ghosts]**

**Boys and girls of every age**

**Wouldn't you like to see something strange?**

**Come with us and you will see**

**This, our town of Halloween**

The group began to run out the graveyard as the song reached a crescendo. Ghosts began to fly from the ground and add to the chorus of horror.

**This is Halloween, this is Halloween**

**Pumpkins scream in the dead of night**

**This is Halloween, everybody make a scene**

**Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright**

**It's our town, everybody scream**

**In this town of Halloween**

They soon saw a large building and ran inside glad that the ghosts did not follow them inside. Two of them noticed they appeared to be in a bedroom somehow; they walked to observe the bed and felt hands grab their legs. Everyone heard their screams and saw them vanish from the bed.

**[Gluttony (Fullmetal Alchemist]**

**I am the one hiding under your bed**

**Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red**

Seeing the maws of the monster that must of captured the two that screamed they ran out the room and down some stairs only to watch as more were picked off.

**[Orochimaru (Naruto)]**

**I am the one hiding under yours stairs**

**Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair**

**This is Halloween, this is Halloween**

**Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!**

**In this town we call home**

**Everyone hail to the pumpkin song**

The remains of the players made it out of the house and noticed they were now in an abandoned city. They thought they were safe until the song continued, up in a perch was (though the kids didn't know) Omi-Wormtail.

**[Bella (as Omi-Wormtail)]**

**In this town, don't we love it now?**

**Everybody's waiting for the next surprise**

The players ran from the sight, a few of them fell down several falls only to meet a giant white snake. The survivors raced to escape the hallow nightmare.

**[Voices]**

**Round that corner, man hiding in the trash can**

**Something's waiting now to pounce, and how you'll...**

The group found shelter in an alleyway. After watching a few more creatures running passed them; they sighed in relief thinking they were safe until another monster popped from a nearby trashcan.

**[Zombie Bella]**

**Scream! This is Halloween**

**[Soundwave (Transformers)]**

**Red 'n' black, slimy green**

**[Blight (Batman)]**

**Aren't you scared?**

**Well, that's just fine**

A few more captured players later and the group screamed not caring about the attention they were causing. More members of the Hyna Squad appeared, attracted to the players screams.

**[Voices]**

**Say it once, say it twice**

**Take a chance and roll the dice**

**Ride with the moon in the dead of night**

**[Zetsu/Black half (Naruto)]**

**Everybody scream, everbody scream**

**[Zetsu/White half (Naruto)]**

**In our town of Halloween!**

**[Joker (Batman)]**

**I am the clown with the tear-away face**

**Here in a flash and gone without a trace**

**[Yami Bakura (Yu-Gi-Oh)]**

**I am the "who" when you call, "Who's there?"**

**I am the wind blowing through your hair**

As the voices sang they looked to the sky and saw a shadow upon the moon.

**[OOGIE BOOGIE]**

**I am the shadow on the moon at night**

**Filling your dreams to the brim with fright**

The group's numbers continued to drop as the Hyna Squad paraded after them.

**[Hyna Squad]**

**This is Halloween, this is Halloween**

**Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!**

**Halloween! Halloween!**

As the group tried to escape, some were pulled away and given a private concert before they were taken away.

**[Kabuto (Naruto)]**

**Tender lumplings everywhere**

**Life's no fun without a good scare**

**[D-Struct (Static Shock)]**

**That's our job, but we're not mean**

**In our town of Halloween**

**[Deadpool (DC Universe)]**

**In this town**

**Don't we love it now?**

**Everybody's waiting for the next surprise**

The once large group was now down to five people as they found themselves at the square of the hallowed town. They all searched for an escape, even trying desperately to log out as they heard the crowd approach.

**[Hyna Squad]**

**Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back**

**And scream like a banshee**

**Make you jump out of your skin**

More of the Hyna Squad appeared though some helped carry the scarecrow they saw when they arrived.

**This is Halloween, everyone scream**

**Wont' ya please make way for a very special guy**

In a flash Jack appeared (in place of the scarecrow) and began his horrifying performance. Bella used her powers and supplied more support to the Pumpkin King.

**Our man jack is King of the Pumpkin patch**

**Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King now!**

As the remaining five back away from the attraction they noticed that all the creatures they seen and even more began to exit from houses and filled the streets.

**[Hyna Squad]**

**This is Halloween, this is Halloween**

**Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!**

A boy stopped running after reaching a point and looked around to see who had survived. He saw nothing as everyone else was captured by the many traps and creatures that chased them. He caught his breath though he saw his was in the

**In this town we call home**

**Everyone hail to the pumpkin song**

**La la la la-la la [Repeat]**

"**Well I'm surprised you lasted this long." **Jack said impressed as he looked at the last player of the group.

"**I think we should reward you."**

The boy fell to the ground as he saw all the creatures began to close in on him. He felt the cornrs of his vision turn black as he knew he was going to pass out soon. Before he lost consciousness he saw Jack move closer to him.

"**Trick…or…Treat?"**

**(Scene Change)**

Screams were heard as everyone saw several players run out of the tent filling the air with terror. As soon as everyone turned to the tent to see what had happened they noticed it disappeared.

In the distance Bella was laughing against the wall as she took off her mask to get air as she almost died of laughter.

"That was fun, it's a shame Halloween is once a year." She said between her laughs.

"**Then we better make use of this night then." **Jack said from inside the girl's head. Bella nodded her head as she gained some composure.

"Yes we should."

All across Tokyo City, screams could be heard as the Hyna General continued her Halloween havoc. A figure shook his head and continued on its way.

"Bella will never change."

**(Ravena and Illu's Girls Night Out)**

Illu was about to begin her search when a hand grabbed her and pulled her into one of the alleys. The poison specialist was about to summon her glaive only you be surprised to see the grinning face of Ravena.

"Hey Illu, why don't we work together and find Shadow nya?" Ravena asked her.

"Punnya?" Punnya seemed to ask Mukurowl the same question.

"Ravena I thought we were supposed to find Shadow ourselves?" Illu asked in confusion. Mukurowl seemed to hoot his concerns from the owlgirl's head.

"It's always much easier to search as a group, plus everyone will separate at different parts of the festival so no one will see." Ravena reasoned. "Besides I'll be sure to split the profits even with you nya."

"Punnya, punnya, nya!" The neko tried to reason with her fellow pet.

"I don't know Rave, this feels like cheating." Illu said with a frown.

"Technically Bella can cheat when she can summon back up nya, besides we can always separate and meet up later." Ravena took Illu's hand and pulled her towards the festival before she heard another refusal.

"Ravena!" Illu tried to stop her but sighed seeing as she wasn't going to get out of this. She felt Mukurowl was missing only to see him wrapped in Punnya's tail as she flew beside them.

'Muku-Chan too!' Anime tears fell down Illu's face as the four began their search.

After getting Ravena to let go of her (agreeing that she wouldn't run off beforehand), the two girls looked around the crowds trying to find their leader; they soon heard music playing from a distance.

"Rave can you hear that?" Illu asked.

"Nya, sounds like a party to me; that would be a great place for Shads to hide!" Ravena said.

The two pets landed by their masters as they wondered what they were talking about.

"What makes you think Shadow would be at a party?" Illu asked.

"Expect the unexpected my dear Illu-Tan." Ravena said in a sagelike voice makin the owlgirl sweatdrop. "Shadow isn't the type to go out and have a good time nya, so it will the great place to hide out!"

"I guess that makes sense." Illu said but had her own doubts about it.

"Ok then, it settles we search there!"

The group followed the sounds of music and saw it was indeed coming from a party. A club that was opened for the festival called the Crypt Club was full of many players enjoying the night. Before they entered they saw that no pets were inside the club.

"I guess we will have to improvise." Ravena said.

Illu nodded and held out her finger for Mukurowl to land on. "Muku-Chan I need you to stay on my shoulder and stay still, can you do that please?"

Mukurowl hooted his reply and perched on Illu's shoulder. For added measures he created an illusion around himself that made him appear as a small plush toy. When he was ready Illu turned to Ravena.

"Ok Rave, we're ready to…" Illu was shocked seeing how Ravena planned on hiding Punnya.

Somehow Punnya was in a humanoid form, which was taller than Ravena, stretchin her limbs as she wasn't used to that form. Soon Ravena grabbed both Illu and Punnya and they both walked inside.

The two looked around seeing many people either dancing or chatting around in groups. As they walked they soon found someone but it wasn't who they were looking for.

"Just my luck that I would see you two here," A voice said to the females of Kurotsubasa.

The girls turned and saw it was Rose that was talking to them. The bounty hunter walked up to them walking through the crowd of partiers. Rose was wearing a long-sleeved red shirt, a black skirt and long black socks that led into brown formal shoes. Two black ribbons turned her long red hair into two pigtails on the sides of her head.

"It's Maid Fetish nya!" Ravena called out.

"Stop calling me that!" Rose yelled. She then calmed down but she still had a tick mark at the side of her head. "So what brings the little girl and the boobcat in here?"

"Well Tater-tots, we happen to be on a mission nya." Ravena said as the two got into a glaring competition.

Illu sighed and decided to end their staring game. "Rose has seen Shadow anywhere; we just happen to be looking for him."

Rose's attention perked up at the name of her teacher. "Shadow can't say I have; I'm waiting in this club for a very important item."

"Can't even enjoy yourself on Halloween; I bet even Naenia is taking a break nya." Ravena said.

"I wouldn't expect you to know much about this," Rose chuckled a bit. "Holidays lead to items that only come out during these festivals, I just happen to be enjoying the fun and getting work done at the same time."

"Enjoying fun by waiting for an item in a club, you should be dancing like everyone else!" Ravena yelled as she pointed to the dance floor.

"Yeah nya!" Punnya called as well mimicking her owner.

"I'm surprised your pet hasn't been caught." Rose said as she noticed Punnya. "Still why have fun here when there is an even bigger party going on." The bounty hunter finished with a smirk.

"Bigger than this, I find it hard to believe with the amount of people here." Illu said as she looked around.

"This? Everyone here is noobs or low levels at least; there as an even bigger event going on that all the high level players know about." Rose explained.

"Then what are waiting around for lead the way nya!" Ravena and Punnya cheered at the thought of a bigger party.

"And what makes you think I'm taking you anywhere?" Rose asked.

Illu sighed. "Ravena we still need to look for Shadow, remember the bet?"

Ravena sighed when she was reminded of the bet. "Nya, you're right Illu we do need to find Shads. There is too much money wagered to goof off."

"Money, oh so you two are doing that" Rose said with a knowing look.

"How do you know what we're doing?" Illu asked.

"It was always things like this that bastard would do to spice up training." Rose said. "Speaking of bastards where is…"

A large white hand slammed into the girls head which left Ravena, Punnya, and Illu in shock seeing what happened. Rose stood back up with a large anime bump on her head.

"You ass, and what took you so long?!" Rose yelled angrily at the new arrival.

"A lot of things have been happening tonight; just because I was a little late you don't get to talk about me behind my back without expecting a Shinigami Chop!" A comical voice answered.

The speaker was a tall player wrapped inside of a black cloak which seemed to be made of jagged black spikes. In the front where the man's face would be was a white comical skull like mask.

Rose scoffed at the new arrival. "Please, be on time for once. Also extended to our deal I need a small favor."

"You already wasted one for this item Rosie-Chan!" The reaper pulled out a wrapped up package. "Anything else and you will end up owing me!"

"Whatever" Rose took the package, obviously mad at the name she was called. "We need to get to that quickly can you do it or not?!"

"We?" The Shinigami then looked and saw Illu, Ravena, and Punnya.

"So this guy can take us to the club nya?" Ravena asked as she and Punnya looked at the figure suspiciously.

"Um, are you sure we can trust him?" Illu asked.

"Wassup!" The reaper greeted them while tilting to the side.

"Don't get your panties in a knot, I don't know who he is under the mask but he is pretty trustworthy." Rose said trying to calm their doubts.

'He feels familiar, like I met him before.' Illu thought as she looked at Shinigami.

'Somehow I think I can trust her word. I feel I should know who he is though nya.' Ravena thought.

Punnya walked towards the reaper as if to get a closer look. The man used his giant hand to pet the neko and she soon returned to her original form purring with content. Soon he turned to Rose.

"So that's five to your destination huh, I think I can manage that." Shinigami said with a large thumb up.

"Perfect" Rose said as she moved to put her package away.

"You're not going to eat it now?" The reaper said in confusion.

"Eat, you have treats nya?" Ravena asked.

"What…I don't have that sort of…" Rose tried to speak.

"Some very special chocolates made only tonight." Shinigami answered.

"Don't tell them idiot!" Rose yelled.

"You have to share nya!"

"As if!"

The two began to fight over the box of sweets, as thy fought Illu decided to test her intuition.

"Um Shinigami" Illu said.

"Hmm?" The death god turned to Illu.

"What exactly makes those chocolates special?" Illu asked as she saw Ravena managed to grab the package and was about to open it until Rose once again snatched them away.

"I don't really know; Rose said that some guy was making chocolates and I was supposed to find him. Apparently Rose knows him and said his sweets were legendary." Shinigami began to explain.

"Legendary Sweets" Illu then had a small flashback as thoughts run through her head.

"Yep, for some reason when I mentioned Rose he gave them to me for free and then said: "Give my student my regards.'" Shinigami finished his explanation.

'Then it was Shadow!' Illu instantly thought and turned to Shinigami. "Do you know where this guy is now?!"

Before he could answer they both heard a crash and saw Rose and Ravena clutching the opened bag of chocolates. They were glaring at each other until the smell of the sweets hit them.

"Nya, I know that smell anywhere, Shadow's sweets meow." Ravena said with a dreamy eyed look.

"Then you know why I don't want to share, since we don't exactly travel together anymore I have to search around the whole festival to find him and get some of these sweets." Rose explained.

"But keeping the chocolate for yourself, no fair." Ravena said.

Rose smirked and then managed to take the whole bag. "Too bag, I guess you will have to watch as I…" She noticed the package was lighter and saw half of the dozen of chocolates was gone. Hearing eating behind her she saw Ravena and Punnya with some chocolate in the formers hands.

Ravena then saw Rose noticed the sweets she was holding and smirked with a cat grin as she ate another piece. "Snooze you lose Maid Fetish!"

"I am going to kill you." Rose said in a low voice as she pulled out her daggers.

"Girls, we're supposed to be going to a party remember." Illu tried to remind them to avoid a fight. Mukurowl was shaking his head as he saw them argue and then flew off to enjoy the chocolate with Punnya.

Rose sighed and returned her weapons. "Fine, be glad that I'm in a merciful mood." She popped a piece of chocolate in her mouth and resisted the urge to moan at the sweet taste.

Illu then saw Ravena give her two pieces, she tried one and just like the other two she soon forgot about the world around her as she enjoyed the sweet flavored. Suddenly all three remembered they were keeping their company waiting until they say another bag of chocolate with a note.

_You three looked like you were enjoying yourself so I decided to leave. Bye!_

_-Shinigami_

"Our ride ditched us nya." Ravena said.

"Don't worry about it; I'll just take us there. It will be slow but we got all night." Rose said.

The two of Kurotsubasa nodded as Illu walked and picked up the bag of sweets. "So how do we share these?"

The girls spent the rest of the night bonding over chocolate.

**(Key's Troubled Night)**

The Beta of Kurotsubasa sought out the less populated areas of the festival; the parts of celebration that held the more rare and hard to find items that only existed during the Halloween event.

Key knew that all the plans everyone made up were good, but they forgot some things about Shadow that were easy to overlook. One of those reasons led Key to seek out the rare items booths.

'In the end Shadow is a treasure hunter; he has to hide from us but he can't resist checking out these items.' Key continued looking, not knowing he is about to land in one of the worse situations of his life.

"Key?"

Hearing his name, the keyblader turned around and fought down a blush as he saw who called him.

It was TPB, or Turquoise Peanut Butter, the girl he made friends with after the events of the Eclipse Tournament. She was dressed as Lucy from Fairy Tail; wearing a white shirt with a blue cross trim and blue skirt with a belt that held all her keys and black wristbands and boots.

Getting over his shock Key then acknowledged her. "TPB, is that you?"

The celestial mage smiled and walked over to Key. "I thought that was you, though I could have guessed from your costume."

"You're one to talk, if you were blonde and styled your hair you would look exactly like Lucy." Key said.

TPB blushed and ran a hand though her mid-length brown hair. "I didn't want to go through the trouble of buying a hair potion to grow my hair back and change the color. I was glad I was able to get this outfit."

Key nodded knowing how hard it was to get the outfit you wanted when Halloween was around. He literally fought away a few players to get the costume he was wearing.

After letting her blush dies a bit TPB then asked her question. "Key are you doing anything right now, there's something that I need help with?"

"Ugh, well I'm in the middle of…"

"Well isn't this a surprise just the kind of person I was looking for!"

Key and TPB turned to where the voice emanated only for Key to be shocked to see it was Rina. Walking around with her pet Houndoom Flamer, the Admin greeted one of the Betas under her.

The girl was dressed as a school girl wearing a white uniform jacket, white top and black ribbon with a red checkered skirt, white knee-high socks and brown loafers. She also had a pale blue barrette on the back of her hair.

"Ugh, Rina what are you talking about?" Key wondered what his superior would want from him.

Rina chose to ignore his question and grab his left hand. "I'll talk on the way, my usual escort couldn't get online and I was about to message for a nearby Admin Guard but a Beta will do as well."

Key felt himself be dragged but before Rina could pull him completely another hand grabbed his right hand.

"I'm sorry, but Key already agreed to help me with something." TPB said in a polite voice; however, if you listened closer you can hear some of it was forced.

"Well I need him to help me with a small assignment, I'm sure you can ask someone else." Rina said as she tugged the chibi Key in her direction.

"But I was going to as Key my request; he didn't give me his answer yet." TPB pulled chibi Key in her direction.

"Look I'm sure a nice Admin Guard can help with whatever you need."

"You said you were about to summon an Admin Guard to help with your assignment."

"Why would I need to call one now when a Beta is right here?"

"But I called him first so he has to help me."

All throughout the argument they were playing tug-a-war with a small chibi Key who was stretched in both directions. Anime tears fell from his eyes as he tried to think of a way out of the situation.

'How do I get out of this mess?' He thought to himself.

"Hey listen, I…" The Beta tried to say.

"Well I guess there is only one way to decide this." Rina said suddenly.

"Yes I agree." TPB said also.

The two dropped the chibi Key, who landed hard on the ground and glared at each other.

"I usually wouldn't think of violence to solve a problem," Rina stopped a bit to chuckle at her own joke. "But it seems like you won't back down."

"Whatever you have to do shouldn't be much of a problem for an Admin; you should be able to do it yourself." TPB said. "Though it seems you don't want to try and find out for yourself."

A tick mark appeared on the back of Rina's head but it went about unnoticed. "Well then, let's put an end to this conflict now."

"I agree wholeheartedly," TPB said.

A crowd seemed to have gathered around, as most of the male players wanted to see if a cat fight would occur. Tension filled the air as the two glared at each other. They both looked like they were about to grab their weapons until they both yelled out:

"Key, who do you want to help out?!"

They both waited not hearing an answer. The two turned to look at the Beta only to see what appeared to be a dust cloud fading in the breeze. In the distance Key was panting as he had ran away from the two when they were too focused on the other.

"A little girl trouble?" A voice asked out of curiosity.

"You could say that," Key looked at his speaker and then froze for a bit. "Hey you wouldn't happen to be…"

"**Key!"**

"**Key!"**

The keyblade wielder jumped an instead of finishing his question he continued to run in pursuit of shelter. The figure moved out of the street avoiding two yelling girls.

"Key get back here!"

"You have to make a decision!"

The figure just looked with confusion before tilting his head. He then turned around and walked away.

"I wonder what that was about, oh well; I wonder what kind of items are on this side of the festival."

**(Scene Change)**

Time had passed and a bell rang signaling the end of the festival. All around Tokyo City, booths were closing or disappeared altogether. The festivities began to die down as the moon chuckling in the center of the sky began to fade back to a familiar silver sphere.

In front of Kurotsubasa the team returned but with various different expressions. They all looked at each other with nervous chuckles.

Ravena and Illu, along with their pets, had nervous looks because they had small patches of chocolate all over them. Key had a tired expression as it looked like his outfit was beaten up and he had claw marks on various parts of his body. DB had a grin showing that he enjoyed the night and finally Bella had the looked that showed she pranked masses of people.

"So who wins the pot?" DB asked, though they all know the answer.

Each one of them had forgotten the reason for the mass searched as they ended up not finding a hair of their leader.

"That would be me."

They all turned to see a figure they all seen during the night.

"Shinigami?" Illu asked in confusion.

The death used a (now human) hand to turn his mask to the side. Everyone was shocked to see Shadow behind the mask.

"You know seeing all that happened I'm a little disappointed." Shadow said.

They began to yell out excuses only for Shadow to dismiss them.

"Like I said I saw partly of what happened and I'm willing to let this year slide." Shadow said with a smirk. "You all look like you enjoyed the festival, well except for Key."

"Don't remind me," Key said as he got teary-eyed.

"So we just get our Munny back and…"

"Last I checked none of you found me, meaning you all lost the bet." Shadow said.

"You knew about the bet too?" DB asked.

"You would be surprised at all I saw this night, I'm sure Grim's lying down somewhere after his shadow got in trouble with a crowd of school girls." Shadow then took all the munny they put in for the bet.

"I'm sure this is enough to pay for all the damages Bella caused last night." Shadow said.

"It was so worth it." Bella said with a smile.

"You should have invited me nya, magic and horrors go well together!" Ravena complained.

"Regardless, the event over and it's getting late." Shadow said. "Let's call it a night."

They all logged out knowing that at least they all had the memories of the best Halloween ever.

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><p><strong>Well that is the end, I would add more but I think I crossed the amount of length filler has to be. This is my little gift to everyone that stayed with the idea for this long; it never would have got this popular without all of you. So continue to review and I will continue to get the spark back to finish up the first arc.<strong>

**Now here, like I promise, are the various polls:**

**Harems: Yes or No? If yes then what pairings? (P.S. I'll post up an official pairing list later for everyone that doesn't know the pairings or has forgotten. The list may appear in the Deviantart page first.)**

**FFW: Should I make it appear more like a game (Add game mechanics more) or keep it as it is?**

**Don't forget to look over your characters and send me any changes or add ons you want when I start the rewrite. Also I think I might add honorifics in the rewrite, I haven't decided but send your thoughts.**

**Later everyone and here's a list of all the players and costumes just for those who didn't know or couldn't guess.**

**Shadow: Shinigami (Soul Eater)**

**Bella: Deadpool (DC Comics)**

**Key: Riku (Kingdom Hearts)**

**Illu: Chrome Dokuro (Katekyo Hitman Reborn)**

**Ravena: Taokaka (Blazblue)**

**DB: Alucard (Hellsing)**

**Cast: Collete Brunel (Tales of Symphonia)**

**Leon: Hakumen (Blazblue)**

**Naenia: Ran Mao (Black Butler)**

**Rose: Rin Toshaka (Fate/Stay Night)**

**Turquoise Peanut Butter: Lucy Heartfilia**

**RinaMelody: Kanade Tachibana (Angel Beats)**


	19. Chapter 16: The Darkness and The Light

**Hello everyone and welcome to the next chapter. One or two chapters away from finishing the arc and I mean that because I am basically adding as much to each chapter as I can. This chapter would have been uploaded earlier if a small Thanksgiving mishap hasn't happened. Either way it's up or I hope you all enjoy it.**

**Announcements:**

** I'll be working on the wikia page, updating it so that it is consistent to what has happened. I also might be adding some spoilers so be on the lookout for that (of course wikia were created for the purpose of spoilers). Everyone seems happy with the fic (which I am happy for) the rewrite will probably only be minor but I'll still work on that as well. This is the last opportunity to send any changes to your character; after the next chapter is up I won't be making any changes.**

** Also FFW finally got its own theme! (Insert cheers and applause) Everyone has Ravena Felidae to thank as she made us this gift that I uploaded on to YouTube. All it needs is a name and some lyrics and we are good to go! Let's see if anyone can come up with something clever! Search up Fanfiction World Opening Instrumental or search for my channel **_**Shadowlight0982**_** (original I know). If anyone wants their character uploaded with their theme of choice feel free to ask.**

**Reviews:**

** Going to keep this short since everyone seemed to love the holiday filler, I don't really plan to make it a big deal but I suppose I can try and write more. Thanksgiving has passed through, though Christmas is around the corner so expect a filler for that holiday.**

** Now that everything has been taken care of…ON WITH THE SHOW!**

* * *

><p>"FFW"-Speech<p>

'FFW'-Thought

'_FFW'-Flashback_

"**FFW"-Attacks**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any reference to any anime/game/show/book, etc. that appears in this story. I own the original plot (at least I hope its original) and my own characters and OC's. All other characters and references belong to their original creators.**

* * *

><p><strong>(Recap)<strong>

_"O…ok then, what could possibly be our final Final round…Shadow vs. Renchard vs. Amaterasuice. What might happen, no one has a clue."_

_"Let's get the games started then." Kyoto said nervously. "Ready…FIGHT!"_

**(Start)**

As soon as the call sounded through the air Shadow was already in front of the blond boy with his scythe raised. Amaterasuice kept his smirk as he brought up his sword to guard him before the blade could carve its way into his jugular. The lieutenant of CHAOS was suppressing a laugh as he stared into the Dark One's hate filled eyes.

"A little eager to start, aren't you the type to let your opponent deal the first move?" Amaterasuice mocked his opponent.

"Shut up, unlike you I'm not treating this like a game; I'm going to break this barrier down." Shadow continued their clash.

"You'll have to beat me first, maybe you should…"

**Silver Storm!**

The two had to jump away to avoid the needles that were now embedded where they once stood. A giant blade of steel sweep where Amaterasuice landed as he kept his eyes on both of his opponents, seeing Renchard now raising his zanbatou the boy smirked.

"I forgot I have two opponents for this fight, sorry if I didn't give you the attention you deserve." Amaterasuice sent his regards.

**(Play All Hail (Vegeta's Theme))**

Shadow was about to charge again but spikes of silver rose from the ground forcing him to stop. Renchard allowed the silver to liquefy and return to him. The scythe user looked towards Renchard with a mixture of anger and confusion.

"I don't know what you're planning but forget about the tournament I have…"

"You don't have to do anything." Renchard interrupted him as he rested the pole of his massive sword on his shoulders. "You only need to worry about us finishing our fight after I deal with him."

"Renchard right, I can only guess the reasons why you entered this tournament, but now you expect me to just sit around and watch while the lives of one of my friends are at stake?!" Shadow allowed some of his temper to show.

"You're right, I have special reasons to enter the tournament," Images of Renchard's sister on her hospital bed flowed through his head. The fighter then took his zanbatou and pointed it towards Amaterasuice. "He is getting in the way of that, first I will send this unworthy fighter to the next world…"

Renchard then took a glance towards Shadow. "Then I defeat you and take the prize so that I can fulfill my promise." A seal faintly appeared on the zanbatou but it went unnoticed.

**(All Hail ends)**

Amaterasuice's laugh got both of the players' attention. The insane fighter looked at the two with an amused grin. "Unworthy you say, well I never really participated in the tournament to begin with so we wouldn't see if I would make it this far. However, it will take more than an alchemist swinging a giant sword to be enough of a challenge to me."

**(Play Two weeks by All that remains)**

"We'll see about that!" Renchard then charged with the large sword raised to disembowel the arrogant player.

Amaterasuice duck to avoid decapitation and raised his sword to pierce through the sword user. Before the blade could reach flesh it was knocked off course by a sliver marble and passed through the air harmlessly. Renchard brought his blade around and slashed it downwards; Amaterasuice dodged but was sent back by the shockwave produced by the massive weapon. The boy skidded across the stage as he observed the crater the mass of steel left in the marble arena.

"Well you do have some skill; this might be fun after all!" Amaterasuice chuckled.

"There you go thinking that this is a game." The voice was followed by a flash of light as Shadow's scythe went through Amaterasuice separating his torso from his legs. Shadow flicked the blood of his blade as the two parts of Amaterasuice fell to the ground.

The arena went silent as it appeared that the threat was easily defeated. Renchard picked up the marble he had used to block the madman's blade as he walked towards the corpse. "I thought I said I would handle him while you would stay back."

"You really expected me to stand and watch; besides it will take more than cutting him in two it seems." Shadow said as he readied himself.

"What do you mean, you killed him didn't you?" Renchard asked confusedly.

"Look again,"

Following Shadow's suggestion the two watched as the pieces of Amaterasuice slowly reattached themselves back together on the ground. Using his sword as a stand, the CHAOs member rose to his feat though he did cough up a few globs of blood.

"Didn't think I would be killed so easily, now that would take all the fun out of this," The boy wiped the remains of blood from his lips and then looked to his opponents. "Attack me separately or together it will not matter."

"Is he an immortal type?" Renchard asked as he grabbed hold of his zanbatou.

"Maybe but there has to be a catch to it." Shadow answered. "Regardless, question him after we defeated him?"

"Let me ask you both a question, how do you kill an immortal?" Amaterasuice asked them jokingly. "You don't you either remove their source of power or entertain them."

"Entertain," Shadow's eyes narrowed as his anger built up when he said that word.

"Yes, entertain me enough that I don't want to kill you or so that I spare your lives. Give me a good fight and I'll drop the barrier and release your friend." Amaterasuice brought out a second sword.

"This barrier will fall and not because you were entertain…" Shadow raised his scythe and began to build energy. "You forgot another way to kill an immortal."

"Oh really and what have I forgotten?" Amaterasuice asked though he noticed the building of power and the aura around Shadow he made no movement to dodge the imminent attack.

Renchard feeling the pressure in the air moved back so not to get caught in the crossfire. When he got a safe distance away he saw a faint image appear around Shadow's scythe. The scythe user looked with contempt as he finished charging his technique.

"You destroy them until no traces are left!"

**Witch Hunter!**

The ethereal crescent slashed through the stage as it continued its journey towards its target. Amaterasuice held his two swords in a defensive stance as he tried to stop the path of destruction. As he held the attack at bay he saw Shadow now wielding a much larger, crimson red version of the attack.

The moon laughed wickedly along Shadow's weapon as he held the dark power. He held nothing back as he finished his two pronged attack.

**Lunar Destroyer!**

The massive slash combined with its counterpart causing Amaterasuice to stagger as he fought against the twin arcs. The attack pushing him slowly along the stage as he tried to push back against the assault, Renchard watched as he tried to fight against the attack that would most likely end the tyrant.

'If that move connects Shadow could destroy his soul, I better help speed this along.' Renchard reached into his vest and pulled out a deck of cards.

As Amaterasuice held his ground he was about to push back until he felt a chilling sensation, he slowly glanced down to his legs and saw them frozen in a block of ice along with two cards. As if to answer his thoughts another card flew around the attack and close to his arm, releasing water from the face before it froze in a flash of light.

'Shadow hasn't shown to have any of these, and the way the water freezes…' Amaterasuice thought as the ice worked against him allowing the attack to break through. "Alchemy," The boy spoke just as he was caught in an explosion.

**(Two weeks by All that remains ends)**

"Whoa now, in a mock attempt at teamwork Renchard held the bastard still as Shadow's attack finished him. I don't know much about immortal types but I do know that an attack can still hurt if enough damage is done!" Plugman made more commentary on the battle.

"But was it enough, from where we are all sitting the barrier still stands, is it a delayed reaction?" Kyoto asked as everyone watched anxiously for the smoke to clear.

**(Kurotsubasa)**

"So what happened now Key is the barrier going down at all nya?" Ravena asked the Beta as he went to work scanning the field and the barrier.

"I don't know, I'm still having trouble against the barrier but at least it's not draining Illu's soul for now. What all that I can see it must do it in intervals or…" Key tried to explain.

"Illu been resisting, maybe there's a chance for her to break out!" Bella yelled as she once again tried to break though the field around their booth.

"She may be fighting but if she fights too hard she could use up too much energy from her soul. There's not much we can do but have to trust Shads." DB said.

"How can someone like Chaos organize a barrier like this, I don't think anyone has this level of hacking skills." Key typed more along his terminal as he tried again to release the barrier.

"What do you mean?" DB asked.

"A hack as big as this, where it is holding so many players captive would have been brought to the Admin's attention right now. So either CHAOS has completely bypassed the security around the system or…"

**(Scene Change)**

"Dammit, there's someone on the inside!" Rina yelled as she once again tried to get communications through to the Analyst.

"Inside, someone in the Admin is doing this?" Cast asked as she heard her cousin swear.

"CHAOS may have created this barrier, but someone at the Admin is making sure that the barrier can't be touched." Rina went back to work. "Hell is going to be full by the time I'm done finding out who the mole inside headquarters is."

"That might be another reason for blocking communications; it would explain why no one could log out." Cast realized. "Can you bring it down from here?"

"From a terminal like this, forget it. You need to be at an Admin terminal to try and take this thing down." Rina looked at the battle in anger. "Great and the troubles continue."

**(Tournament Stage)**

**(Play DBZ Ultimate Tenkaichi-Evil Desires)**

The smoke cleared and the two fighters saw that Amaterasuice was still standing. He brushed off the remains of the ice as he examined his blades; both had large nicks in the blade but nothing that he was concerned for. Amaterasuice sheathed his most damaged one only keeping a single sword.

"That was clever; I would be surprised if you didn't plan that." Amaterasuice mocked them. "Sorry to say but my soul is a little bit too strong for an attack like that to be any effective."

"I forget people like you have no souls…pity guess I'll have to switch to more damaging methods." Shadow said.

"I don't think anything we have now will be of any use at this point." Renchard said. "At the state we are now this battle will be drawn out and that's something you want to avoid am I right?" He asked the black clad scythe meister.

Shadow stayed silent but the let the blade of his scythe hit the ground as he held up his right hand. "Normally I don't believe on going all out in the first few moments of a battle, but I'm willing to make an exception in order to end this."

"Right behind you," Renchard held his zanbatou and thrusts the steel giant into the ground. He kept both hands on the pole as he began to concentrate.

"No more planning, not attempts to make me fight sloppy, you're just going to charge in?" Amaterasuice began with a barrage of questions. "This isn't anything like my research said at all."

"I guess your research is a bit flawed then, however let me add something to your so called research." Shadow growled as the shell on his glove opened to show a glowing gem.

"**Restriction 666 released"**

A seal appeared on the blade of the zanbatou as a dark aura formed around the blade and its master. Renchard's dark brown eyes shone a faint ominous violet as the aura began to flow into him.

"Transformations huh," Renchard rhetorically asked as he felt power pour out from the two, both giving off an evil presence in the air. Seithr and reiki seemed to battle for dominance as the reluctant duo continued to charge their power. "Well if they want a serious battle, who am I to ignore their request am."

"**Dimensional Interference field deployed!" **Shadow continued his call as raw seithr formed around him as he summoned the dark powers of the Azure. He felt two more powers growing from Renchard and Amaterasuice but he though nothing as he allowed some of his emotion to feed the beast he was unleashing.

'Who would have thought I would be using the grimoire to this level, I'll have to finish this quick I'm sure that I'm pushing this too far.' Shadow felt something stir inside him but focused only on controlling the Black Beast's form. A dark blood red aura cloaked his body, though it solidified around his right arm forming a large beastlike claw.

Renchard grunted as he felt the darkness beginning to cloud his mind, the only thin stopping him from going on a rampage was the thought of his goal. The Goddess's power rose from him as Kusanagi's seal glowed along his sword. 'Have to overcome, with this I can end this pointless battle and face my true opponent.'

A pulse of power came from Amaterasuice adding to the power struggle that filled the air. The power all three were emitting was taking effect on the crowd as some had trouble breathing as oxygen was replaced with raw intent. A glowing seal crept from Amaterasuice's neck and began to spread across his body, the boy's sinister smile remained as the curse mark fueled his growing madness.

"**Blazblue…ACTIVATE!"**

That call broke the dam as all three allowed their power to explode forward. Three pillars of power rose from the arena and hit the barrier, physically showing their strength. The winds died down and the pillars of light faded revealing the contenders to the crowd.

Shadow's jacket fluttered in the wind as he was enveloped in a dark aura, his right eye glow red and his right arm changed dramatically. While the aura was dark and ethereal the arm was a solid mass of energy in the shape of a large bestial claw. Shadow held his scythe in his normal arm as he raised his transformed limb to get into a stance.

Renchard also glowed with a dark aura only it was an ominous black as opposed to the Blazblue's blood red aura. His zanbatou had another layer of power around it with Kusanagi's seal now visible.

The heaven's curse mark finished encroaching across Amaterasuice's skin and was now active. The corrosive purple chakra that flowed from the seal invaded the air for an instant only to fade away. His smirk turned into a grin as he looked at his two opponents.

"**Well now, let's begin" **Amaterasuice beckoned them both to start. The two warriors were silent but then clashed into his single blade as a loud shockwave tore through the air.

The shockwave hit the stands as wind and pressure passed through all of the captive audience. After the clash it quickly turned into a battle.

**Hell's Fang!**

Instead of the normal burst of darkness, a large snake head formed over Shadow's claw. Amaterasuice block only for Shadow to turn his punch into a slash that tore through his body. The boy coughed out blood but was still standing as he pushed Shadow back. Amaterasuice was about to prepare an attack until a wave of light tore off his arm and sent his sword flying.

Renchard then charged forward with water particles forming around him. The member of CHAOS tried to escape only to be flash frozen. Renchard then powered up his blade until it was truly a massive blade of light, he pulled his sword forward and thrusts.

**Ruin Thrust!**

A blast of power broke the ice and left Amaterasuice with a massive hole in his stomach. Before he could register the pain Shadow then appeared with his scythe filled to the brim with seithr. Shadow glared at him with glowing eyes as he prepared his Astral Heat.

**Black Onslaught! Black Zagam!**

With his scythe raised he began slashing through the already broken child. Orbs of soul energy flew from Amaterasuice's body and into the grimoire allowing the attack to grow in power. Shadow's form became shrouded in energy as he entered a demonic form.

**Nightmare Rage!**

The scythe now appeared as a draconic wing, red eyes peered into Amaterasuice's soul as Shadow bought down the scythe for the final attack.

**Destruction!**

After the final slash Amaterasuice was blown back by the force of the Azure. The grimoire closed and the aura vanishes as Shadow held his limb weakened by the final move. Looking at the beaten body Renchard began to power down.

**(DBZ Ultimate Tenkaichi-Evil Desires end)**

"Unbelievable that had to be the craziest clash that I have ever seen, immortal or not he is NOT getting up after that!" Plugman yelled.

"A hole through his chest and his body slashed apart, not to mention having his soul slowly sucked out

'There isn't many that can survive an Astral Heat, this fight is over.' Renchard then faltered and used his sword to brace himself from falling over.

Shadow was panting for air as he dropped his weapon to nurse his pain filled arm. 'I had to put all I had into that last move…surely that's enough.'

**(Audience)**

"It's done, that's a full power Astral Heat, and nothing can get up after that." Rose said confidently as she stood from her seat.

"From the amount of soul energy taken even an immortal would have trouble getting up." Grim said. "We'll just have to wait for…"

"I'm afraid there's more to come, this battle isn't over yet." Grim and Rose turned around to see ROM sitting over them.

"What are you talking about; immortality can only do so much and he may not be able to heal the battle is over." Rose said once again.

"Perhaps but tell me this…" ROM said knowingly.

**(Kurotsubasa)**

"Why is the barrier still up?!" Key yelled as he saw the barrier still active.

"It's still up, even after he was torn apart?" DB asked.

"They may have set a machine but he's the one that set up the barrier, it should have faded when he was defeated." Key continued to look at his terminal. "The barrier is still up and nothing has change."

"I wouldn't say that guys," Bella then pointed to the point that housed Illu's soul.

The ball of light shined a bit brighter and trails of energy flew from the ball to the barrier. The guild watched as the barrier began to react with Illu's soul and began to glow brighter along with the stage.

"This magic, it's almost like the forbidden magic." Ravena said as she held Punnya close.

"Punnya~~, Nya?" Punnya whined until she noticed movement in the stage that wasn't the three fighters. While everyone was focused on the stage Punnya focused on a familiar white blur.

**(Admin Booth)**

"This guy just doesn't quit," Rina then slammed a hand down on her portable terminal. "To think that someone human came up with this barrier, it's insane and immoral"

"What's happening Rina, why is the barrier not going down?" Cast asked her more tech-savvy cousin.

"That guy has more things keeping him alive than his immortality, that last combination almost finished him." Rina answered.

"And the barrier?" Cast reminded her.

Rina stayed silent for a bit and then raised her head with a grim expression. "What that boy just did was use almost half of the barrier's energy to regenerate."

**(Tournament Stage)**

"Are you kidding me?" Shadow asked as he saw the barrier shine much harsher.

"The barrier should be destroyed, what is happening?" Renchard looked around and observed the barrier.

"Well I would say this is the tenth time I have brushed death."

"Bastard" Shadow snarled and turned around only to be shocked at what he saw.

"Such language, I thought we were supposed to keep our T-rating." A disembodied voice spoke from the growing pile of Amaterasuice's remains. Streams of energy poured from the barrier and into his wounds, his limbs attached themselves and the holes sealed themselves. After a moment he wiped the blood from his lip.

"Any who that was really effective, I hope that wasn't all you two have?" Amaterasuice smiled and looked to the weakened fighters.

'I poured all I had into that attack and he shrugs it off…no there's got to be something else.' Shadow began to think as he tried to ready himself.

"There you go again" Shadow stayed silent but was inwardly confused when his enemy said those words. Amaterasuice sighed and now looked at the black clad warrior with disappointment. "Focusing too much on thinking instead of acting."

"What are you going on about?" Shadow asked as he picked up his scythe.

"If you had really used all you had I wouldn't be standing here would I?" The psychopath asked.

"I've had enough of this talk," Renchard then charged forward ignoring Shadow's warning.

Amaterasuice snapped his fingers and the alchemist were struck from behind. Renchard's eyes were open with confusion as he wondered what had attacked him.

"See while that required some planning I don't allow my plan to block out my instinct." Amaterasuice explained as a snake slithered over towards him. The boy then looked to the downed Renchard. "My friend here injected you with a small amount of poison, you won't die but you won't be moving for a while."

"Damn you" Renchard tried to rise to his feet only to feel the stiffness of his limbs as he failed. Amaterasuice smiled as the snake changed into the sword he had carried.

"Shadow why are you fighting this battle right now?" Amaterasuice asked.

"To save my friend and every here from your boss's plan." Shadow said.

"That's good…now stop lying to yourself." Amaterasuice said when he saw Shadow's confused expression, he then chose to continue. "That's what you tell yourself in your mind right, but what you really want is to kill me."

That explanation made Shadow's eyes widen before he regain a stoic look. "Trust me I plan on killing you but what makes you think I'm lying to myself?"

The blond haired boy let out a laugh before he went back to his explanation. "You may word it so that it sounds noble but let's be real; I took something from you so you want to destroy me."

"My friends aren't possessions!" Shadow yelled back.

"Even so, though if you are doing it for them why not use your full power?" Amaterasuice asked.

"If you're talking about the Wings you can forget it, I can hardly figure out how it works as it is." Shadow said.

"As interesting as the Wings are I'm talking about your **true** power." The boy said in a dark tone. The tattoos of the Curse mark flashed in color as to mimic its user's voice.

Shadow stayed silent, glaring at his opponent hoping he would die from just his vision alone. The boy continued as he found amusement in Shadow's glare.

"I may not look like it but I am a bit of a scientist, I did my fair share of research on all of the best candidates in this tournament." The boy continued.

"Candidate?" This time it was Shadow who asked the question.

"Yes, candidates for my research, little subjects that I can dissect all day for my experiments. This place was a goldmine as many strong potential rats were already here, though you were the prize." His mood then turned sour. "At least you would be if you stop holding back."

"I'm not holding anything back, I used everything in that last move and it was enough to keep you down until you used this barrier to reform." Shadow reminded him.

"But I bet if you could you would have destroyed me until nothing remained." At that Shadow stayed silent; Amaterasuice shook his head. "You think too much, you use too much reason in your action that it blocks out your instincts."

"Does the name Ground Zero mean anything to you?" Shadow was shocked when he asked him that question. "Oh yes you know, the event that wiped out an entire AREA, reduced it all to rubble; a once tall standing stadium now a lowly crater." He continued.

"Let's not forget the best part…" Amaterasuice then pointed to Shadow. "The one who destroyed that area and all the life in it are standing in front of us right now."

There were gasps in the crowd as they listened with confusion and fear. Bangs fell over Shadow's eyes blocking them from view as Amaterasuice continued his verbal attack.

"You have the power to end this but you choose not to, why? For a whole stadium of people you don't know? For the few that you do?" The boy then chuckled. "Is it because you can't or because you won't?"

"That's it, I have enough of this!" Shadow charged forward though people could easily see he was still weakened from the Black Onslaught. Amaterasuice simply sidestepped the slashes as they were two slow to hit him.

"Pathetic, all pathetic" He whispered.

**(Kurotsubasa)**

The guild was silent hearing the whole conversation from the stage. The group could only watch as their leader swung aimlessly against the small devil that was Amaterasuice. A few of them had looks of confusion while others had blank looks.

"What's he talking about, isn't Ground Zero a myth?" DB asked.

"I've heard stories but they are all different, what is Ground Zero?" Bella asked though it seemed no one wanted to answer.

Ravena stood silent watching the battle though she was also preoccupied with something else. 'Shadow is the cause behind Ground Zero, how did that happen?' Ravena thought.

"**He probably is holding something back, or at least he was." **Felis spoke. 'What are you talking about nya?' Felidae asked.

Felis huffed as she watched the already losing battle. **"It happened years ago but I can still remember the large blast that turned everything to dust and ash, the wave of darkness that swallowed all in its way." **The other personality reminisced. **"All of that seemed to be sealed within your boy toy out there."**

'Get to the point already!' Felidae yelled too embarrassed to add her usual feline tick. Felis smirked but chose to continue. **"Point is if Shadow was the one to destroy a whole area a simple person shouldn't too hard, but the problem is he has done nothing to make me believe he has that power."**

'Power or not I don't like where this is going, if this keeps up we could lose Shads and…' Ravena ended her conversation when she saw a blur of white.

"Great as if this wasn't enough" Key grumbled as the power from Illu's soul seemed to drain again. "What's going to happen now?" He then looked from his terminal to the match.

**(Audience)**

In the midst of the terrified crowd Rose and Grim sat silently. The demon weapon leaned back and then addressed his former teammate. "Rose, I have heard a lot of things about Ground Zero, is what he said true?"

Rose still watched the fight but answered the bounty hunter's question. "I wouldn't know if anything I haven't heard of Ground Zero until I was by myself. Maybe it happened back when Shadow was still…"

"Still what?" Grim asked.

"Nothing" Rose said as she pictured how different Shadow was now since the time they separated. "All I know is that whatever they are talking about we don't want to see."

"Still all of this just to reveal whatever Shadow is hiding?" ROM asked the obvious question.

"And I bet you know all about it don't you?" Grim asked the Beta.

"My knowledge is legendary though there are some things that I have yet to learn, what caused Ground Zero was one of the things I never found out." The Beta answered. "Now we know the source is Shadow, yet how is still what I want to know."

"You are better off not knowing." The two turned to Rose whose eyes were glued to the match. "It's best that you stay away from things that were kept hidden for a reason you nosy bookkeeper."

"While you say nosy I say curious, hmm maybe we'll learn what Shadow's power is soon." ROM said. All three were silent as a scream tore through the air, Rose did her best to hide it but she turned her eyes away from the stadium, a long tear falling from her brown eye.

**(Tournament Stage)**

Renchard continued to curse as he could only watch. The poison still in his veins as it restricted all his movement yet left him with the pain. He wanted to reach to his zanbatou to reuse the seal only for the pain to shoot back through his system.

'To think it all ends because of a lousy snake,' Renchard cursed himself for letting his guard down. He looked to see his weakened ally swinging wildly. 'Even if those were to connect there is no power behind those strikes, we've lost…Sis I'm sorry I failed.'

Elsewhere on the stadium Amaterasuice sighed and then caught the scythe bare handed. Shadow tried to pull his weapon back only to a sword brush against his lung as it pierced his body.

"All that power and potential and nothing to show for it, too think I was interested in dissecting you before…you are the same as all the others, you talk big but can't back up your words…or in your case too afraid."

Shadow was silent as pain replaced all feeling; he only glared as Amaterasuice continued his rant.

"You let your own fear hold you back and in turn you hold back your true power. I don't even care about what you were hiding now, as it turns out you are just a drop of water in this ocean of weaklings." Amaterasuice twisted his blade and took small comfort in Shadow's pain.

"Look at yourself now because of your fear, too weak to save your friend's soul, too weak to put up a decent fight, and too weak to even make this entertaining anymore." Holding up his free hand black flames generated from his palm until he held a basketball sized fireball.

"The goal was to amuse me…and you failed." The boy grimly stated as his pale blue eyes were replaced with the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

**Blaze Release**

The whole arena heard Shadow's scream as the black flames enveloped his form. The flames faded and left a burnt Shadow flying towards the end of the stage. He lay still, moving only slightly showing he wasn't unconscious.

"I…I can't believe it…it seems like our only hope was get cut down and then sent to a burning end. Is this really happening; is this how it all ends?" Plugman asked as the stadium was quiet, as if grieving over what they just saw.

Everyone was silent seeing the player lying defeated on the ground. Amaterasuice looked to Shadow's direction with a small disappointed look.

"I think I understand why you have the Wings now, because you would be weak without them. It's a shame that you can't set aside your fears or access the Wings' power."Amaterasuice mocked him more before turning to Renchard.

"I would dissect you but you aren't even worth it."Amaterasuice said and began to slowly walk towards his remaining target.

Before he could get closer walls seemed to rise and entrap the curse powered warrior. He broke down the walls to see a glowing Mukurowl flying in the air.

"The winged rat lives, what rock did you crawl from?" Amaterasuice asked amusedly. "Come to avenge your master?"

The owl hooted what seemed to be an insult but flew around him towards Shadow. The CHAOS member smirked only to watch an apparition appear next to the pet. The ghost then willed the black flames away and seemed to try and heal Shadow's body.

"Really girl, should you truly be wasting your soul on something as hopeless as that?"

**(Kurotsubasa)**

"Shadow!" DB screamed from the booth.

"Shads get up!" Bella yelled as she continued to bang against the barrier.

"Shadow you have to get up!" Ravena added.

"Punnya!" Punnya meowed with the cat girl.

"This can't be happening, it can't end like this. Get up Shadow!" Key yelled.

**(Admin Booth)**

"I didn't think I would ever see Shadow fall like this." Cast said as she looked sadly at the battlefield.

"We can only expect so much of him." Rina brought up her screen and keyed in on Shadow. "He doesn't have much energy left; even if that last attack didn't kill him I can't see him standing much chance. Even with his ghostly girlfriend helping it's still iffy."

"There wasn't much chance he could last against an Admin Guard Captain but he succeeded in that." Cast brought up. "I don't know how, but I feel this battle isn't over yet."

Rina looked at his cousin before going back to her screen and worked on the barrier. "Well if you're sure he can somehow get back up from that we can only watch and see if you're right."

**(Audience)**

"This is the end." Grim said.

"This can't be it; he shouldn't be losing like this!" Rose argued.

"The fact that he hasn't died is a miracle in itself, he would need another miracle if he wants to win." Grim said. Doppelman was just glued to the battle.

Rose turned from the bounty hunter and back to the battle. 'Get up, get you bastard! I won't forgive you if you lose here.'

**(Tournament Stage)**

Shadow was barely conscious as his vision began to fade. He saw black edge from the corners of his eyes and saw his vision haze.

'Is this it? I'm really going to lose…when someone needs me most?'

**(Play Kingdom Hearts OST: Vector to the Heavens)**

**(Unknown Location)**

Suddenly he found himself standing on his feet instead of lying on the ground. He looked around before hearing thunder as he looked up to a crowded sky. He turned to his surroundings again.

"I'm in my mindscape, how did that happen?"

_Shadow_

A voice called from above him, Shadow was shocked to see a ghostly form of Illu floating above him. His shock was later replaced with regret as he looked to the ghost sadly. "I'm sorry, guess I wasn't strong enough to save you."

_You have to get up Shadow, you can still fight we all believe in you_

"Even with the world behind me, he is right…I'm too weak to defeat him." Shadow glanced to the item around his wrist. "I wield the most powerful item in the world; ironically I'm one of the weakest around."

The ghost shook her head. _You are one of the strongest I know, Wings of Creation or not you always find a way to win. Everyone is waiting for you to save them; you still have your promise. _After those words the ghost vanished leaving Shadow alone.

"My promise…even if I could get back up what's stopping me from getting my ass kicked again?"

A roar got his attention and he turned around to see a large silhouette behind him. He could see nothing past the darkness of its form but he did see six large glowing red eyes. Instead of a typical reaction a normal person would give the monstrous being Shadow just looked with a solid glare.

"What are you doing out, you were sealed a long time ago." Shadow asked the creature.

"**A woman appeared before the cage and broke us free." **A voice spoke.

'Could that be Illu…no she has never been in my mind nor has any techniques that would allow her to.' Shadow thought. 'Kusanagi'

"**You cannot run away forever." **A different voice now spoke.

"**You need our power." **A third voice spoke.

Shadow continued to glare at the creature. "I don't need to use that power; I just need to wake up and save Illu on my own, with my power alone!"

"**Then you have no reason not to use this power."**

"**We are a part of you; our power is your power."**

"**With this power you can rescue the girl and destroy all that stand in your way."**

Shadow didn't want to listen to anything else the voices had to say but he knew that he couldn't save Illu unless he used that old power. Thunder boomed from the clouds as they all stood in silence before Shadow spoke again.

"I said I would never use this power again…but…if I have no choice…"

**(Kingdom Hearts OST: Vector to the Heavens ends)**

**(Tournament Stage)**

The glow faded as the ghost vanished leaving Mukurowl on his own circling over Shadow's body. Amaterasuice paid him no more attention as he stood in front of Renchard as he watched the panting teen try to stand on his feet.

"I guess I can entertain myself with you a bit more, we still have a good hour before the barrier drains that girl." The two then felt a strong presence and looked around trying to determine where the power was coming from.

The psychotic teen then turned around. "Standing back up, don't think that girl's healing would be enough too…" He stayed silent as the power grew higher than ever before.

**(Play Three Days Grace: Time of Dying)**

Slowly rising to his feet surrounded by massive streams of energy was Shadow as he staggered to his feet. He lifted his head and now glared with two glowing red eyes.

"Interesting, so can you still fight?" Amaterasuice mocked the now standing player.

Shadow started with a walk before slowly going into a sprint. Darkness was forming around his hands as he soon disappeared in a flash. Amaterasuice eyes widen as Shadow appeared in front of him.

The darkness solidifies into two blades and in several slashes Shadow began to hack away at his enemy. Amaterasuice ,starting to get annoyed, then raised his blades to stop the two swords of darkness from slashing into his torso. The force of the impact sounded through the arena as Shadow was pushing the younger fighter with just raw power.

Amaterasuice tried to push back against the berserk player but a kick then sent him skidding across the marble ring. The swords disappeared as a ball of darkness formed in Shadow's hand and he fired it across the field.

The evil fighter decided to get serious and smacked the ball away with some difficulty and it flew off his hand and into the barrier. Amaterasuice saw his hand was smoking from the attack and looked to Shadow who was standing still with the chaotic black aura still flying erratically from his body.

'That power, is it from the Wings of Creation…no, this is all Shadow's power.'

Renchard was just watching as he kept his distance as best he could. The way he was now he wouldn't stand a chance against either and he didn't want to get caught in the crossfire.

'These two fighting, right now it's like I'm watching two demons rather than men fighting.'

**(Kurotsubasa)**

"What is happening nya?" Ravena asked as she was shivering, her tails rose up in surprise and a little fear. "What's happening to Shadow?"

"I don't know I've never seen Shads this way." Bella said as she watched the display.

DB said nothing at first but noticed Key had a slightly less surprised look on his face. "Key, do you have any idea what's going on? You look like you've seen this before."

"I haven't…" Key said. "At least I've never felt anything like this. I can say this…nothing about this feels like Shadow."

"What do you mean?" Ravena asked holding a scared Punnya.

"What is it Key, I mean yeah this aura feels off but it's still Shadow right?" Bella asked.

Key stayed silent as he went back to monitor the fight and the energy of the barrier. "I don't think this aura is screaming save Illu, it's more like pure untamed killing intent."

"So there's nothing complicated about it then." DB said. "He wants to destroy."

"Destroy the barrier, Chaos?" Bella asked.

"No" Ravena said. "…It's to destroy everything."

**(Admin Booth)**

"These readings, what are they?" Rina asked as he looked from the battle and to her screen. "This energy, what sort of power or technique is this?"

"Is this an original power, no we've seen all of Shadow's powers in the tournament." Cast said. "It's feels so dark, alive even…like it wants to swallow up everything."

"If this keeps up we may have to do an entire system shutdown this tournament is becoming too much of a risk." Rina returned to her task of trying to disable the barrier. "We don't Admin access inside this thing, why would they design it like this won't they not be able to escape as well?"

**(Audience)**

"Ahahahahaha, now this is the best entertainment yet." Chaos laughed as he sat on his perch. He leisured and enjoyed himself as he watched the two beast fight to the death. "This is a battle, no I take that back, this is a slaughter!"

**(Tournament Stage)**

A sword broke as Amaterasuice was sent across the stage bleeding with a new wound as he looked at the hilt of his broken sword. He tightened his grip on his snake sword and returned to the battle. The two clashed with blades as he tried to dodge the dual slashes, Amaterasuice smirked as his thrust pierced Shadow's arm but wasn't prepared for the pointblank blast of energy sending him back.

"This is entertaining, though the fact that I'm still alive is because of my special power. Speaking of power let's try this one out!" The curse mark surged as his eyes blared the Sharingan.

**Inferno Style!**

Shadow was charging recklessly and then stopped seeing the black flames shoots his way. With a roar a black and purple wind swirled around him like a shield and kept the flames of the sun goddess at bay. His eyes became red voids as he sent the wind outward carrying the flames with them.

Amaterasuice jumped to avoid the flurry of flames but soon Shadow appeared above him in a black blur and sent him crashing down with an axe kick. Renchard rolled out the way to avoid the destructive flames.

'It's like watching two demons fight, this is insane.' Renchard thought and soon felt movement in his limbs. Feeling the poison ware off he slowly stood as he held his own against the shockwaves of the two's battle.

'Maybe I can do something to end this; I hope that girl's seal still works after the last time.' He grabbed the hilt of his zanbatou remembering how it was enhanced a short time ago.

_(Flashback)_

_ Renchard didn't know how but soon he was in front of a throne room when a few minutes ago he was in the room the rest of Team Destiny led him to. Sitting on the throne he could barely see the person's characteristics but from the form he could tell it was female._

"_So you joined the tournament for the prize money…for your sister perhaps?" The woman's question startled him._

"_How did you know that?" Renchard asked as his caution grew._

"_I know many things, things that someone like you could comprehend, but this isn't about me it's about your wish isn't it?" He couldn't tell but he knew somehow that the woman was grinning at him._

"_If all those other guys call you Mistress then you must be powerful, all I need is the power to win this tournament to take down all those in my way to the finals." Renchard said._

_ The woman let out a small chuckle, "What you ask for is within my power, of course such things come at a price."_

"_Everything in this world has a price, but price doesn't matter as long as it helps save my sister!" Renchard said determined._

_ The figure gave him a mock silence as if thinking the request over, after a while he finally heard the answer. "Very well then, I will grant you the power you need…for a small favor." She spoke._

"_And what is that favor?" Renchard asked._

"_Oh you'll know when the time comes, now hold out your weapon." The woman then stood from her throne._

_ Renchard complied and held out his large blade in front of the goddess. The woman's form lit up as he could now see her clearly as her aura lit up the room: long silver colored hair, a black dress, and sinister gold eyes. Renchard's zanbato grew a black aura and the wielder soon felt a power flow through him, the rush then ended as a seal formed on the blade._

"_Three boosts, three limits…that is all you have, use that power wisely." The girl said. Before the boy could ask any questions he vanished as mysteriously as he appeared. Kusanagi sat back on her throne with a smile as she sent her latest toy out to be tested._

_(Flashback end)_

'I used up one burst when we all clashed; let's hope I just need this second one." Renchard then tried to concentrate on drawing power from the seal.

"Disappear!"

Amaterasuice skidded across the marble stadium. He wiped his lip and spit out a glob of blood into one of the few craters that littered the arena from their brawl. "Now this is entertainment, you really are different from all these other players! All of that power behind a simple façade of fear!"

"…disappear…disappear…" The dark fueled Shadow then vanished in another blur. He then appeared and had one blade stab through Amaterasuice's chest and another hand forming a ball of darkness.

"Disappear forever!"

Before the blow struck Amaterasuice kicked him away so that they both avoid a flying disk of destruction. The spinning zanbatou missed its mark and crashed out of the stadium, the seal across the blade disappearing as the power dropped.

Shadow's rage filled eyes then turned to a panting Renchard as wind formed around his hand. "You're in my way…begone!" A blast of dark wind blew Renchard out of the ring and against the solid walls of the stadium knocking him unconscious.

Shadow was about to charge again until Mukurowl got in the way and tried frantically to snap him out of his state of being. "You're in my way as well!" Shadow continued his charge and smacked Mukurowl out of his way and across the stage.

"Everyone…everything…all of it should just disappear" The darkness formed around Shadow again as he lost more control. **"Disappear forever!" **A massive shockwave tore through the stadium scaring the ground and kicking up wind.

Amaterasuice was smirking until it turned into a full faced grin as he saw Shadow forming a ball of energy in the air. As the darkness gathered he could only smile, "That's it show me all you have, show me the attack that destroys all in its wake. Show us all the power of Ground Zero!"

Mukurowl hooted weakly as he tried to fly back up only to fail. He looked over to his owner's soul as it weakened more and then forced himself up. The owl's eyes began to glow as he used all he had for a final allusion.

Two giant swirling balls of darkness rested in Shadow's hands before he slammed them together and held a massive sphere over his head. **"Everything vanish…Ground…"** His declarations stopped as images formed around him.

All of Kurotsubasa around him, smiling as they all were enjoying the few days without the usual job or chaos. Everyone laughing and smiling, he even himself amongst his teammates and friends as he watched the illusion.

Amaterasuice stood waiting wondering why he didn't finished until he saw the air waiver around his attacker. He looked and saw Mukurowl using all his power on the illusion he couldn't see. He glared as he held his snake blade.

"Stupid pest, don't get in the way of my research!" Amaterasuice dashed towards the pet. Mukurowl's eyes widen and he let go of the illusion as he feared his death. The blade fell and the sound of it meeting flesh filled the air.

**(Three Days Grace: Times of Dying end)**

Everyone opened their eyes as they heard the silence. They were all shocked as they watched with varied expressions but the ones who had smiles on their faces were Kurotsubasa. Mukurowl opened his eyes not feeling pain as he saw Shadow next to him holding the blade back with his bare hand. Shadow then threw the attacker back with all his strength sending him across the stage.

'What the hell, is the darkness…fading?' The boy asked himself as he saw the aura around Shadow fade.

The players red filled gaze returned to normal as he stood up straight, blood falling from his wrist from saving his comrade. "I should be ashamed resorting to use that and lose control…Mukurowl, thanks for pulling me back." Shadow said as he stood proudly, he previous form all but gone.

**(Admin Booth)**

"Now that power just vanished, what kind of monsters do you hang out with Cast?" Rina asked as she looked over all the data she had collected from the start of the battle to this point.

"Ones that know when it's time to stand up and fight back, we are about to witness something extraordinary today." Cast said cryptically.

"Again, I don't think my teenage heart can take more excitement." Rina said back.

**(Kurotsubasa)**

"Our Shads is back, it's all over now!" Bella cheered. "He probably has a way to end this whole fight now!"

"I hope he does, the barrier's almost through with Illu soul, 30 minutes left until it falls on its own taking her with it." Key said.

"This is Shadow we're talking about, he always finds a way." DB said confidently. "That little freak show sent chills down my spine but he had to be thinking of something while his body was on autopilot."

"Shadow-Kyun" Ravena said silently.

"Punnya" Punnya meowed as the whole guild watched.

**(Tournament Stage)**

Shadow the carried Mukurowl over to the edge of the stage. He set the wounded owl down out of the stage on top of Illu's body. "This won't be long, keep her body safe for me." He then turned around to face AMaterasuice.

"Really now, you think you'll be able to win by yourself?" Amaterasuice called from his side of the stage.

"You're right, not by myself, but I was just reminded that I'm not fighting by myself anymore or for myself." Shadow said.

"Really, what can your friends do now that they have been cut off? They can't do nothing but scream and yell from that box how could they possibly help you win?" He continued with his questions.

"You know for a scientist you're all kinds of stupid." Shadow smirked seeing him caught off-guard by his response. He held up his hand and willed his scythe to return to him, the weapon flew back into his hand as he set it down to the side.

"Those screams are cheers, they trusted me all this time to have their backs and win this thing. They trusted me to save Illu's soul; I can't lose as long as I have them supporting me." Shadow took off his now tattered jacket showing his slighting ripped shirt that was missing their sleeves. "You fight as one, we fight as a team."

"Find them, show me the power of this team, and let me see what power your friends have given you?" Amaterasuice gathered more corrupt chakra from his curse mark.

"Be careful what you wish for, but I'm more than happy to show you!" Shadow then raised the Wings of Creation, letting it shine briefly in the light.

"What is this, is he actually going to bust out the ultimate weapon?! Captive or not everyone here is about to make history as the first to see the Wings of Creation in action!" Plugman announced as everyone now had their eyes glued to the battle. Cameras all around the stadium broadcasted to certain places around FFW showing this moment to all that watched.

"You think a bluff is going to help you win, if you could have used that power you would have!" Amaterasuice yelled.

"This power wasn't given to me for selfish reasons; I can't use it for what I want, but I can use it when I stop thinking about myself and focus on those around me!" The wings flashed again, the runes beginning to glow.

"Then let's see this selfless power then!" The boy continued to grow angry and impatient.

"Power of Creation, Power of Might, Hear my call and shine your light." Golden runes similar to those on the item began to appear on Shadow's arms.

"Ancient forces far and near," Power began to fill the air, the runes settled on Shadow's skin as strips appeared under Shadow's eyes. His eyes were now tinted gold as he drew out the ancient power.

"Bestow upon me the power" Two wing tattoos shined on Shadow's back and glow gold allowing them to be seen through his shirt. A final mark, a gold star like symbol, appeared on his forehead.

"To protect what is dear!" The Wings shined brilliantly as the cry came to an end. Shadow now glared with golden eyes as a white aura covered his body.

"**WINGS OF CREATION!"**

A blast of light caused many to cover their eyes as the transformation reached it's end. Amaterasuice opened his eyes when he was sure the light had dimmed enough only to watch the figure before him in awe.

Shadow made no noise as he soon vanished; Amaterasuice's blood grew cold as he felt a hand land on his shoulder.

"**You have something that doesn't belong to you." **Amaterasuice knocked the hand away and tried to attack only to hit a barrier. Shadow's hand reached forward and he tried to block only for the hand to pass through his, Shadow pulled his hand back and backed away now holding something in his palm.

"What did you take from me?" Amaterasuice asked in shock.

"**You didn't notice, I took you're nexus to the barrier around us."** Shadow opened his palm and showed a small ball of light. **"Here's something that should have been done from the start."** He crushed the ball in his hands and let the light fade.

With his connection to the barrier destroyed, the large red dome of disaster began to crack and fade. The once captive audience cheered as they saw they were free from CHAOS' trap. Amaterasuice turned to attack only to see Shadow not there. Said boy was now floating in the air towards the small soul that floated free.

"**I almost forgot why I was fifhgting when I was in the darkness, I have you and Mukurowl to thank."** Shadow then sent the soul back into its vessel. Illu's body then began to glow, showing it was healing as her soul had returned.

Shadow flew back to the stadium and stood before his opponent. **"You're tool of intimidation is gone and you no longer hold any hostages. You have about a good few seconds before Admin swarm this place…it's over for you."**

"I've come so close, I won't let my research end like this!" He then fired the black flames of Amaterasu towards his now god-classed foe.

In a flash of data and light a sword appeared in Shadow's hand. It was a slim gold blades longsword. The blade had a few symbols across it as it led to its silver and blue hilt; the guard shared the shape of a compass rose and a few points were different colored jewels. He then slashed the flames and watched as they vanished from existence.

The young scientist remained silent as the strongest flames in the world were smited by a single sword. "No sword should be able to compete with the Goddess of the Sun."

"**It didn't, all I did was cut away the oxygen in your flames. With no fuel even the hottest flames die out."** Shadow rested the sword on his shoulder. **"Bold Requiem, the sword that can cut away anything in this world, this fight is done…go back to whatever hole CHAOS crawled from."**

"You think I'm scared of something you just made up, have you forgotten I'm still immortal?!" Amaterasuice all but screamed towards Shadow.

"**I didn't forget, it slipped my mind because I didn't care. I tore out the physical connection you had with your magic, who said I can't do the same with your powers?"** Shadow rhetorically asked.

"Good question, but we will never find out" Amaterasuice smirked.

"**You're right…we won't"**

With a snap of his fingers chains flew from the ground and wrapped around the surprised teen. Amaterasuice struggled from his bonds as the chains securely wrapped around him. As the chains tightened it began to drag him downwards into the ground.

"**I rather send you to hell the easy way, a straightaway to the river Styx. You may be immortal but I'm sure leaving the ring and being unable to return for an amount of time is a loss."** Shadow played it in layman's terms. **"When I said I'll send you to the next world, I meant it."**

"Don't think this is over just because you sent me to six feet under, I'll respawn eventually and then my research will continue." With those words said he then vanished in a warp in the ground that retuned to solid marble.

"**Until then enjoy hell, I'm sure it's very crowded when you get there."** Shadow then looked up. **"So are you going to be dragged down to or will you be going?"**

"As much as a bath interests me right now after watching a good fight I would like to stay where I am as I don't really share Trysten's…durability." He jumped high into the air and from somewhere aNimbus cloud appeared and caught him.

"Chaos will always remain, but it's good that we find order to oppose it once and awhile. Keep on making this fun for me Shadow." The insane leader then flew off into the distance.

"**Bat-shit insane all of them,"** Shadow then lifted Renchard's body from his crater on the wall onto the ground as he began to heal him as well.

The crowd was speechless until the two announcers broke the silence.

"In all my life of reporting I never thought I would witness carnage like this!" Kyoto yelled into her mike. "Finally the madness has vanished and order has been restored, we finally have a winner for the Final who will go for the grand prize!"

"You got that right, that battle had us all glued to our seat but it seems the dark horse or should I say the Dark Knight came through in the end! The winner is Shadow…Kurotsubasa wins the right to fight the Arena-king and walk away with the prize!"

Shadow gave Renchard to several nurses as he felt the power of the Wings fade and felt himself return to normal. He carried Illu's unconscious demonic body over to their teammates as he used the last of the great power.

'That seal was here for a reason right, better keep it there until we find out what it's for.' Using the last bit of power from the Wings of Creation he made an exact copy of Illu's seal on her forehead. The owlhybrid returned to normal as they reached their friends.

**TBC…**

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><p><strong>One of the longest chapters I ever wrote but I'm sure that it was worth it. The arc is almost over, we all got to see the Wings in action, and the villians have been defeated. If only the scenes of this chapter could be shown as images so that you could fully enjoy his moment.<strong>

**That's all for now as the Tournament Arc draws to a close, don't forget to visit YouTube and check out the theme for FFW; hopefully one of you all could come up with a name and some lyrics, I know I'm thinking of some.**

**-Shadowlight0982 out.**


	20. Chapter 17: Resolution

** It is time for the first arc of our story to end, glad that everyone enjoyed themselves this far as I continue to right more. I decided to work on this chapter first before any of the new stuff. So let's start off with the announcements and then the reviews.**

**Announcements:**

** There will be a small hiatus as I rewrite FFW as I plan out the new chapters. The rewrites shouldn't take too much time as I am mostly fixing errors while adding and enhancing many things. I am also fulfilling a promise I made since I started this story so watch out for that.**

** Another thing that will be added to this will be two other titles: FFW Gakuen and FFW One-shot. FFW Gakuen is an AU of this fanfic that I know a lot of people will enjoy, the idea comes from Ravena Felidae and a majority vote chose me to write it. FFW One-shot is a bonus thing that I decided to add because it will help me in the long run. If you are part of the FFW club in Deviantart you will know more.**

**Now for the reviews.**

**Reviews:**

**Illusionist Owl: A small combination of both, you'll just have to read to find out.**

**Princejayz: When updating this or any other story it depends on the amount of time I have. I'm trying to schedule when I update.**

**Wolfpackersson09: True though that song can be used for something else.**

**Raidentensho: The classics shouldn't be forgotten and I was a fan of G-Gundam. It just depends on how I can work all of them into the story.**

**Generalhyna: What can I say, go big or go home.**

** Now that all of this is done…ON WITH THE SHOW!**

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><p>"FFW"-Speech<p>

'FFW'-Thought

'_FFW'-Flashback_

"**FFW"-Attacks**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any reference to any anime/game/show/book, etc. that appears in this story. I own the original plot (at least I hope its original) and my own characters and OC's. All other characters and references belong to their original creators.**

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><p><strong>Ch. 17: Resolution<strong>

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><p>Admin Guards stood watch as many came to repair the damage and search the area for any clues leading to Chaos. When the message was sent to the crowd that said it was ok to leave the area or log out many chose to do either of those options. A few decided to stay whether for important or personal reasons.<p>

"So you're not going to see if he's all right?" Grim asked as he caught Rose as she and Mazareth were set to leave the area.

The redhead didn't turn around but she answered the weapon's question. "It will take more than all that to keep him down, he just needs a small rest or some food."

"Maybe but shouldn't you make a stop and at least say goodbye, I thought you resolved everything." Grim said. Doppelman then chose to make himself known and rise from the ground.

"**More like kiss and make up."** The shadow teased the girl. He would have continued if Mazareth haven't pounced on him and attacked.

The tiger shook the specter in his mouth as a dog would a chew toy before throwing it to Rose. The blushing girl then sent him down to earth with a heel to the head. "Shut up you perverted bastard!"

'What am I going to do with him?' Grim asked as Doppelmen copped a feel of Rose's ass which earned him a gravity forced blast into the earth.

"When could he talk anyway?" Rose asked through her rage and embarrassment.

"Sometime after that last fight, maybe the barrier had something to do with it." Grim sighed as he pulled up a black blob from the crater. "Well I might as well head out; I need to pick up something from Death City."

"What you want with that 300 year old statue I'll never understand." Rose said.

"Good, you shouldn't try to understand me." Grim pulled up his menu. "Well this is bye for now; next time we meet at the bar we'll split a round."

Rose watched as the Reaper and his Shadow teleported in a flash of light. 'Split a round, he's even too lazy to pay for something himself.' The girl sighed and then looked to the medical tents.

**(Scene Change)**

"I think she's coming to." Illu barely heard as she slowly entered back into consciousness. Her red eyes opened to the sight of most of the guild over her with Ravena healing her wounds.

"Everyone…what happened?" The poison specialist laughed as a happy Mukurowl flew into her and snuggled against her cheek.

"ILLU YOU'RE ALIVE!" Bella pulled her into a tight hug forgetting her strength as Illu began to turn blue.

"Hey Bell give her some room…and some air while you're at it." DB sweatdropped while seeing her act as she was.

The shapeshifter let her go making Illu breath fresh air.

"Nya, you think you would give her some warning her soul was yanked out of her body just a few hours ago." Ravena helped Illu with her injuries.

"Not to mention drain to its limits, I can only imagine how you'll react when Shadow wakes up." Key said.

At the mentions of Shadow Illu looked and saw all of Kurotsubasa was at her bedside except for one. Against the others complaints the Hybrid sat up a bit in her bed, letting Mukurowl perch on her head.

"Where is Shadow-kun?" Illu asked only to blush when she heard the small slip.

Most of the guild didn't notice as the boy turned everyone's attention over to the other bed in the tent. Ravena then turned back to her.

"You might want to lay back down Illu-Tan, this might take a while." The catgirl said as they all got ready to explain the outcome of the tournament.

Unbeknownst to everyone present Shadow was awake and was having a conversation of his own.

**(Shadow's Mindscape)**

"So that's the power of the Wings, no wonder so many people wanted it." Shadow said as he eyed the small accessory.

"And only a few can be trusted with it, so you can see why I trusted you to hold on to it." Izanami said with a smile.

"Only use this power out of need not of want; I sort of get why you gave it to me. You sure you're not going to regret it I know you saw all that happened." Shadow asked.

The girl shook her head. "Reasons like that was the reason you were chosen in the first place. Even the purest of heart can give way to corruption, I had to find someone who been down both roads."

"Guess you succeeded then," Shadow chuckled a bit.

"**That power"**

"**Is nothing"**

"**Compared to what you have within."** Three familiar voices hissed as six red eyes glowed in the darkness.

"Hey Fang face can you keep it down, it's bad enough you're unsealed I don't need a pep talk from my inner darkness." Shadow looked to the monster.

"It worries me that my sister was the one who freed him, this doesn't bode well." Izanami said in worry.

"Kusanagi seems like the type to do certain things for a reason, she wouldn't give me unstoppable yet uncontrollable power out of the goodness of her heart." Shadow said as he continued to watch the creature as all he could hear was the flapping of large wings and hissing.

The silver haired girl sighed. "Only time will tell, but I believe your teammates will be involved soon."

"What makes you say that?" Shadow looked to her with curiosity.

"Call it woman's intuition." She said with a smile.

"Pity since you don't look a day over 13, but looks are always deceiving online." Shadow then looked up at the clouded skies of his mind. "Guess it's time for me to leave."

"Why do you say that?" It was Izanami's turn to be curious.

"My Bella senses are tingling."

**(Scene Change)**

"Shads, Shads, SHADS!" The Hyna Squad leader continued to yell as she shook the sleeping boy. The rest of the guild watched with either worry (Illu and Ravena), confusion (Key and Mukurowl), or amusement (DB and Punnya).

"By Hyna stop being unconscious already!" The blond then began to slap him silly failing to see the heterochromatic eyes open.

"Bell *slap* a, I'm *slap* awake!" Shadow suddenly grabbed Bella's head and slammed her into the ground. The boy then began massaging his cheeks. "Damn didn't have to slap me."

"Well it lives, so how was Hell?" DB joked.

"It sucked, had the worse company, and no ice water." Shadow joked back. "So do you have a reason for waking me?"

"Well at least you're still your grumpy self, that's something." Bella smiled much to Shadow's annoyance.

"Bella, for some reason, thought after your brush with ultimate power you would have changed." The Beta summed up for him.

"The only things that changed were how my cheeks felt after my rude awakening." Shadow sat up and moved to the edge of his bed.

"Are you sure you should be up walking Shadow-kyun?" Ravena asked seeing what he was about to do. Punnya flew and landed on Shadow's head with a look of worry.

"I'm fine really, though I know I won't be fighting for a while until I recover fully." Shadow stood up and observed himself; he had everything except his jacket and saw bandages wrapped around his right arm. He couldn't see but a few bandages were in other places like around his chest and one on his face. The Azure user then looked at the closest mirror.

"Guess DB was right to say I went through Hell and back, I can barely remember the fight." Shadow said.

"Shadow…"

The Darkness user turned and saw that Illu too was awake. She was smiling though her face was a little pink for a reason he didn't know. After her short pause Illu continued.

"I don't remember what happened from my match onward, but everyone said you saved me, thank you." She said in gratitude.

"I should be thanking you and Mukurowl; you both were the reason I was able to stand up and kept going." Shadow said.

Illu nodded and Mukurowl hooted with thanks and of something else…almost forgiveness. "Everything was a bit hazy but I didn't think my hybrid form would cause that much trouble."

"Hybrid?" Shadow was about to ask but a look from Key kept him from asking. When he recalled Illu's seal being broken he took a closer look at her only to see the Saturn seal plain as day on her forehead.

'Did the seal reform…no wait, I did that.' Shadow began to remember. "Nothing probably more training won't fix."

Illu nodded, "I know a few who have powers similar to mine. Maybe I can call them and train with them for a bit."

"Well before you guys discuss anymore plans there are still things that need to be answered." Kurotsubasa looked and saw Cast and Rina enter the tent.

"What brings you two here?" Key asked.

"Well I wanted to cut that bracelet from Shadow's wrist but Cast here said something about thievery and ethics." Rina said causing her cousin to sigh.

"We're actually here to ask if you guys know anything we don't, about CHAOS or how they gained control of this area." Cast asked covering up Rina's bad joke.

"Nya we were wondering that ourselves." Ravena said as everyone took a seat.

Shadow took Punnya off his head, not feeling up to carrying her weight. "Controlling of an area is usually Admin/Analyst stuff. Did they hack in?"

"Unfortunately no and CHAOS isn't known for its technical sabotage; they're mostly an ingame threat not an external one." Rina said.

"An inside job then?" Key offered.

"Great more reason to not trust the Admin," DB complained as he lied against the wall.

"We needed more reason?" Bella asked.

Illu feeling the tensions rise decided to help move the conversation along. "Maybe they took advantage of a glitch in the system. You said they were ingame so maybe a virus?"

"No virus should have been able to have done that but we are scanning FFW's systems top to bottom and we are having a full personnel review." Rina informed them.

"We're just now waiting to plot a course of action." Cast said.

"I'll say one thing, do as you please but if CHAOS happens to cross us again then I'll be the one to end it." Shadow said while clenching his right hand.

"We'll keep that in mind though I hope we can trust you to aid us if we need help?" Cast asked.

Shadow looked to the Admin and saw it wasn't a request from a member of the Administration, but from one of the few who see him as a threat. He let out a tired sigh and then answered. "Sure, just be prepared for the Admin to compensate us."

Even with those words Cast smiled as she heard their hidden meaning; she then looked at Rina and sent her a silent message saying it was time to leave and the girl complied.

"Well we best be off though we do have something to give you for your troubles." Rina then brought out her mention and summoned a medium sized chest. "As winners of the Eclipse Tournament you receive the prize money and all the perks that come with being named this year's champions."

"Perks, this is an Exhibition Tournament right what perks?" DB asked as the vampire looked lost.

"Now that would be telling," Rina smiled and then turned to leave. Cast was right behind leaving the guild either confused or not caring.

Once they were outside they continued their own conversation.

"You sure it was wise to not tell them we have a fix on their location?" Rina asked.

"Kurotsubasa already has enough on its plate; I'm the Admin of this server so it is my job to deal with any and all threats." Cast said with determination. "I can't ask them for their help, not yet anyway."

"Just as stubborn as ever, but it runs in the family." Rina said with a smile as they walked. "So what are the plans now, meeting up with Leon?"

Cast smiled, "He was rather worried when the news reached him, though I got him to stay at his post and that I will meet him." When they reached a clearing she pulled out a whistle and blew into it.

"I swear you two just need to hook up and get it over with." Rina laughed seeing her cousin's now blushing face. She then got serious, "Be careful, seems like CHAOS is more than it seems."

"But you forgot Rina," The ground shook as a silver dragon dropped from the sky next to Cast. "I am more than what I seem."

**(With Kurotsubasa)**

"So the Admin are as clueless as we are." DB summarized for all of them.

"We should leave it for them to solve; Kurotsubasa doesn't go looking for trouble." Key said.

"Yep because trouble finds us!" Bella and Ravena chorused causing the boys to groan and Illu to giggle.

"So how long are me and Shadow in bed for?" Illu asked.

"Well a few hours for you Illu-Tan, Shads is pretty much good to go nya." Ravena said.

"Hey Rave, you were the one that healed us right?" Shadow asked as he once again looked at the mirror.

"Yeah me along with a few more medics on staff, why nya?" The catgirl asked.

"Did you see something out of the ordinary as I was healing?" He asked as he tried to zero in on something. To his surprise Ravena appeared in front of him blocking his view of the mirror.

"Nope, nothing strange nya! We thought we were going to lose you for a while but it all turned out alright nya!" She waved her arms around frantically.

"If you say so," Shadow then sat back down. "For now we'll all just stick around here until we figure things out. Illu can't really move around and we have no mode of transportation now."

"How many times can a girl say sorry?!" Chibi Bella asked as she sat depressed in the corner.

"Until said girl pays me back for that van and equipment," Shadow dully stated before he stood up to leave. "I'm going to get some fresh air, do whatever you want for the time being."

As their leader left the rest of them looked around. The next one to break the silence was DB.

"Well there's actually someone I need to see if sh…they are still around. I'll be back guys!" DB then ran out of the tent.

"I heard they found a strange machine on the outskirts so I'll look there since it probably ties to CHAOS." Key then left the tent.

Ravena looked like she was about to leave until Bella grabbed her by the tail. "Uh uh uh Kitty, we need to have a little girl's talk."

"Girl talk?" Ravena asked in surprised.

"Talk about what Bella?" Illu asked as well.

"Oh I think you two know," Bella smiled slyly. Mukurowl and Punnya decided to leave, leaving their masters to their fate.

**(With DB)**

After checking the now empty Arena he looked through the few crowds of players that still remained trying to find the one he was looking for.

'Where did she go, don't tell me she…' A fan suddenly blocked his vision.

"Well you have the look of a man on a mission, anything in particular you were searching for?" Naenia asked as she stopped the Pyro.

"Actually I was just looking around for you." DB said.

"Don't tell me you've taken to stalking me." Naenia held her fan to cover her mouth and her expression. "I'll tell you now I don't take well to stalkers."

"That's not it…it's about our fight, you could have won if you wanted to." DB told her.

"What makes you believe that?" Her fan hid her curious look.

"My fire beating your wind, but for all intent and purposes I'm calling BS." DB said calmly. "Nothing stopped you from taking the air that fueled my flames away and then take the win by ring out."

"But that's the thing; did I want that outcome to happen?" Her question made DB looked to her in shock.

"Why wouldn't you want to win?" DB asked.

"With f I tell you that even with all that happened during the end, it would have been worse if our team's matches didn't happen the way they did." Naenia offered him.

"I would find that hard to believe." DB said, "That last battle was crazy, what with the barrier…"

"That could as well have been a bomb or something far worse." That got DB silent as Naenia finished. "Having the ability to see the future is a powerful yet grim tool."

"Well power or not, I want a rematch! No future or technicality should get in the way of fighting!" DB yelled. "For all I know you let me win, and I don't take handouts!"

Naenia then laughed, "Sometimes it is best to take what life gives you, though I see your point." Naenia then pulled out a card and gave it to DB. "Tell me next time you want that rematch."

The ice temptress walked away leaving DB to stare at the gift. The drummer looked at the Pactio card showing that he had just accepted her request. 'Sure, we definitely need a rematch.'

**(With Key)**

"What do you mean unauthorized?" Key asked two A.G's.

"You're not authorized to look through this equipment." One of the guards said again.

"That may be true for other players but I'm…"

"A Beta," The other guard finished for him. "We know who you are, but shouldn't you be searching for information elsewhere?"

"We have all the Analysts we need here and this needs to be kept under the Admin's jurisdiction."

Key sighed, 'The same as before, when Admin's security fails they try to cover it up. Hopefully they'll be a solution for the comas too.'

The Beta then left the guards too their duties as he walked out of the forests, he stopped when he heard rustling through the bushes.

'I thought no monsters spawn here.' He summoned Oathbreaker and got ready. Before he called his attack a small creature walked out of the flora.

"Puun~~~" The small dog stared at Key.

'Is that an insect, no I can't believe it…' Key returned his keyblade. "A Plue?"

"Plue!"

The now named Plue whined and waved his arms in the direction of the voice. Key watched him only to see the girl he met in the stadium run up to the dog.

"Plue I told you before not to run off after I summoned you, too many things have happened here." TPB said worriedly to the dog.

"Puun" Plue said having the girl sigh.

"It can't be helped, but if you're going to keep running off you might as well return." The brown haired girl opened her palm and Plue vanished in a ball of light. The light burst to reveal a silver key that landed in TPB's hand.

"Celestial Spirits," Key's sudden speech caused TPB to jump. Looking where the voice came from her eyes widen a bit recognizing him.

"Oh I'm sorry Key; I hope Plue didn't disturb you." She apologized.

"Its fine, I was just walking about when he walked into the clearing." Key said. "So why are you still here, I figured you would have cleared out."

"Well even with the Ok given by the Admin one can never be too sure. I don't want to log out but I'm frightened a bit of walking through the roads and running into someone like that." TPB explained.

"You could teleport but then again with how the systems are I know why you didn't. Why not use those Celestials Spirits like Plue, or is he your only one?" Key asked her.

"I have more," She pulled out a small key ring from her pocket showing her small collection. "But unlike Plue who isn't much for battles, the others I can only invoke for an hour at most."

"That small limit huh," He then stopped to think. Key then reached inside of his coat and pulled something from the inside pockets. "Maybe this will work."

Key passed a small bottle to TPB. The confused girl looked at the bottle with glowing blue liquid wondering what it was. "What is this?"

Key then pulled out another one and poured the contents onto his hand. The liquid solidified into a cube in his palm. "This is ether, it helps to recover and increase mana or magical energy."

TPB looked at the cube in wonder and then to the bottle she held. "But how will that help me, will it extend my time limit?"

"In a way, your limit is an hour because that's how much energy you can constantly feed for the contract right?" Key asked. After she nodded he then continued, "With that you can probably recover your energy faster and keep the spirit out longer."

"Oh~~" She looked from the bottle to Key. "You didn't have to do this to fix my problem."

"It's ok, I would walk you myself but there are things my guild is doing here." Key admitted oblivious to the light blush that appeared on her face. "It's the least I can do to make sure your safe."

TPB gave him a small bow in thanks. "I hope I can repay you soon/"

"Well you don't really owe me, but next time we'll see each other let's hang out for a while." Key offered.

The key user gave him a small smile. "Yes, I would like that."

**(With Shadow)**

When Shadow left no one noticed he took the chest of money with him. He knew he was making a few stops and his first was into a tent a few feet away from his and Illu's. Seeing it was empty except for the patient he then walked inside.

"Well it looks like one of us can walk." Renchard said as he saw Shadow enter.

"I'm actually surprised that you're still in a bed, I thought you would be healed by now." Shadow said.

"When I was examined they found some…'foreign substance' within my system; they wanted to test me for a bit but I told them only one more before I leave." Renchard said.

"You're just going to leave without your prize?" Shadow asked.

"What prize, there is no prize for second place." He said with a small chuckle.

The sound of metal clinging together caught his attention. Renchard looked and saw Shadow had set a bag of what was probably munny on the table next to his bed. "You sure about that," Shadow asked.

He took one look at the munny and then glared at Shadow. "What is this supposed to be: pity?"

"The opposite, I can guess who you got that extra power from I just don't know why." Shadow said.

"That's none of your business." Renchard said.

"And that's what I figured, but it must be important for you to possibly risk yourself by landing in a coma." Shadow said and then looked to him seriously. "Renchard, I'm not going to guess your reasons but somehow I know you have a true reason to need this munny."

Renchard sighed and then lied back on his bed. "You earned that munny right; you're hero that saved the day."

"I'm no hero, just lucky." Shadow said. "Our match didn't officially end so you deserve at least half the munny."

"Half," Renchard said.

"I'm generous but not that generous." Shadow turned around and went to the door of the tent. "And this isn't out of pity it's a loan."

"They call you The Bargainer for a reason," Renchard chuckled a bit. "So what do you want in return?"

"One thing, who gave you that seal on your sword?" Shadow asked.

"I never asked, I don't even know how I got there but I appeared in this dark throne room with a young girl sitting on the throne." Renchard began to explain his experience.

Shadow nodded as he listened to his story. When he described the girl he knew instantly that it was Kusanagi. Soon, Shadow left the tent. "I can't tell you who she is, but try and stay away from them alright."

"No promises," Renchard made sure Shadow heard before he walked out. The swordsman looked over to his zanbatou and saw the symbol pulse on the blade.

'One last shot.'

When Shadow left the tent he bumped into one of the few he didn't think he would meet.

"Look whose walking out and about shouldn't you be in bed with bottle of water by now?" Rose asked.

"I got restless and I healed up alright." Shadow said.

"Yeah you healed yet most of you are still bandaged, the only regret I have is that I wasn't the cause behind them." Rose mocked him.

"Don't play this game with the master Rose." Shadow said as they both began to walk. "I figured you would have took Mazareth and left by now."

"Mazareth is off with Boobcat's Creampuff and Owlhead's pigeon. Plus I found something that you would probably want."

Shadow wondered what she was talking about until she held up his jacket taking it out of thin air. Rose turned her head avoiding his look as she gave him back his signature outfit. "I got the remains and speed up the regeneration; you just look more ridiculous than usual without it."

Shadow out on his newly constructed jacket and looked at her with a small smile. "Didn't think you care, I expected you to take the tattered remains and blow them away in a gust of wind in front of me.

Rose cursed him in another language before talking, "Just be happy I went out of my way to do this."

"And I am hence the smile." Shadow said as the mood lightened. "So have you learned what you wanted to?"

"I learned that I have a long way to go, I don't hate you…as much…but you probably still don't see me as an equal." Rose said.

Shadow was silent for a bit before asking her a question. "Rose, why do you think that when I trained you I only taught you basic katas and little instruction?"

"Because you were a lazy ass teacher," Rose looked to him.

"Because I didn't want your accomplishments to be copies of mine," Shadow said gaining her attention. "I just gave you the push; you developed your own style, your own moves. I wanted you as an equal from the start."

"Equal, you have a funny way of showing it." Rose smiled.

"It's hard to get passed the girl whose face lights up whenever I get a chance to bake sweets." Shadow smirked.

"You're the blame for my sweet tooth!" Rose yelled in anger only for it to be drowned out by Shadow's laughter. The two continued to talk and reminisce as they enjoyed the moment.

**(Scene Change)**

The boys of Kurotsubasa came back to the tent to see two beet red girls and a smiling Bella. They all looked at the girl in question.

"Bella what did you do?" Shadow asked.

"What makes you think that this is my fault?" Bella asked innocently.

"Because you're you." DB said that destroyed her act.

Key walked over to them a tried to get their attention. "Yep, looks like it's a case of H.S."

"H.S…is that a thing?" Shadow asked.

"What does that stand for?" DB asked.

Key then stepped away. "Hey Shads can you come over here real quick?"

Shadow then walked over to the two girls. "Ok I'll bite what do you want me to do?"

"Just get as close as you can to them." Key told him.

Shadow shrugged and then walked over to the two frozen girls. When he got close two things happened: Illu eeped and sunk into her covers and Ravena jumped back and fell out her chair landing on her rump.

"Oh yeah it's advance H.S. all right." Key said.

"Again I'll ask for Shads is that a thing?" DB asked. "H.S. stands for?"

"Hinata Syndrome" The Beta answered.

The two pets flew to the sight of their owners still blushing red and Shadow looking confused. After a while when everything settled down Shadow got their attention.

"Well first things first we split the earnings from the tournament." He got out the chest.

"You're really going to split it?" Ravena asked. "After that last fight you should keep it all nya."

"I only got that far because of this team, so we all take a piece of it." Shadow then divided the remaining munny amongst the group.

"A little low on the munny isn't it?" DB asked.

"It's an Exhibition Tournament, not an actual ranking match. Anyway how are we going to get back unless we're walking to Tokyo City." Shadow said.

"Well our ride is…" Key started.

"Don't say it!" Bella yelled.

"…indisposed." Key finished.

"Can we call in a favor or a ride?" DB asked.

"Well Tokyo City is only a few days walking away." Illu said. "And maybe we can take the time to enjoy ourselves before we arrive that."

"A vacation nya!" Ravena said excitedly.

Shadow sighed, "I guess we have no choice then, we're walking home people."

"Well it's the road trip we always wanted." Bella smiled.

"And a few days away from the usual chaos we get in the town." Key said.

"Until our brand of crazy attracts different kinds of chaos," Shadow sighed.

"Come on man, how much trouble can we get into now?" DB joked with them.

"Remind me to punch you when we get back."

**(Scene Change)**

"So that's the outcome." Speed said as he watched a channel play the highlights of the Eclipse Tournament.

"This should be enough to sway the others to seeing Shadow is a threat."

"He saved an entire area of people and dealt with a known terrorist." Leon said.

"Why must you add the little details, the point is that the Wings of Creation are dangerous outside the Admin's control." Speed explained.

"Well he's not in a hurry to join the Admin; we at least know he isn't going against us." Leon said.

"But he isn't eager to abide by our laws." Speed said.

"He does as he wants; while I am against his methods the results work out in the end." Leon looked back to the place of their observations. "The crisis is averted and we now can focus on this one."

"The World that Never Was." Speed looked at the large area. "To think they were hiding here all along.

**(Scene Change)**

All over FFW the Eclipse Tournament battles played across screens in many areas. Many looked with interest and awe seeing the titanic battles play on their TVs. One group in particular was watching a certain battle take place.

"So what do we do man, Illu's seal…" A boy said.

"Got replaced during that last battle," One of the boys interrupted the other.

"Seal or no seal she almost died or ended up into a coma." Another one said.

"Will you guys be quiet for a moment?" The others looked to the leader as he needed time to think.

"So what's the plan, it's your sister."

Glowing blue eyes opened as he stood up from his seat. "I got a plan, but first we need to find out what kind of guild Kurotsubasa is."

"Aetherions, let's go!"

**TBC…**

* * *

><p><strong>Do I know how to end a season or what? Don't answer that, now everyone don't forget to review as I work on creating more ideas that you all love. Don't forget to check out the Deviantart club and wikia for more news as well.<strong>

**So everyone:**

**REVIEW!**

**REVIEW!**

**REVIEW!**

* * *

><p><strong>(Omake)<strong>

** Readers far and wide, get ready for…Kurotsubasa News Network!**

Sitting on the new desks was chibi Illu and chibi Shadow, one smiling to the crowd as the other lied in his chair with a small smirk visible.

"Welcome everyone to KNN; I'm your news host Illu-san." Illu bowed a bit.

"And I'm you're commentator, Shadow-san." Shadow said. "Also big thanks to Illu-chan for teaching the whole cast a bit of Japanese for this show.

"I didn't do much, just some small lessons!" Illu blushed.

"It's always the small things you do for people that are always remembered. Now don't we have a news headline?" Shadow asked.

"Right," Illu cleared her breathe and smiled for the camera. "News Headline…"

A screen appeared showing a hot spring on with holes in the wall and smoke with chibi Grim chasing away several men.

"Pervert watch is at an all-time low, the well-known onsen in Tokyo City has employed a new security force dealing with any creep. The Reaper system." Illu explained.

"Nothing can beat up perverts than a pervert." Shadow said.

"Shads I'm sure Grim isn't a pervert." Illu said in shock.

"Who said I was talking about Grim," Shadow zoomed into the screen and saw Grim was also chasing Doppelman as well as several others. "I swear he is making a bad name for me."

"How so?" Illu asked curiously.

"Pervy shadow starts flying around that area and then I can never go there. I know my name has nothing to do with it but when words start flying its over." Shadow crossed his arms.

Illu sweatdropped but then saw Mukurowl land on the desk. "Oh I almost forgot!" She then turns to the crowd. "Muku-chan here is in charge of bringing in letters from the viewers so that we can answer any questions they have for any of us."

"Though since this is our first show there's nothing to read, it might be a blessing in disguise." Shadow fed the owl letting him hoot happily.

"With no letters we only have time for one segment this week!" Illu said.

"Let's get started then, with Guest Star breakdown." Shadow introduced.

-Intermission-

Chibi Key stood next to a screen showing a large map of FFW. He looked bored to the camera as he took out a stick and pointed to the map.

"FFW is a large world, spamming a planet the size of Earth and it also contains several other orbiting worlds. However some wonders where people spawn on their first login." A picture showed two girls in what appeared to be a check-in station.

"New players start in what is known as the Reception where they register where they want to spawn. It has an infinite amount of portals to many different starting points." Key then finished his explanation.

"And that's some FFW Facts today." Key said.

-Intermission-

"Welcome everyone to our Guest Star Breakdown." Illu said excitedly.

"From a random selection we choose a player to explain their many abilities and show some highlights from the popular story." Shadow said.

"And now let's welcome our first guest."

After Shadow was done a column of fire erupted and stopped to show DB smiling proudly at the two hosts.

"What's up everyone, DrummerBoy4Life or DB here" DB introduced himself.

"You're our first guest DB-kun, how does it feel?" Illu asked.

"A little exciting though I will say I was nervous when I was picked to be out here in front of everyone," DB rubbed the back of his head.

"You don't have to do the hosting; it's a little nervous being up here." Shadow admitted.

"Really but you're so calm." Illu said surprised.

"I don't do well on live media," Shadow said. "But anyway DB care to explain some of your powers for us?"

DB pumped his chest out. "Of course, as everyone saw from the tournament I can control fire! That's my original power."

"Yet it doesn't always work out for you." Shadow smirked.

"Hey that was only one time I blew up!" DB yelled.

"That week," Shadow retorted.

"Um DB you have other skills right?" Illu asked trying to calm the tension.

"Of course, you may not know at first glance but I'm a fully immortal vampire." DB smirked and showed his fangs. "I have many abilities of the good old series Hellsing."

"Watch at your own risk." Shadow added the warning.

"What about your other powers?" Illu asked.

"Well both come from the same world but they are different." The chibi then drew his sword. "I am a master swordsman dating from the Naruto era!"

"And also…" Three more DB's fell from the ceiling causing Illu to jump. "I have enormous reserves of chakra compared to any Jinchuuriki. I can use many high level jutsu!"

"However for now you are limited to the Shadow Clone Jutsu." Shadow said.

"You're supposed to breakdown my powers not my feelings Shads." DB said.

"Sorry man, I'm the commentator I comment." Shadow commented. "Got to earn a paycheck."

"Well everyone I think that's all the time we have for now," Illu said.

"Wait you can't just end it!" DB yelled.

"We kind of have to, we're over the limit that an omake should be." Shadow said. "Now good bye everyone and leave some good reviews."

"Also send comments of our show and see if you enjoy seeing more." Illu added.

DB sighed, "Until next time then."

"Bye Bye!" Illu waved and Shadow leaned back leaving DB by himself.

**(Omake end)**


	21. Late Christmas Filler

** Yeah I know this is a little late but a lot has happened where I wasn't able to upload this until now. So for a very late gift and a welcome to the New Year, enjoy this filler knowing that I am at work making new things for FFW.**

** Anything new that anyone wants added may want to PM soon or place it somewhere where I can check for it like the DA site or the on the wikia. So for all of you Happy Holidays and have a Happy New Year.**

**Now…ON WITH THE SHOW!**

* * *

><p><strong>(Play Bleach ost: Ditty for Daddy)<strong>

For the three women of Kurotsubasa their days usually started out the same, running through crowds avoiding Admin Guards after a successful prank. However, with a special day of the year tomorrow the girls had to give the pranks a rest and go shop for Christmas presents.

Or should I say battle for presents.

"Let go of it nya!" Ravena hissed as she tried to pull and tug the item away from another shopper.

"I saw it first and you know it kitten!" The woman argued back. As the two girls fought Bella and Illu soon appeared behind Ravena with a covered cart full of gifts.

"Come on Kitty cat we're wasting time!" Bella said impatiently as she wanted to leave the store behind. The normally energetic toon was already bored of the endless shopping.

"Maybe you can find something like that in another store Rave-chan." Illu offered hoping that her friend wouldn't get in trouble for this small fight.

"Nya, I picked it up first and it's exactly what I need!" The two fighters continued to struggle against each other. A few onlookers were glad that no one could use their powers during the Christmas week when they saw that it was Kurotsubasa.

Illu sighed seeing that this wouldn't end until they did something. "Bella-chan, can you please do something to help speed this along." She asked knowing the Hyna-girl would either end it or make it worse.

"On it" Bella rolled up her sleeves and entered the fray.

**(Song end)**

Moments later they were carrying their bag away from a mall that now had a large hole in the wall. The three ignored all the stares that were aimed to the building as they wanted to take the gifts back to the guild.

"Sometimes I don't know how you do it Bella-chan." Illu said.

"Hy-nya can always find a way to go around any rule, even the one where we can't use our powers." Ravena said.

"Nothing can contain the Hyna!" Bella yelled at the top of her voice. "Besides you got your gift right, hoping to surprise a certain someone?"

"Nya, none of your business, let's just head back to the base before the guys finish decorating." Ravena said.

"How many people are supposed to be coming to the party anyway?" Illu asked.

"Depends on how many you invite." Bella said. "Though the limit is ten per person after a small disaster we had one year."

"You invite the entire codex of your Omnitrix?" The two looked at the Hyna girl.

"I still don't see what the problem was." Bella admitted.

"You have almost a million lifeforms stored in your wrist, I'm sure the building would start getting cramp after a while." Illu said.

"Just trying to spread the love and the Christmas spirit!" Bella smiled.

"There some thing as too much love nya" Ravena said.

"Blasphemy!" Chibi Bella jumped in rage.

"It's ok Bella-chan; there will be enough people there to help spread the love." Illu tried to calm the raging chibi.

"Speaking of love" Bella pulled out a pack of… "Look what I was able to score for free."

"Nya mistletoe?" Ravena asked.

"Just a little party fun, it helps when a few stiffs are invited." Bella placed the plant back in her pocket. "We have a good crowd of guests coming."

"I still glad that Shadow let me invite Chocobo and others to the party, I was afraid to have to choose who I spend time with." Illu smiled while carrying her share of the gifts.

"Those two aren't that bad, they just need to get over how their fight ended." Bella said.

"Enough about the two knuckleheads, we need to hurry back and finish the decorations nya!" Ravena then ran on ahead.

"Hey get back here!"

"Wait up Ravena-chan!"

**(Scene Change)**

"Set that one a bit higher Punnya." Key directed the manju as they both prepared the tree. The neko meow a reply and set another ornament as the Beta wrapped the tinsel. DB then walked into the building carrying a bundle of drinks.

"Did you finish all the lights?" Key asked seeing the musician walk in.

"Of course, and I was able to drop by and pick up some drinks." DB set them down on a table away from the tree.

"You know some of the people coming are minors right?" The keyblade user asked.

"I planned for them too; I got the real and fake brand." DB reassured him.

"Fake?"

"Think all the fun of alcohol, without the alcohol." DB explained.

"What makes it fun?" Key said curiously.

"The fact you won't have to worry about a virtual hangover." DB joked. "Is Shads in the kitchen?"

"He's finishing up at the Daycare, though he has some things out that can be prepared when he gets back." Key said. "Since you're free, go and pick up the bird."

"Why can't you do it?" DB asked.

"Take a look around," Key directed him to all of the decorations that were put up across the room. "I still have more decorations to do and we have to finish the tree."

"Where'd you put the star?" DB looked at the tree questionably.

"I had Mukurowl take it somewhere safe; we don't want another fight like we did last time." Key glared at him.

"Hey it was my turn." Chibi DB pouted.

"We didn't know whose turn it was and you two had a brawl just to decide who got to put the tree on top." Key sighed.

"And I would have won if Shads didn't have to break up the fight." DB said.

"You and Bella almost destroyed the building." Key deadpanned.

"Eh, it would have been fine this place has been through worse." DB walked back to the door. "Fine I'll get the stooped chicken."

"I'm just going to assume you're joking," Key then threw him a wreath. "Hang that on the door on your way out."

"Now you plan on working me to the ground, this is ridiculous." DB said.

"Its call pulling your weight, and since you'll be walking out you might as well put it on the door to save time." Key explained.

"You have an answer for everything don't you?" DB glared at Key a bit.

"That's why I'm a Beta." Key simply answered and then went back to work. Punnya just looked at the boys clueless and then went back into the box of supplies to pull out more ornaments.

DB then left the shop as soon as Mukurowl flew down from upstairs and perched on top of the tree.

"Did you hide it in a good place?" Key asked.

Mukurowl nodded with a hoot; Key nodded back and then pulled out more ornaments. "All right, you can help us finish or maybe you can be our place holder."

The owl looked confused until he was carried up by Punnya and set back on the tree. Mukurowl shook off its ruffled feathers and just stared at the grinning cat. Punnya continued to smile at her friend and placed a small hat on the owl's head.

"Enough joking around you two, let's get back to work." Key said as he pulled Punnya back to finish helping. Mukurowl hooted softly and resigned to his fate as an ornament.

**(Scene Change)**

At a Daycare in Tokyo City the playground that was once filled with laughing children was now empty and covered in a fresh coat of ice and snow. However, the laughter that was usually heard around could be heard inside as the children were warming up after their last game.

Shadow sighed in exhaustion. "I didn't think any of you kids had arms like that."

"We've been training everyday just like you said boss!" One of the boys said excitedly.

One of the girls was enjoying some of the cookies that Shadow had brought over. "We want to be strong just like everyone else in your team."

"Then you all have to train hard to get anywhere close to our level." Shadow joked as he ruffled some hairs.

"Now Shadow, I don't think you should encourage them." The brown haired director and caretaker said with a smile. "You don't want to give them any ideas."

"Tell that to the rascals who turned a snowball fight into a war." Shadow said. "And don't give that they are just children excuse Emily."

"Well they are only children." Emily said.

"I was a kid when I first drove a tank that meant nothing." Shadow then stood up. "Well munchkins it's time for me to go."

Moans and groans filled the daycare as they were all sad for their big brother and role model leaving. A few tried to tug on his clothes and make him stay but he just set all the attempts to the side.

"Come guys I want to spend the whole Christmas with you but I have things to do." Shadow said to them.

"Aw~~ do you really have to leave?" One of the kids asked the player.

"Afraid I have too, you guys aren't the only ones who enjoy Christmas cookies." Shadow said as he packed up his things to leave. "It's nice to know you all enjoy it."

"It was good of you to bring any," Emily, the caretaker, said to him.

"And leave you guys out, besides I should be thanking all of you for the gift." Shadow gestured to the Santa cap on his head. "Well I'm off, you all be good for Christmas you hear."

All the children voiced their agreement and rushed to hug to the guild leader before he could go. After a minute Shadow climbed out the hill of children and walked to the door.

"And you have a Merry Christmas yourself Shadow." Emily said.

"Right back at ya" Shadow left out the door.

Shadow walked through the snowy streets of Tokyo City as he checked his list that he brought with him.

"Alright, hung out with the kids, started on some of the food, let's see did I…" Shadow opened up his inventory and looked through it.

"I guess I still have to shop for a few more people." Shadow closed the list.

"Still out shopping, you strike as the type who tries to beat the rush." Shadow stopped walking only to see it was RoM that was speaking to him.

"It's just you Reed, for the moment I thought it was another Christmas Eve bounty attempt." Shadow said.

"The holidays are a bounty hunter's worse nightmare, with the no violence law in effect and the fact that powers is suspended." RoM said.

"Speaking of which, I figure you would still be in that old shop of yours." Shadow said.

"Even I like to go out and enjoy the winter air, besides I figure I would give you your gift now." RoM answered him.

"This won't be something I'll regret right?" Shadow asked.

"Well I hope not, most would kill for these." RoM reached into his pocket and pulled out what seemed like a ticket.

"Tickets, are you serious?"

"As a heart attack, this ticket is a freebie for any piece of information from my shop." RoM explained.

Shadow studied the ticket in his hand. "To know or to take?"

"It depends on what you want, though as always there is a catch." RoM reminded him.

"Yeah it has to be a specific thing I want information on, I get it." Shadow then stuffed the ticket into his pocket. "Shame I didn't get you anything."

"Oh really?" RoM raised a brow.

"You always can tell huh," Shadow reached into his pocket dimension and threw a book towards the broker. "Something new to add to your collection."

"For me, you shouldn't have" RoM looked at the book and chuckled at the small attempt to wrap it as it had a bow and nothing else. "I was thinking you would give me the occasional map."

"Oh you wish I would wouldn't you," Shadow smirked. "That book came from a temple I excavated awhile back; I figured you would be interested in that kind of magic."

"I still wondering when you will let me take a look at that Book of Life you took from that tomb." RoM asked.

"Well wonder on my friend, that power stays with me." Shadow simply said.

"Of course, better you than someone actually willing to use that kind of forbidden magic." RoM sent the book into his inventory. "Well I might as well be off then."

Shadow saw that RoM was walking a different direction. "You sure, if you want something to do tonight there are a party going on."

"That's thoughtful but knowledge doesn't sleep even during Christmas Eve." RoM said. "You enjoy your party, have fun under the mistletoe."

"Ha ha, you're hilarious" Shadow said sarcastically. "Happy Holidays."

"And Happy Holidays to you as well" RoM's form then burst into many pieces of paper that were swept into the wind.

"And I thought I was a workaholic" Shadow joked before continuing on his way. 'Better go and get this list finished, these girls are going to be the death of me.'

* * *

><p>"Aaachoo!"<p>

Rose recovered from her sneeze and went back to her drink. Mazareth was resting next to her, enjoying the feeling of being petted by his owner.

"What are you still doing in a bar at this time?" Rose looked and saw the owner of the voice was Grim who took a seat at her table. Oddly enough he was holding a chain in his hand used for…

"Why are you dragging your shadow around like that?" Rose pointed to the bound and gagged Doppelman.

"I don't want any more holiday mishap to happen, so I figure my best bet was to make sure he was tied up all day until we get to the party." Grim explained.

"Party?" Rose asked.

"The party that's being held over at Kurotsubasa's place." Grim specified.

"Oh really," Rose said.

"Don't act all surprised, I know you got an invitation as well." Grim tied the chain to the table leaving Doppleman to struggle against the floor. "You and Shadow did patch up your 'relationship.'"

"Doesn't mean I'm in a big hurry to spend much time with Shadow and his group." Rose said.

"This doesn't have to do with the last fight you and Ravena have been in right?" Grim asked. The Reaper soon slammed a foot down on the head of the almost freed Doppelman.

"**Hey this is discrimination!" **The shadow yelled.

"Against what, think of this as payback for the last filler." Grim yelled back.

"**Payback, what I did wasn't that bad!"**

"That's because you couldn't feel any of those attacks, and some of them actually hurt!"

Rose had to clear her throat to remind them that she was still there. The Bounty Huntress looked at them with a dull expression. "As amusing as your soap opera is, do you mind getting back to the point."

"All right the point is maybe you should consider going to the party, spending a little time with Kurotsubasa won't kill you." Grim plainly said.

"**You might as well say her real problem." **Doppelman said silently.

"And what 'problem' would that be; maybe it might be bigger than being a shadow tied in chains." Rose smirked.

"**Funny thing you said Shadow." **Though it wasn't clear everyone at the table felt a sly grin on Doppelman's face.

"Of course what else would I call you?" Rose stopped her verbal abuse just to take a drink from her cup.

"**Oh I wasn't talking about me; I was referring to another 'shadow' you would want tied in chains."** Doppelman clarified.

As the words left the specter's mouth Rose's drink soon found itself all over Grim (much to his ire). Rose took a second to recover from her unplanned spit take and glared at the chained weapon.

"Maybe I should get something that covers your mouth Doppelman." Grim sighed and then cleaned himself off.

"**Why, you know she was thinking of it one time or an…"** Doppelman was then silenced by a knife to the head. Grim picked up Rose's dagger and handed it back to her.

"Was that really necessary?" Grim asked.

"He was starting to piss me off; as for you Grim, I plan to spend my Christmas how I want to." Rose took her dagger back.

"Well let's hope you try and have some fun otherwise you wouldn't be enjoying yourself."

All those at the table turned and saw Naenia standing behind Rose. Doppelman tried to fly from his position on the floor to the beautiful women but was pulled back by Grim.

"Well this is a small reunion, now if we only had whatshisname we could have our own little party." Rose returned to her drink.

"Still as sarcastic as ever" Naenia then sat down. "I take it you both were invited?"

"Great you're going too?" Rose asked.

"I'll take that as a yes." Naenia knew she was getting no more than that.

"I'm just trying to convince Rose here to go to the party as well." Grim explained.

"Funny, I thought you would weasel your way out of the party. Something like it would be too troublesome to attend." Naenia said to the reaper.

"It would be too troublesome if I don't," Grim admitted.

"**Since they know where you work." **Doppelman reminded him.

"That too"

"I see, as for you Rose why don't you want to go to the party?" Naenia asked curiously.

"Please why would you besides sucking face with your fanged boyfriend?" Rose asked.

"That's just a bonus, besides even if you hate them you have to admit they are fun to be around." Naenia said.

"The food makes up for the chaos at the least." Grim then sat up from the table. "Well I have to get going." He tugged on the chain dragging Doppelman across the ground.

"Where are you off too, bounties are shut down and the onsen is probably closed by now." Rose said as she wondered where the mercenary was going.

"I promised some friends I would hang out with them before I go to the party." Grim told them. "Keep in mind what I told you before Rose." The famed Grim Reaper then left the two women alone dragging his struggling shadow with him.

"You know that he is right, or is there another reason you are avoiding the party?" Naenia asked the "Bloody Rose."

"None of your business hag, leave my life alone I don't tell you how to live yours."

Naenia nodded to Rose's words. "True but when you can see the future it's kind of hard to tell me. However keep this in mind, don't let matters of the past effect how you are in the present."

Naenia left the girl and tiger to their thoughts; she rose from the table and placed a few munny on the table along with a wrapped gift.

"What's the munny for, a bribe?" Rose looked at the items on the table.

"I know your tab has been a little high so this will pay for off; as for the gift…well it is Christmas." Naenia smirked and then turned to leave. "Cheers."

Rose waited for the Huntress to leave and then she stood from her table. She woke up Mazareth who was sleeping beside her under the table so that they can leave. 'A gift huh, well it's still my decision on going but I may stop by just to drop off a gift.'

The girl and tiger went to the counter and paid off their bill before venturing out to the wintery town.

* * *

><p><strong><strong>-Fanfiction World-<strong>**

* * *

><p>"I do not understand this concept." Hagane said as Raiden was holding a few candy canes in his arms.<p>

"Of course you won't get it because you choose not to understand human concepts." The child warrior of Kusanagi said as he enjoyed another stick of peppermint.

"Most things humans make do not make sense." Hagane said in his usual monotone. "Why would humans give out gifts without thoughts of something in return?"

"It has something to do with giving rather than receiving as humans say." The two looked over and saw Sakura walk into the room and joined the two.

"Hey Sakura-nee, I figured you were off in Crystal City monitoring the Academy." Raiden smiled seeing his somewhat sister figure had arrived.

"Yes you were an important assignment for Mistress, why are you here?" Hagane asked more curious as to why she was disobeying orders then why she was here.

"Before you go on your rant about Mistress's absolute orders Mistress was the one that called me back from my posting." Sakura then took a seat on one of the couches in the room. "I am just as confused as you are."

"I see that you are all here."

All three stood in a line and bowed before the woman that had walked into the room.

"Mistress"

"Nee-sama"

"At eases all of you" Kusanagi said to them letting them rise from the ground. "All forms of violence have stopped all around this world; there is no need to continue any major assignment tonight."

"Is it because of this…Christ-mast that these humans are celebrating?" Hagane asked.

"Christmas Metaru-baka" Sakura said.

"Possibly, though this whole weak the filthy actions that have gone on in this world have all but stopped." Sakura explained.

Even during the serious conversation Raiden was still all smiles. "If people gave me free candy canes and chestnuts like they did today I would stop fighting too." He soon began to suck on another cane.

"Not all of us are as simple minded as you." Sakura held a hand to her temple in frustration.

"So…" Hagane began to regain everyone's attention. "We pull out of our operations today."

"And we will soon continue after these holidays." Kusanagi finished for the metal soldier. "For now we will let this 'Peace on Earth' continue." Kusanagi then left to her throne room leaving the three warriors to themselves.

"All it takes is a simple holiday for humans to realize their fighting is pointless…humans." Hagane then chose to leave to his quarters.

"You see everything as pointless, oh well no fun today might as well pig out on the treats I collected." Raiden pulled out a large bag of Christmas treats.

"When did you find the time to collect all of that?" Sakura asked astonished at the amount of cookies and cake Raiden had collected.

"They are practically giving these away in stores, especially in Animetropolis if you know where to look." Raiden stuffed a Christmas cookie into his mouth. "I don't care what Hagane says, humans come up with the best stuff!"

"Yes…though hopefully humans have something to help calm your sugar rush in a few seconds." Sakura sighed.

* * *

><p><strong><strong>-Fanfiction World-<strong>**

* * *

><p>Standing on a patio overlooking an ice capped mountain a soft melody could be heard. The song was carried along the wind though unfortunately no one was around to her this graceful tune. Izanami went along with her song as she watches the snow fall from the heavens.<p>

Merry Christmas. My song for you

Masshiroi tameiki hoho wo sasu tsumetai kaze

Kogoeru yubisaki furidashita yuki ni fureta

Seinaru kane no ne hibiita utagoe

Sekaijuu no daremo ga shinjiteru no

Kono hi dake no chikara

Merry Christm…

"That's a good song you're singing by the way."

Izanami stopped and saw that it was only Shadow who had walked from the building behind her. "I understand this is your realm where Kusanagi can't detect you, but don't you think you should be out celebrating?" Shadow asked as he leaned against the wall.

"It is fine, I already have plans off server and even if everyone else is enjoying the peace I know my sister would still be working in her own way." Izanami said without glancing to the dark hero.

"I can understand that, though maybe she could have taken a break just as CHAOS has." Shadow said.

"Everyone seems to have gone underground, which is perfect because no blood should be spilt during these times."

"If only the same could be said in the real world." Shadow then walked up and looked at the scenery Izanami had her eye on. "What makes these mountains so special?"

Izanami giggled a bit. "Anyone could go to a snowy town or tundra, but I see this as a sign of beauty."

"I get what you're saying but how about a compromise." With Izanami's permission Shadow began to play around with the sky. It turned a dark blue however the blue was soon overtaken by a fine stream of colors.

"An Aurora?" Izanami asked curiously seeing what Shadow created.

"It's a bit better than the mountains, besides look at it now."

Shadow pointed to the fact that the ice on the mountain began to reflect the glowing lights from the Aurora. The shimmer of the lights made the serene mountains a more breathtaking sight.

"I have to admit this is some compromise, I didn't know you were so poetic." The girl joked.

Shadow waved off her comment. "I'm not, but if you're lucky you may see different sides of me." The player then pulled a gift out of his inventory. "Here you go, figured I get a gift for you as well."

Shadow then handed the box to the silver haired girl. "I didn't think you would come this way to just hand me a present." She said with a smile.

"While I enjoy just talking you don't think I would just leave you with nothing on the holidays." Shadow said.

Izanami decided to open the gift and pulled out a coat. The coat was as white as her outfit looking as new as possible; it also had fluff along the interior and gold trim. The young girl then tried on the coat enjoying its warmth. "You really didn't have to go out of your way to buy this."

Shadow shrugged. "I had enough munny lying around to buy a few gifts, besides after all you have done the least I can do is give you something for the holiday."

"Even if that included having a bounty on your head?" She asked.

"That's a small price to pay" Shadow answered. "I have to go now though, it is too bad that you can't leave and join us."

"It's fine enjoy the peace while it lasts" Izanami said. Shadow nodded and then turned to see a portal open.

"Try to enjoy yourself as well, I know it may be hypocritical for me to say this but try not to think too much about it and enjoy some downtime." Shadow spoke before he left the area.

Izanami smiled a bit then turned back to the scenery, using a bit of her abilities she allowed snow to lightly fall from the sky. 'I can't exactly enjoy some downtime but I will enjoy myself for as long as there is peace.'

**(Scene Change)**

Shadow walked into the base and saw that the living room was prepared and set up. He went over to the tree to see Mukurowl perched still using his powers to make him appear to glow.

"Not that I don't mind your creativity but where is the real star that we paid munny for?" Shadow asked.

Key then walked from the hall and saw Shadow had arrived. "Had to make sure it was hidden so we don't have another brawl for it." Key explained and then relived Mukurowl of his duty. "I needed Mukurowl to be the replacement until we were finished."

"Clever" Shadow held out a finger to let Mukurowl land on it.

"Did you finish all you need to?" Key asked.

"Of course" Shadow let Mukurowl fly off so that he could place some more gifts under the tree. Key looked and was interested seeing that he had more presents than those in the guild.

"Went out of your way shopping didn't you, I thought we agreed one gift per person." Key said.

"That rule still applies, there are more people coming to the party than just us remember." Shadow said.

"Right" The conversation ended when DB walked back into the guild carrying a wrapped turkey. "I'm back with the bird are we just about done?" The vampire asked.

"You're done for now, put it in the kitchen and I'll have it ready." Shadow said.

DB nodded and went to the back to put the Turkey with the rest of the food. When he was gone Shadow then felt a familiar weight as Punnya landed on his head. "That solves the mystery of where you were."

"Punnya!" The manju meowed.

Shadow decided to let Punnya stay after she gave a silent promise not to mess with the hat the kids gave him. "So we just have to wait for the girls right Key?" He asked the Beta.

"Did someone call for us?!" Bella chimed as the girls entered the building. Punnya then flew from Shadow's head to Ravena's arms happy that her owner was back.

"Just did, what took you all so long?" Shadow asked.

"Bella-chan wanted to pick up some more things." Illu said though she had a small blush knowing what one of those things was.

"We also had to finish some shopping nya." Ravena added and the girls proceeded to pile their presents under the tree with the others.

"So Shads when will you start preparing the feast?" Bella asked.

"We still have a few hours before anyone arrives and I wanted everything else finished before I start cooking or baking anything." Shadow explained. "Since we're finished I'll be in the kitchen." The guild leader then left the room.

"I'll help you prepare Shad…" Illu mouthed was then covered by Bella's hand. "All right you just take your time and make then all delicious!" Bella said getting confused looks from everyone else in the room.

"Whatever" Shadow called before the door to the kitchen shut closed.

The hybrid soon removed the toon girl's hand from her mouth. "Why did you do that Bella-chan?"

"Because there will be time for that during the party" The wildcard said sagely.

"Time for what?" Illu asked confused.

"That doesn't matter for now you and Kitty need to help me with something." Bella said.

"Nya you have an army on your wrist get one of them to do it." Ravena said wondering what the girl's intentions were for having them help her.

"I would but this requires a more feminine touch, something my men have a problem dealing with." Bella said lying with a straight face. Before the two could get suspicious their arms were quickly grabbed by the Hyna girl. "Come on enough questions; let's get this done before the party."

"Wait stop pulling Bella-chan!"

"Hy-nya you'll pull our arms off!"

Key and DB just looked confused wondering what Bella could be planning. "Think she has some kind of holiday pranked worked up?" DB asked.

"I doubt it Bella tries to keep her record clean on the holidays, besides there are a few people coming that would really need a reason to put her behind bars." Key said.

"Then why did she have a bag full of plants?" DB asked.

"Plants" Key repeated.

"Yeah she had that look in her eye that you know she has something planned out." DB said.

"Whatever it is, let's just hope it won't cause too much trouble." Key said.

**(Time Skip)**

Soon enough all the cooking and last minute decorating was prepared. Shadow saw the mischievous look on Bella's face and had her promise as long as the building remained standing she could do what she pleased. Already some of the guests began to arrive.

"Happy holidays Kurotsubasa" Cast greeted them all at the door. Rina was smiling behind her along with a silent Leon.

"Sorry we were late we had to drag old Scrooge with us." Rina said.

"I have nothing against Christmas but why are we at a party here instead of back in the main HQ?" Leon asked.

"Because unlike some of the higher-ups this guild knows how to have fun." Rina answered drawing a sigh from the older man. Cast sweatdropped a bit and then turned to Shadow.

"Thanks for inviting us all the same." Cast said.

"No problem, figured it was a way to have Leon forget about the last match we had." Shadow said.

"If we hadn't been interrupted you know I would have won!" Leon yelled back.

"In your dreams and speaking of nightmares aren't you guys missing a face?" Shadow asked.

"As soon as Speed found out the party was by you guys he decided to stay behind." Rina said. "He really needs to forget about the past, though from what I heard you guys did to him I would hold a grudge too."

"His loss, come on in guys!" Bella said. The Admin trio then walked in and marveled at the decorations.

"Wow to think you guys set all of this up." Rina commented.

"We had an extra bit of munny this year and our old supplies needed to be replaced." Key said. "So what brought you along Rina, I thought only Cast and Leon would show up."

"Why thinking of spending time with someone else?" Rina asked playfully.

Key decided not to answer that one not wanting bring up a certain someone around Rina. "No it's just don't the Analyst have their party?"

"Yes and they are enjoying it; I figure I would see how this party was when Cast told me about it." Rina answered.

Shadow felt a tap on his shoulder and saw DB was trying to get his attention. "So what is the real reason you invited Rina along with the rest of them?" The vampire whispered.

"One to add some life to the party and two…" A knock on the door stopped Shadow from answering. "You are about to find out in a second." He said after peeking with his Byakugan.

Shadow left DB hanging and went to open the door. He then greeted the person on their step. "Not a surprise that Key invited you."

"Oh I tried to get ready as soon as I could, is Key waiting?" TPB asked.

"He still is but he has someone keeping him company" Shadow moved aside letting the confused girl inside. DB then rejoined him to watch the drama ensue.

"Sometimes I don't get you Shads" DB said.

"Why is that?" Shadow asked.

"You saw this love drama coming right?" DB asked as the two watch Rina and TPB began to pull Key between themselves.

"From a mile away" Shadow said.

"Yet you are clueless to the ones that involve you" DB thought out loud.

"What do you mean?"

DB sighed. "Never mind" They both were cut off by another knock on the door. "Answer this on will you?" Shadow asked him.

"Sure" DB said and then opened the door and froze midstep.

"Sorry if I'm a bit late I just had to grab a few things." Naenia said.

"I am not a thing you just grab" Rose glared. "Why did you drag me here anyway?"

"Like you weren't going to decide to go yourself." Naenia said slyly.

"Shut up hag!" The bounty huntress blushed.

Naenia ignored the insult and walked in with Rose and Mazareth behind her. Shadow chuckled a little bit seeing Rose walk in with a present in hand. "I almost thought you wouldn't show up."

"Be glad that I took some time to show up." Rose huffed and looked away. "I only want to drop off some gifts then I will go."

"Really just a drop and go?" Shadow asked.

"I don't have another reason to stick around do I?" Rose asked back.

Shadow smirked a bit. "Really I guess you can miss out on all of the food then."

"Like I care about some food you bought from a cheap holiday st…" Rose stopped when a smell travelled through the air. Everyone stopped their talks when they saw a larger Mukurowl and Punnya balancing plates and placing them on the table. They red head blushed when her stomach reminded her she hasn't eaten in a while.

"Fine I guess we can stay for a while." The blushing girl said.

"Hopefully long enough so that we can pass out gifts." Shadow said. "You might as well enjoy the party, your cat sure is." Rose followed his finger and saw that Mazareth was to the side chatting (or meowing) with Punnya as the neko manju finished helping with placing out the food.

'Traitor' Rose thought.

"Come on Rosie stop being such a sourpuss nya!" Ravena chimed from a distance.

"What did you call me boobcat?!" Rose left Shadow alone to start her usual argument with the nekomata.

Shadow shook his head and went to the door seeing that Naenia had dragged DB somewhere. 'They'll turn up by gift exchange time I bet.' Another knock made him open the door and then look at the arrival strangely.

"Do I want to know why he's tied up?" Shadow asked.

"No you don't" Grim said as he still had Doppelman in chains. "Though if he behaves himself I may let him loose."

'**Don't count on it!' **Doppelman yelled out in his mind.

"As long as he doesn't make too much trouble let him out whenever." Shadow said. "Now come inside and enjoy the party with everyone else."

"Don't mind if we do." Grim then walked in and dragged his shadow along the ground.

**(Scene Change)**

"You looked surprised when you saw me at the door." Naenia smirked. "You thought that I wouldn't be able to come?" The famous hunter asked.

"To be honest yeah, when I sent you the invite I started thinking that maybe you were in another town or area far off and you wouldn't be able to come." DB explained in embarrassment. "I'm happy you were able to get here though."

"Well I'm happy you decided to invite me." Naenia said with a playful look. "I didn't think you would take the time to think about me with everything you must have done to help decorate."

"I didn't much even though I was basically worked like a dog." DB said silently cursing a certain Beta who had his hands full. "Still why don't we go with the others and enjoy the party."

"Of course, though let's save the drinking for later." Naenia said knowing the vampires habits.

"Hey I do more than drink you know." DB complained playfully but followed her back to the others.

**(Scene Change)**

"I see you are doing well for yourself TPB." Rina said with killing intent forming around her.

"Same goes for you too Rina." TPB said matching the Admin's intent with her own. Between the girls was Key who let out a sigh feeling the intent from both of them. From a distance Cast and Leon watched on.

"I never really seen my cousin be this competitive for anything this much." Cast said.

"You sure that she isn't really just possessive?" Leon asked.

"What do you mean Leon?" Cast asked.

"If I remember right Rina is the head of the Betas correct, some Admins have their favorite Betas correct?" Leon said. "It's like Rina just doesn't want to lose her favorite toy."

"Somehow I think this is completely different." Cast sweatdropped.

Back with the three Key thought of a way to end the conflict for a moment. "Say PB, didn't you want to show Rina something when you got the chance to?"

This made the girls looked at him confused until TPB remembered what he was talking about. "Oh yes I remember now!" Key took the time to back out from between the two as TPB brought out what looked like a giant key. "You happen to know what this is right."

"A world key" Rina said in amazement. "Where did you find one?"

"It appeared in my inventory after I defeated a few monsters in the Kingdom Hearts area. I was wondering if you knew what it does." TPB asked.

As the two chatted Key just sat and watched glad to have dodged a potential tug-a-war.

"Dodge a bullet?" Grim asked.

"You have no idea" Key said and then saw Grim was holding something. "Why are you holding a chain?"

"I had to keep Doppelman tied up to not make a ruckus." Grim explained.

"If only we could do the same with some of the people here." Key said. "By the way where is Doppelman?"

"He's right…" Grim noticed the light weight of the chain and pulled it to see that Doppelman had escaped. "Son of a…"

**(Scene Change)**

'Operation Mistletoe Ambush is a go!' Bella called out to the ones that helped with her plan. 'You guys sure this will work?'

"**Of course all it really takes is the right timing." **Greymatter said to her.

"**I concur with my fellow extraterrestrial on this one, though there are other factors they have been eliminated by the careful placing of the flora around the base." **Brainstorm explained.

'In layman's terms, I just have to get them paired off and let the plants do the rest.' Getting nods from the two Bella then grabbed Illu who was trying to end Ravena's and Rose's bickering.

"Hey Illu I think something might be missing from the menu, can you check the kitchen and see if Shadow got everything?" Bella asked.

"It isn't like Shadow to forget anything, are you sure?" Illu said.

"Maybe you should go with him and check ok." Bella pushed the girl along.

"Bella-chan" Illu stopped herself and sighed knowing that she wasn't going to get anywhere with the Hyna General. "All right I'll go and ask him."

"Good luck" Bella gave her a wink and then pushed her along using a bit of her strength.

After her unexpected flight Illu walked over to Shadow who got himself a drink of punch from the food table. "Shadow-kun, Bella wants to know if you have forgotten something in the kitchen."

"I shouldn't have" Shadow looked at all of the food. "Everything I made is all out here, unless she knows something I don't."

"Maybe she left a surprise in the kitchen?" Illu wondered.

Shadow shrugged. "I stopped wondering how she thought a long time ago, I'll go check now." The teen then walked to the kitchen.

"I'll join you in case you need help." Illu said following after him. When they both entered the kitchen Shadow used his Byakugan and froze when he saw that extra addition. "That crafty little…"

"What do you mean?" Illu asked wondering why the boy was cursing the toon girl. Shadow stopped his rant and pointed to the ceiling; Illu followed and then blushed when she saw the mistletoe hanging from the ceiling.

"I know it isn't like her to try some prank but this is more thought out that she usually tries." Shadow said eyeing the plant.

"Um, what should we do, we don't really have to do this…I mean it's not like anyone can see us from in here." Illu blushed red trying to think up excuses, as she tried to make more a small part of her secretly wanted the kiss.

"Eh it's not that big a deal" Shadow shrugged surprising Illu. "It's a Christmas prank right, besides might as well follow tradition."

"So that means…you don't mind if we…" Illu said shyly.

"Only if you don't mind" Shadow said though inwardly he was nervous himself about the kiss. They looked to each other and both decided not to rush it, they both went in slowly going for a short kiss until the door behind Illu flung open knocking her into a deep kiss.

"Yo Illu, I was looking around for you and your friend said that you were…" Aeon stopped talking as he got mad seeing his sister kissing a certain someone. "Hey what are you doing taking advantage of her!"

"Taking advantage?!" Shadow yelled with a blush still on his face from the surprise lip lock. Illu looked with a full-face blushed and saw who it was at the door. "Chocobo!"

"One second Illu," Aeon walked forward with his Fusion Sword out. "First I need to deal with the one threatening your innocence!" The protective brother raised his sword only to be pulled back by the rest of his guild.

"Come on Aeon just because our Neechan is growing up doesn't mean you have to throw a fit." Sol joked as he held him back taking his sword away.

"Stop teasing him Sol, besides all of this looks like a misunderstanding." Ganymede said.

"And how is this a misunderstanding?!" Aeon yelled.

"Would you guys like to Love Doctor?" Ganymede asked the others.

"Sure thing man" Malachite said as he got ready to explain. "From the look of the ceiling Mistletoe was set up, so it could just be they were following old Christmas traditions."

"That and you were the one that crashed them into each other Aeon." Zephyrus added.

"Ugh can you please take Chocobo out of the kitchen so that I can explain what happened." Illu asked them as her blush faded down to a light pink.

"That and I don't want to break the law and have the kitchen destroyed just to deal with you right now." Shadow forced his blush away. "I'll be out and about if you need me."

"All right" Illu said as Shadow left.

"Oi I'm not done with you yet!" Aeon squirmed to get out of the grapple the others held him in. the struggling stopped when he felt a large killing intent on him. The others of Atherion got out of Illu's way as she glared at her brother.

"Oh Chocobo, I think we need to have a **talk** about something." The smile on Illu's face betrayed the intent swirling around her.

Shadow walked into the room oblivious of the actions in the kitchen and walked over to Bella who was smiling next to the tree.

"So did you find the extra thing in the kitchen?" Bella asked innocently.

"Don't toy with me Bella, how many do you have strung up around the base?" Shadow asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Bella said still smiling innocently. "Now if you excuse me I have a party to liven up." The Toon girl then left Shadow alone at the tree.

"Sometimes I hate that girl." Shadow stated before he was dragged away by Ravena and Rose.

"Shadow-kyun we need you to settle something for us!" Ravena said.

"Yeah I want you to explain to this girl why she is wrong!" Rose added.

"And to think you two actually bonded a little bit this year." Shadow removed his limbs from their clutches and then looked at them. "Now what is going on?"

"Be honest Shads, who do you think would have won if you and Grimmy hadn't interrupted us?" Ravena asked.

"We want your full honest opinion." Rose crossed her arms waiting for the answer.

"You two are still going on about that fight; you both nearly destroyed each other that day why do you think we stopped you?" Shadow asked.

"Nya it might have gone a little overboard but I know I could have pulled though!" Ravena said.

"Puh-lease you would have become a new moon in FFW after I was finished with my attack." Rose argued.

"The jutsu that you have no control over and would have drawn us all into your gravity well?" Shadow asked her.

"Shut up, even if I lost control kitty here would have been dead before anything else." Rose answered.

"Want to try it now Tattertots?" Ravena asked as she sharpened her claws.

"As long as you're ready to die Boobcat" Rose said getting her daggers out.

Shadow sighed and decided to end the argument. "Look you can probably find out who would win next time you fight but for now since you can't use your powers…why don't you try being friends for once."

Both the girls huffed and then looked away from each other. "Never!"

Shadow sighed before pulling Ravena to the side. "Mind if I talk to you in private for a bit?" He asked the cat girl.

"Nya what for?" Ravena confusedly asked.

"Just come with me" Shadow dragged the girl away before the argument went any further. The players then ended up in a room alone. "Rave I'm not going to ask who started the fight but can you turn away from up at least this once."

"Nya why me?" Ravena asked.

"Just try and turn away from just for today, we're trying to have less fighting around here…besides Rose is just talking about her wounded pride." Shadow explained.

"How do you think Felis feels?" Ravena pointed to her bell.

"Probably mad after the tournament/mind control thing but can we at least put the grudge on hold." Shadow asked again.

"Fine…hey what's that?" Ravena asked. Shadow followed her eyes and sighed seeing what was hanging from the ceiling. 'Bella I am going to kill you.'

"Mistletoe nya?" Ravena stared at the decoration.

"**Looks like you got your chance Deedee" **Felis laughed when she felt Felidae's fate light up with a blush.

"How was she able to hang all these up without anyone noticing?" Shadow asked no one.

"So…" Ravena said awkwardly.

"Yeah…" Shadow said equally awkward. The two decided to skip to talking and went forward into the kiss.

After a few minutes Rose saw Ravena and Shadow walk back into the room. "So did you teach your pet some manners?"

Before another fight could happen Rose found herself being dragged by Shadow. "Hey let go off me you bastard!"

"See you later Ravena, try to think about what I said." Shadow said carrying the bounty huntress away. The neko-girl nodded with the blush finally fading from her cheeks.

In another part of the building Shadow put the rowdy girl down to talk with her. Rose brushed the imaginary dirt off her clothes and glared at the boy. "Who said you could drag me away like that?"

"The host of this party, who ironically is me" Shadow started off. "Besides I figured you would be better than that."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rose asked angrily.

"For someone famous for keeping her cool you always lose it when it comes to Ravena." Shadow said. "What's all that about?"

"Me and Kitty have our own history" Rose said while regaining her cool. "Besides after you and Grim stopped that match there was no clear winner."

"And normally I would say decided with your fists than with your mouth, but since no violence is allowed let's just enjoy the party." Shadow said.

"Whatever…did you happen to make…" Rose said almost hoping.

"Like I would invite you without making that" Shadow gestured to the table to see a small cake right next to the fruitcake. "If you want you can take it and leave."

Rose thought for a bit before deciding. "You know, I might as well stay…just to see what you got me."

"Oh and what makes you so confident I got you something?" Shadow smirked.

"You're too much of a softy; you wouldn't invite me without making sure I had a gift." Rose smirked back.

"Touché" They started to walk back until a light blinded them. Once they light was gone Shadow just stared at what just fell from the sky? "You got to be kidding me here."

"Is this a joke?" Rose asked eyeing the mistletoe as well. "Because if this is I'm not laughing!" She said as she started blushing.

"Unfortunately" Shadow sighed.

"Let's get this over with." Rose said with her face matching her hair. The two then went on and slowly kissed not seeing a smiling Bella holding onto the string with the mistletoe attached.

"And the spirit of Christmas strikes again." Bella whispered as to not alert the two.

* * *

><p><strong><strong>-Fanfiction World-<strong>**

* * *

><p>"Well we might as well get to what we've been waiting for and start giving out the gifts." Shadow said as everyone walked to the tree. While some of them pulled gifts from their inventories others noticed something different about the room.<p>

"Um Shadow-kun I think we're missing some gifts." Illu said.

Everyone looked underneath the tree seeing only the fallen pines from the evergreen itself. They all heard a ruckus and heard noise from the chimney.

"Since when did we have a chimney?" DB asked.

"Since we lost that bet." Shadow said.

"What?"

"Never mind we got presents to get back nya!" Ravena yelled.

"I think I know who did this, Bella mind helping me for a bit?" Grim asked the toon.

"Sure what do you have in mind?" Bella asked. As they planned Doppelman made it outside holding a large bag filled with the stolen presents.

"**Keep me wrapped up for most of the party wills ya, let's see how you all like it if I take everything under the tree!" **The rogue shadow said as he tried to look for an escape. Doppelman looked to the sky only to see something falling from the sky.

"**Oh a Christmas shooting star, what will I wish for?" **Doppelman said as he watched what he thought was a star falling. **"Hey is it supposed to be that close?"**

"Doppelman, in about five seconds we'll getting those presents back whether you like it or not." Grim voice said from all around.

"**And what makes you say that!" **Doppelman asked the voiced. Soon the star hit homed and slammed him back into the base. Grim walked from the shadows next to Orochimaru who shushined next to him.

"Thanks for the help Bell, think that will hold him?" Grim asked.

"**The sealing jutsu I used on your golem should be able to keep him their unmoving until the next few days. He won't be able to break out of that." **The snake sannin explained before transforming back into Bella.

"Thanks I owe you one then" Grim said.

"No thanks, all in a day's work." Bella said before walking back to the party with the presents.

"Did you really have to put a hole through the ceiling?" Shadow asked.

"Yes, yes it was" Bella said with a smile.

"Whatever" Shadow decided to ignore the damage done to the roof by the falling golem. "The presents are back, no one is hurt, let's just pass around gifts already."

"For once I think I agree with you Shadow" Leon said as they began to exchanging gifts.

"Merry Christmas everyone!" Bella called out holding a cup to toast.

"Merry Christmas!"

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><p><strong>A way to end it right well had to end it somewhere everyone. I hope everyone is with their friends and family enjoying these holidays. So everyone have a happy 2013 and have a happy safe holiday.<strong>

**-Shadowlight0982 out.**


	22. Chapter 18: Family Ties

** First real update of the New Year; I know a few of you love the Oneshot I put up and the many ideas that I'm working on but it's time to get back to the story you all love! Originally the plan was to rewrite the chapters already up but that would take too much time and I found myself already writing out the new chapter so I decided to just update and see if you can find the spoilers that will soon be shown in the new rewrites. Well you all know my plan on to the announcements.**

**Announcements**

** I think I said this before but if not I will say it here, to go along with something new I will introduce I need real world profiles for the characters. I already have some from the chapter where you guys sent them in but with the amount I have I may have to fall on a backup plan. I will be sending PMs to those who sent characters and haven't been reading but for those who are if I have yours thanks and if not please send them in.**

** Also for this story I may go out and try to find a Beta, just for this story. If anyone wants please email me. Finally with it being a new year FFW is going to receive its first anniversary! I have a special surprise for that day and it is coming up soon so get ready.**

** Now ladies and gentlemen let us get back to the story.**

**ON WITH THE SHOW!**

* * *

><p>"Speech"<p>

'_Thought'_

**Attacks/Powers**

"**Transformed/Dark-side"**

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: While FFW, the plot, and a few characters belong to me; I do not own characters not made by me, certain pieces taken from their creator and sources and a few other things. Hopefully this can become a real animated project.<p>

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><p><strong>-Chapter 18: Family Ties-<strong>

* * *

><p>Since the conclusion of the Eclipse Tournament life in the massive VMMO returned to it's somewhat normality. The area around the large stadium had to be shut down by the Admin Guards and the Analyst to continue their investigation on CHAOS.<p>

With the area being shutdown also led to the shutdown of the Warp System in and out of the stadium; those who chose not to log out after the events simply took to the roads on foot or took their transports back to wherever they came from. As of right now a group of players were following a dirt path back to their hometown.

"You guys know I don't mind the exercise or anything but why are we still walking back to Tokyo City?" DB asked as he and his teammates continued along the road.

"There was no way to repair the cruiser back at the stadium and right now we don't have the tools on hand to fix it ourselves." Key explained to the vampire.

"So now we just have to travel like this for a while." Shadow finished for the Beta.

"We can all ride on Muku-Chan and fly back Shadow-Kun." Illu suggested to the boy thinking it was too soon for either of them to be up and walking about. 'I know I was given treatment after the Tournament but you did have it worse off.'

"And I'm sure Punnya wouldn't mind carrying a few of us as well nya." Ravena added to the owlgirl's suggestion.

"Punnya!" The Neko Manju happily meowed willing to help the group in anyway. Mukurowl, who was perched on Illu's head, nodded but for now he was enjoying their slow journey across the area.

"I'm sure Punnya and Mukurowl both could carry us but I think we should enjoy this downtime while we still have it." Shadow shot down both plans. "Besides this path leads straight to Tokyo City, as long as we don't stop we'll be there in about a few hours."

"I know you want to rest and relax after your brush with death Shads but you can't get much resting if we do nothing but walking." Bella said.

"One this walk is peaceful and its great exercise and two, we wouldn't be walking if our ride wasn't totaled beyond repair." Shadow reminded the toongirl.

'This guy can really hold a grudge huh.' Bella seemed to ask the audience. "Fine I know it's my fault we are walking but what if I help speed this up?" A flash of light lit up the road for a while and Bella stood in a new form. **"With Cannonbolt I can roll us all the way to town!"**

"If you think we can all fit then you are as crazy as I think you are." Shadow dully stated. "Also I rather smell of sweat from walking all day than smell of rolling around within an alien."

"**Fine then, but how about…"** The Arburian Pelarota vanished and in his place was a new form that flew to the air. **"Why not just take to the sky; I can fly us all there it's better than walking."**

"Props for using my favorite Decepticon, but even if you could stay in control I don't fully trust Starscream not to mention that he can only carry about two of us at a time; three if we squeeze in tightly." Shadow said rejecting Starscream's offer.

Before the transformer could take control and say a few choice words in a flash of red he returned to the ground turning back into the Hyna General. "You know you're hard to please Shads." The shapeshifter said.

"Thank you" Shadow said with obvious sarcasm. "Now let's keep going, soon as we reach the next marker we can fly on Punnya and Mukurowl."

"Or…we can all take a ride now; it will give me a reason to use this new function." As she spoke Bella was already inputting a code within the Omnitrix. The alien device flashed three times before activating.

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><p><strong>(Scene Change)<strong>

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><p>Within the middle of a large fortified area there was a castle built upon a small town. Several people could be seen either entering or leaving off in different directions to parts unknown. Inside a throne room Kusanagi looked down at her remaining generals.<p>

"Hagane, have you made the preparations for the army?" The girl asked the large machine.

"Of course, I should have an infantry force ready for you before I create the specialized units." The towering mech answered.

"And this area's security?"

Hagane looked up to the calculating eyes of his creator. "This area is secure; we are blind to the Admin's eyes and only appear as any other area; though I am making the plans to give us a more permanent location." Hagane then rose from his bow. "Only those converted to your cause know of this castle's existence."

Kusanagi nodded trusting the words of the mechanical giant. Before she dismissed him however, she had one more task for him. "Hagane check on projects Alpha and Beta before you begin…and see about getting a better look."

"Mistress?" While it couldn't show on his face Hagane looked confused at the last part of his Mistress's words.

"I have been doing more observations and as you are now you stand out too much; you are one of the most menacing forces in my army but you have to blend in better than you do now." The princess opened her hand allowed flakes of data to compress and form a sphere in her hand. "Your appearance is recognizable from the Tournament and your meeting with Shadow did not help that either."

"I…I understand, for the sake of your goals I will do as you say and blend in better." Hagane said. Kusanagi slowly released the sphere and let it float towards her general. Sakura and Aka who were watching the display decided to voice their opinions.

"Cheer up you bucket of bolts, I was thinking we could all use a change of appearance anyway, besides you aren't exactly turning heads in a good way." Sakura joked.

"Awe but I like looking like I do now Sakura-Nee; mismatching outfits are so much fun." Aka said after taking the lollipop from his mouth. "Though I would like a change of name though, I'm tired of Aka it got boring days ago."

"I prefer not to look like a…cosplayer I believe the phrase is." Sakura walked forward and then took her bow to Kusanagi. "Mistress-Sama, if you don't mind me asking, is it possible for all of us to take the time and blend in better."

"You may, when you are done Sakura I'm assigning you back to Crystal City do not forget your mission." Kusanagi said.

"Yes Mistress-Sama" Sakura then stood up to leave; she was followed by Hagane as they were both given their orders. They left the room leaving the thunder child, Aka, alone. Aka was looking to Kusanagi knowing he would be receiving orders now.

"Aka I need you to deviate from your assignment for now; I'm sending you as a messenger to the deck. The orders are to go and strike Kurotsubasa." Kusanagi ordered.

"Are you sure, some of the guys are super weak and the only one I can think of who can do that isn't really that strong. Not to mention you won't be giving them a power-up like you did with Renny at the tournament." Aka questioned.

"I am not expecting results this is only a test, as of now only a select few know of us and they do not have a clue how far our influence reaches. I would like to show Shadow what he is dealing with, there are more threats in this world than that fool Chaos." Kusanagi said. "The one you are thinking of should do fine, contact him at once."

"Ok Nee-Sama" The child turned around and went to leave the room but then stopped to turn back to his leader. "Hey Nee-Sama can I change my name, please please?"

The woman sighed knowing he wouldn't go along unless he got his request; she didn't need a sulking general at the moment. "What would you like to be called this time?" She asked him.

"This is the last time I promise." Aka smiled, lightning began to generate from his body and light up the room. "I've been watching some old movies and games to see who has the same powers as me when one caught my eye…" The look he had now deceived his age, "How about…Raiden?"

"Raiden" Kusanaga repeated getting a feel for the name; she then had a smirk appear along her face. "All right then…Raiden, go and put the plans into motion."

The Thunder child gave her a huge grin before vanishing in a flash, the loud crack of thunder told her that he had teleported out. Kusanagi then snapped her fingers and a large fluid-filled capsule appeared before her. She stood from her throne and walked forward looking at the body inside the capsule.

"I had big plans for you but you turned out so horribly, but that isn't something I can't fix." Kusanagi said to the unconscious figure floating in the green liquid.

"My Saint Beasts are incomplete; you must rejoin us Sen…no you deserve better than that." The girl then remembered the weapon her former general used to wield: Ouroborous, the infinite serpent.

"Infinite…Mugen"

* * *

><p><strong>(Scene Change)<strong>

* * *

><p>Another Guard hollered in pain and then joined the rest of his squadron on the ground. The small group of Admin Guards lied dead on the grass, yet for some reason their bodies have not vanish or broken into pixels like normal. In the middle of the slaughter circle a boy eyed his work.<p>

Feeling the hairs on his neck stand on neck he smelled the faint ozone in the air as a bolt of lightning struck the ground close to him outside the circle of bodies. The mysterious teen placed a book within his coat and smiled at the new arrival.

"Hey there brat, I saw some footage of the tournament, why wasn't I asked to compete?" The teen asked.

"Please rookie, that event was for the Four Saint Beasts, you need to have a lot more time spent with us under your belt before you're assigned to do a mission like that." The "brat" spoke to the coat wearing boy.

"And I can't exactly do that if I'm stuck here doing boring missions like this." The boy waved to the guards that lined the grass.

"Well then it's your lucky day, Nee-Sama has a special assignment for you." The newly named Raiden said while pulling out a candy bar from his bag.

"What's the mission, what do I have to do this time?" The boy wrapped his hands behind his head. "Please tell me it's not to deal with more of these weak patrol Guards."

"The winners of the Eclipse Tournament, you know what they look like right?" Raiden had unwrapped his chocolate bar and took his first bite.

"Who doesn't know who they are, plus I happen to know one of them personally." Red eyes flashed for a moment before returning to their dull red color.

"Hope that doesn't get in the way" Raiden took another bite. "Your orders are to strike the Black Wing, Kurotsubasa." He said after finishing his mouthful.

"Strike as in…?"

"As in do as your told and take them out." Raiden said seriously for a second before finishing his snack and showing an innocent smile. "So don't mess up okay?!"

The teen had ignored the sudden mood swing and proceeded to collect the bodies. He then drew a rune on the ground and caused all five to disappear. "No worries I already have a plan worked out for Kurotsubasa." The teen gave him a familiar vampire's grin. "Do I have a time limit?"

"As far as I care take all the time you need, I'm bored again so I'm leaving. Cya!" Another clap of thunder and the Saint Beast vanished.

The now alone player opened his menu and went to his inventory. After searching for a moment he pulled out a small disc-like device: a holo-player, an item capable of holding set amount of footage. The teen pushed play and began watching the Tournament fast-forwarding to a certain battle.

"Wow she really can't keep it together, well time to pay Neko-Chan a visit." A ring rose from the ground and around his body and then he teleported away.

* * *

><p><strong>(Tokyo City Outskirts)<strong>

* * *

><p>Three vehicles continued moving until they parked on the outskirts of the small city. The members of Kurotsubasa stepped out of each vehicle and the Transformers returned to robot mode.<p>

"**Wow that trip was short, it wasn't enjoyable at all." **The yellow Autobot complained.

"**Enough of that Bumblebee, besides this was to help Bella's friends." **Ironhide reminded him.

"**Yeah I know, just that I wish we were further back so that we could drive around more." **Bumblebee said.

Ignoring the two chattering bots the leader of the Autobots addressed Kurotsubasa. **"We hope you all enjoyed the ride." **Optimus said to the members.

"Thank you, I know I wanted to walk but you did save us a lot of daylight." Shadow thanked the Autobot.

"**Any friends of Hyna are friends of ours; now Autobots dismissed!" **At his command the three robots became three green orbs of energy, the orbs combined into one before the light died down and showed Bella stretching her limbs.

"I didn't think that would work." Bella said as she popped a few joints.

"What have I told you about tampering with the Omnitrix?" Shadow said.

"Check with Azmuth always to make sure it was safe and I did." Bella stuck her tongue out at the boy. "Besides that was nothing I can do more just wat…"

Key grabbed the girl's hand before she could input a command. "Bella, while I love to see all the new tricks you have, save it for our guest."

Shadow activated his Byakugan to scan around the area. He eyed the area and saw a person quickly approaching them. "Key is right, everyone get ready." Shadow summoned his scythe but then doubled over a bit in sudden pain.

"You still haven't completely recovered Shadow-Kun." Illu said in worry.

"Just sit back and relax for a while; we got this one." DB pulled out his dual handguns.

Shadow was about to protest until he saw the person move right on top of them. "Get back!" He used gravity and pushed them all back before blocking a drop kick with the pole of his scythe. The pole held strong against the booted foot, though the impact was strong enough to release a shockwave that pushed the others back even further.

"I heard you took a pounding at the Tournament, but it looks like you can still fight." The assailant smirked. Shadow just glared at the attacker. "I can do more than that!" The attacker had to jump back to avoid a chakra infused jab. The mystery player did a small flip on the air before he landed on his feet. The others of Kurotsubasa recovered to join their leader.

"You guys want the good news or the bad news?" DB switched to his battle mode.

"Might as well tell us both DB" Key had summoned Infinity and Oathbreaker to his hands.

"We're dealing with a vampire, obviously the same type I am." Before anyone could ask him a question DB had already charged forward. With his handguns he fired a barrage of bullets towards the attacker.

The player was dodging the bullets not letting any amount of lead touch his clothes. "Come on you think bullets will really work?" The teen asked.

"No but let me give you something more to dodge!" The guns soon became enflamed and the player now found himself dodging flurries of fireballs.

"Now this is more like it!" The boy was enjoying himself as he dodged the blazing bullets. One pieced his coat causing him to stop to put out the flames when he saw the air waiver around him. Suddenly a glaive and a keyblade sent him tumbling along the ground.

"I hope you didn't forget about us?" Key asked.

"Bella, Ravena; now's your chance!" Illu called out as she and Mukurowl prepared another illusion.

The boy got up and dusted himself off and saw the air was wavering again. He scoffed and was about to charge forward until a barrage of colors made him shield his eyes. "This trick again?" He kept his eyes covered to avoid a possible seizure.

**Lariat!**

The attacker felt the air leave his throat as a large bicep slammed into his neck. The eight-tailed jinchuuriki finished his attack and sent him flying before changing back into Bella who added a super strong kick to the combo.

"All right Kitty finish him off!" The toon girl called to the neko.

"Right…nya?" Ravena was about to prepare but in a red and black flash Punnya was suddenly gone. "Punnya where are you!" Ravena looked around worried.

"Hey Rave can you hurry before…" Bella was now confused only seeing a crater which originally held their ambusher. "Ok where did that guy go?"

"Punnya!"

The Neko Manju's call had the guild stop fighting and look for Punnya, when they found her everyone, except for Ravena, were frozen; watching in disbelief.

"Is this supposed to be a joke?" DB asked as they all saw their attacker was now playing with Punnya…by stretching the neko every different way possible,

"It's been so long since I last saw you girl, and you're still as squishy and stretchy as ever!" The boy grinned as he used his hands to pull and stretch Punnya's squishy form.

"Punnya!" Punnya complained not enjoying the mystery boy's actions.

"Hey put Punnya down you…Lil bro?" Ravena asked; she was mad at first until she suddenly saw who the person attacking them was.

"You know him Ravena-Chan?" Illu asked as she and the others stood confused. The boy-in-question continued to 'play' with Punnya until the Manju was pulled from his clutches. Shadow now had Punnya in his hand (to Punnya's relief) and looked at the player.

"Who are you and why did you attack us?" Shadow asked.

"Do I really need a reason to find some action?" The boy asked playfully. "But right now I'm a bit hurt that my own sister didn't ever talk about me or remember me as we were fighting.

"Nya, I've only been in this guild for a while and siblings never came up!" Ravena explained. "Anyway guys, this is my little brother nya."

"Little brother…" DB looked at the two and saw that the boy was much taller than the nekomata girl. "Isn't it the other way around?" He asked the two siblings.

"Nope" The boy answered and grinned to the guild. "I may be taller but sis is definitely older, the name is Whiskasfriskas, Big-Sis's little brother." He introduced himself with a mock bow.

Kurotsubasa stood frozen at the news that their magical nekomata friend had a younger brother. Shadow sighed and decided to end the silence by pointing to the city in the distance.

"Look why don't we all talk back at our Guild base, we can have real introductions there." Shadow said.

"Lead the way then" Whisk smiled. Shadow just looked at him questionably before they all walked back into Tokyo City.

* * *

><p><strong>Tokyo City-Kurotsubasa HQ<strong>

* * *

><p>Whiskasfriskas finished his drink and lied back on his seat enjoying the guild's hospitality. "I don't care what the forums say about you guys, you are all right with me!" Whisk complimented them.<p>

"Um thank you" Illu said after Whisk finished the tae she had prepared for everyone. The guild was around the café part of the base trying to find out more about the catgirl's brother.

"So you're really Ravena's brother?" Key asked.

"Yep, she may not talk about me much but she has mentioned you guys a lot." Whisk then smirked. "She even has a few screenshots on her computer.

"Nya I keep telling you to stay out of my room!" Ravena waved her hands around annoyed.

"You say something Rave?" Whisk smirked to the hissing neko. "Anyway, she talks about you guys a lot…" the boy then pointed to Illu.

"Illusionist Owl…Illu right?" Whisk asked the poison specialist.

"Yes" Illu answered a bit nervously. Mukurowl was sitting on her head staring at the guy confusedly.

Whisk then saw the tiny owl and smiled. "And Muku-Chan, he really is as little as he looks in the pictures." His smiled grew thinking he would have another pet to possibly play with; he then turned back to Illu. "Is it true what happened to you and Sis?"

"What do you mean?" Illu asked wondering what he may be talking about.

"That you two were once dressed as maids?" Whisk asked.

Illu blushed bright red before turning to her best friend. "Ravena-Chan y-you promised you wouldn't tell anyone about those outfits!"

Ravena was looking at the floor not wanting to meet Illu's embarrass eyes. "Nya he saw some pictures that I saved privately on my computer and wouldn't leave me alone until I gave him a story." Ravena admitted.

"Well you both looked cute, I bet it was for that guy you two…"A foot met his face making him fall out his seat. The rest looked at a blushing Ravena putting her foot down and a blushing Illu looking thankful to her friend. Whisk then picked himself up still smiling despite the blood dripping from his nose.

"Well jokes aside" He cleaned himself up and continued. "Any way you must really be good at those illusions you make, especially with what I saw in our last fight."

"Well those were only small ones at best, I still have work to do with making my bigger one perfect." Illu's blushed had died down to a dull pink but she was still embarrassed.

"Really...from the Eclipse Tournament highlights all your moves were perfect, it's really a shame you lost to that Wolf-guy." He said making the girl even more flustered. Whisk then turned to the Beta.

"And you're Keybladedude; I never thought Beta's were as strong as everyone says until I saw you fight in the tournament. Now I know I was wrong." Whisk said.

"There are a lot of rumors about the Beta-testers; most of them are usually false." Key said. "I hear all of the rumors."

"How were you able to make custom keyblades like the ones you have, some kind of Beta/Admin secret?" Whisk asked.

"Not really, though most light type players can find it, you just have to find your own Station of Awakening and then you can forge your own blades with your soul. It just helps if you have a keyblade already in mind to use as a base like mine." Key explained the process.

"Wow" He said almost mentally taking notes as he listened to Key's response. He then heard some light tapping on wood and saw DB practicing on a wooden table.

"So you're the famous DrummerBoy; I may have to call you Gunslinger with how close you came to turning me to Swiss cheese." Whisk laughed.

DB also laughed at the joke. "I'm sure the bullets wouldn't have worked have worked anyway if they did hit you, we are the same blood after all."

"Hellsing Vampire" Whisk puffed his chest boldly and offered a hand to his fellow vampire.

"Nothing else stands a chance" DB accepted the hand and they shook at the same time testing each other's grip. They both soon let go impressed with each other's strength; Whisk now turned to Bella.

"The Great Hyna General!" Whisk said eccentrically. "So is it true that you're as flat as an iron board?" His answer came in the form of another body part meeting his face and sending him to the ground. Bella brushed off her fist after hitting him dead center.

"Really Hy-Nya?" Ravena solemnly asked.

"Brother or not no one will be spared from my wrath!" Bella said in a matter-of-facto tone.

Whisk picked himself off the ground while wiping the blood away again. He then threw the napkin away and smirked. "And you got a good punch too; I expect nothing less from Ravena's partner in crime!"

"So you have heard of me and my men's exploits?" Bella asked.

"Heard of them, I laughed for a week after the paint bomb in the Admin Guard's quarters!" Whisk said, "I still can't get the 'Pink Guards' out of my head."

"Glad I can entertain the masses" Bella did a mock bow. Whisk clapped for a bit before he turned his sights to the final member.

"The Boss himself; how does it feel to know your bounty increased?" Whisk asked.

"Increased?" Shadow said questionably.

"Yep, right after the tournament ended your bounty went through the roof, although now you probably won't have to worry about any low-skilled noobs coming after you now." Whisk said.

"Strong or Weak; I know that I'll still be going challenged and I won't go easy on them." Shadow simply said.

"Good to know…hey has Sis ever sad how much she…" His question was cut off as Ravena now held a hand over his mouth.

"So Lil' Bro what brings you this way?" Ravena asked wanting to move the conversation along before he said something too embarrassing.

"Oh right" Whisk then cleared his throat and then looked to them all with a serious look. "I was wondering if I could possibly join the guild."

The room got silent at the request that Whisk had asked. Ravena was the one to break the silence as she looked to her brother. "Why would you want to join bro; I thought you still like being solo as you look for action?"

"Well lately the fights that I have are getting boring, so I figured why go find trouble when I can let it find me." Whisk explained in his own sense of logic.

"So you figured why not join the guild where the leader is a marked target." Key theorized. "No offense Shads."

"None taken" Shadow said. "What made you think that you could join?"

"Well you let Ravena join and she is a basket of trouble." Whisk joked around grinning. "Besides wasn't the fight enough?"

"The fight, you mean the fight we had before was your way of auditioning?" DB realized.

"Exactly" Whisk said. "I had to show that I could keep up with you all."

A few of them nodded now having a clue of what the boy was thinking. Raven turned to Shadow since the ultimate decision of joining guilds lies with the leader.

"Come on Shads, Bro may have his faults but he is a good fighter, can he join?" Ravena pleaded adding large eyes to the image.

"He seems capable enough in battle and with him here we can outnumber the girls again like old times." DB added ignoring Bella's looks.

As the two kept going with suggestions of how Whisk would be a good addition to the guild Shadow kept silent as he thought it over. He then looked to the boy and made eye contact with him and suddenly his mind was blank. Shadow held a temple and let out a breath.

"Fine, he can have a probationary period. He still has to prove himself." Shadow answered.

"Nya you hear that bro, all you need to do is prove yourself!" Ravena gave her brother a hug.

"Hey let go!" Whisk squirmed to escape the hug. As the others laughed at the siblings' antics Shadow still clutched his head as he shook it slightly.

'What the hell…was that?' Shadow thought to himself as he shook the cobwebs out his head. The others were enjoying themselves watching the two while Shadow looked at Whisk with even more suspicion.

* * *

><p><strong>(Time Skip)<strong>

* * *

><p>Whisk was alone as he lay on the roof of the two story building. He was enjoying the breeze through the air as Whisk was out in the peace and quiet of Tokyo City. The vampire opened an eye as he heard the soft flutter of wings. The vampire sat up as he saw what appeared to be a violet monarch butterfly.<p>

"What do you want; don't you have something better to do than spy on me?" Whisk asked quietly.

"Rookie, you need to know your place amongst your betters, and what about your assignment; Mistress-Sama told you to eliminate Kurotsubasa, not join them." A female voice spoke through the butterfly.

"You have no faith in me, trust me when I say I have a plan to defeat Kurotsubasa and take the Princess a new golden bracelet." Whisk dully said not caring for the girl's harsh words.

"Enough with your jokes; finish your assignment…if you fail there are many in the deck to replace you." The butterfly flapped its wings and took off leaving the boy alone. Whisk watched as the medium disappeared and then sighed.

Whisk then heard the door behind him open. "So there you are Lil' Bro; I've been looking all over for you nya."

"That's funny; I was just about to go look for you too." Whisk turned to his sister.

"Nya, what for?" Ravena asked. Whisk then rose to his feet and walked over to Ravena instantly towering over her small stature. Faster than the eye could see a soft jingle fill the air; the catgirl was shocked seeing Whisk had flicked her bell.

"So Sis, how come Felis got loose?" Whisk asked in a more grim tone.

Ravena stood serious as well can cover her bell with a hand. "I didn't let Felis loose, what are you talking about?"

"Sis I know I may seem dumb but I'm not stupid; since the Tournament, hell days before that, I was able to feel Felis' presence." Whisk said calmly. "Do those guys, your friends, know the truth about Felis?"

"They know about her, Shads and I told them after the Tournament." Ravena hissed.

"Really; so they know the whole truth…even about your old days?" Whisk asked.

"It's my life, I'll tell them when I'm ready, don't you say anything to them Whisk." Ravena dropped the nickname as she glared at him.

"All right I get it; you will tell them when the time is right…let us hope it won't be too soon." The two siblings glared at each other for what seemed like hours before Whisk broke it with a grin. "So you say you were looking for me?"

Ravena sighed and then explained the reason why she was searching for him. "We got a request for a job, Shads says if you do a good enough job on this mission then you can become a full member." The Nekomata said.

"Cool" Whisk replied. "Well I shouldn't keep the guy waiting then can I?" Whisk then walked over to the stairs. "Coming Sis?" He asked as he turned to look at his sister.

Ravena nodded and followed her brother back inside; her head was too full of thought to say anything.

* * *

><p><strong>(Scene Change)<strong>

* * *

><p>Back in the café area, also dubbed the briefing room, everyone were either standing or sitting in one of the many seats or stools. Moments later the siblings walked down the stairs and walked towards the others.<p>

"Nice now that you two are back we can start." Shadow said.

"What is the mission Boss man?" Whisk asked.

Shadow ignored the jibe and went on with the meeting. "We just have a simple request; we just have to deliver a set of armor and supplies through town."

"A delivery…waits what's the catch?" DB asked.

"Two…Tweedle-Dumb and Tweedle-Dunce." Shadow said causing everyone besides Key, Illu, and Whisk to groan.

"Do we really have to deal with those guys again Shads, it got boring when we kick their asses the 90th time." Bella complained.

"They are the ones patrolling that area right now; Rina gave me the heads up to watch out for those two while we deliver the Guard's new armor." Key explained.

"We're doing chores for the Admin nya, why are we doing a job like this?" Ravena asked.

"Supposedly it is to show good relations between us and the Admin; besides as long as Key's Boss is paying us for the job we can do her a favor." Shadow said.

"At least it is only the Tweedles we have to worry about." DB sighed.

"And these two are?" Whisk asked in curiosity.

"Just two of the Guards that work for the Admin; however, they constantly try to fight us for Shadow-Kun's bounty." Illu answered.

"Really, I thought the A.G. weren't allowed to attack players without reason." Whisk said.

"That is true, but they use the excuse of using their rights as fellow players to challenge us…besides those two there are no other threats on this mission can you handle this?" Shadow asked the probationary member.

"Potential danger is better than none at all." A thought then came to his head. "Hey how about you all just leave those guys to me?" Whisk offered.

"You want to take on two Admin Guards alone, though they may be morons they specialized in rushing and combination attacks that will outnumber you 2 to 1." Key told him.

"That's even better, now I know for certain I will have a good fight and won't have to deal with the Guards' chivalry crap." Whisk smiled.

"So you have fought Guards before Whisk-San?" Illu asked wondering the reason why he would have to.

"Sometimes, normal fights sometimes get dull and boring so I like to mix it up and challenge some Admin Guards once in a while." Whisk answered the owlgirl's question. "So can we go now?"

"Yeah, we're leaving now." Shadow said as all those sitting down stood up to leave.

* * *

><p><strong>Tokyo City Streets<strong>

* * *

><p>"This is so boring!" Bella said as she held a box in her arms.<p>

"Would you rather be dealing with the Tweedles right now?" DB asked carrying another box.

"Hey that's my job" Whisk playfully added.

Bella shrugged as she continued to carry the supplies. "Better than just being delivery boys."

"A job is a job so stop complaining Bella" Shadow said as he carried the last box. "Besides we're almost there." He eyed the buildings that told him they were close to the barracks.

Key was walking behind the carriers thinking of words to say to Rina regarding payment. At the same time Ravena and Illu were talking silently behind the rest of the guild.

"Blackmail, are you sure Ravena-Chan?" Illu asked.

"Nya he threatened to tell you guys a secret, something that I really don't want you guys to know about." Ravena meowed sadly.

"Is it really that bad of a secret?" The silence and the look on the Neko's face told Illu all she needed to know. "Well no matter what the secret is we wouldn't think any less of you." She tried to reassure her.

"You guys probably wouldn't look at me the same again nya." Ravena sighed. "Maybe it is a bad idea to have Lil' Bro in the guild."

"I'm sure that is just sibling worries, you just don't want Whisk-San to embarrass you anymore…heavens know he embarrassed me today." Illu sighed before she got to the point. "Ravena-Chan I have brothers, and even though we're not related, they are still my brothers. Sometimes they say the wrong things, we fight, and they tease me but they are still family to me."

Illu took a pause to let the words sink in before speaking again. "Do you get what I'm saying Rave-Chan?"

"Yeah I guess you're right Illu-Tan." Ravena then stopped as soon as she heard movement. Double checking her ears moved again confirming it. "Head's up guys!" She alerted the others.

Shadow used his Byakugan and scanned around the group and the path ahead. "Oh great…"

"Kurotsubasa…did you really think you can pass through this road during our rounds without alerting us?"

"Not you're best decision seeking us out for combat but we will happily oblige you!"

Jumping from the rooftops two Admin Guards landed on the street before the guild. They were dressed similarly to the other guards but they had their own alterations such as revealing red and green straight hair. The two drew their swords and stood boldly.

"Now you have to deal with us…Admin Crosses' Percival!" The red haired knight announced.

"Admin Crosses' Gawain!" The green haired knight announced.

"NOW TREMBLE AT THE ADMIN'S CROSS DUO!"

After the two guard's display they were met with yawns by a few of Kurotsubasa. Shadow held his box midair with his powers and walked forward crossing his arms.

"Look we don't have time for you two right now, heck we'll even tell you now that we're deliver armor for you guys." Shadow said wanting to get this over with.

"How do we know that this isn't a trap to make us drop our guard?" Gawain asked.

"You're toon friend has already booby-trapped us once with that bomb, it took us weeks to bleach our armor and remove the paint from the barracks!" Percival yelled.

"You were all asking for it, especially the on that called me a boy!" Bella yelled back.

"Regardless know this; you are not getting passed us without a few bruises!" Percival said to the group.

"You can make it easy on yourself and stand still and take punishment or make it worse by fighting back." Gawain added.

'Worse for you guys.' All the members beside Whisk thought. Said boy was already cracking his knuckles and then placed his box on the ground.

"Hey Shads, like I told you guys before let me handle these two clowns." Whisk said angering the two Guards.

"We don't have time for you to get too involved in this match; this mission is to deliver the armor nothing more." Shadow said. "Heck we can always fly over these guys or have Key completes the mission."

"Come on, how about this if I defeat them in five minutes then we can go forward, either way we will complete the request right?" Whisk asked.

Shadow sighed and then stepped back, DB and Bella were about to offer help until Shadow dismissed their involvement. "Five minutes is all you have, not a second more."

"Five minutes is actually more than I need." Whisk's red eyes glowed as he walked over to them. Watching all of this Ravena looked to her brother in worry.

'I know he is a good fighter but against two guards with armor and swords this will be tough. Lil Bro doesn't even carry weapon and even if he regenerates if he takes too many hits even he will have trouble.' Ravena watched as he brother charged forward.

"Now you insult us by sending only one fighter, and a lower skilled one at that." Gawain summoned a shield that blocked the vampire boy's blunt fist. Whisk had to kick back to avoid a slash from his blade. He didn't have time to rest as Percival was soon over him.

"And this one even said that he can defeat us in five minutes, don't make me laugh!" Percival missed as Whisk just barely dodged decapitation. An armored boot to the face sent Whisk scrambling along the ground.

"He's not doing very well" Key commented on the battle.

"Nya Bro you can do this!" Ravena encouraged him; her ears moved again as she heard a faint sound that seemed lost in the area.

"Of course Sis, after all…" Whisk pulled himself up and then vanished in a burst of speed. Percival flinched when he saw the boy was now in front of him. "I was always the better fighter."

The battle took a new turn as Whisk slammed a barrage of fist into the Guard's breastplate denting the armor as multiple hits struck it as his fists moved at supersonic speed. Percival coughed up blood as he felt the attack break through his armor and began to hit his body.

"Percival!" Gawain intervened and slashed at Whisk causing him to end the fight. Whisk was still smirked as he saw the punished Guard hunch over holding his abused stomach.

"This one…he" Percival wheezed out as he slowly tried to straighten himself.

"You have to rest; I will take care of this scum." Gawain was about to advance but Percival held him back.

"That boy is hiding something; we may be forced to use that." Gawain was shocked but nodded his head as he helped his brother in arms.

"Ok I believe you, it is time to end this battle!" Both of then stared at the still grinning Whisk and then sent power to their swords making them shine a red and green aura of the knight's respective color.

Whisk smirked as he prepared himself. 'All right here they come, it is almost time.'

"Wow the Tweedles must be desperate if they want to use that move on your brother Rave." Bella said.

"I know I hope Whisk can survive this." Ravena then turned to Shadow. "Shadow-Kyun…"

"He still has time, and if he needs it we will step in." Shadow said. Though he wanted to see how this would end as he thought something was wrong with the battle.

"LET'S GO!"

They rushed forward with their glowing blades filled with the sole intent of cutting the enemy in front of them down. The faint shadow of a two headed dragon roared as they quickly reach Whisk in a short time.

**Duo Gigaer…**

The two suddenly froze as pain went through them, they were frozen feeling their vision fade as they stared at the glowing red eyes of a demonic Whisk. Before a word could be said a fist to the temple knocked them both to the ground unconscious.

'Exactly as planned' Whisk then turned around and gave Kurotsubasa an innocent smile. "Well that's all well and done…we got a delivery to make people."

"After that fight I know we have to spar against each other sometime." DB smirked. "You made short work of them, though I wondered what happened when their signature move failed to work."

"Oh I just used one of my powers that made them freeze in place so that I could finish them, it is too bad that Shads gave me a time limit otherwise I would have had more time to show off." Whisk said.

"Yeah and we have no time for that" Shadow passed the box on the ground back to Whisk who caught it. "We have a job to do, despite what can be said about us we don't fight all the time."

"Come on Shads, guy was just having fun" Bella said. "We could use some fun and excitement when we have to do boring missions like this."

"Boring missions like this is what buys the food we eat at the base now let's move everyone." Shadow said. The rest followed him as the carriers carried their boxes. Before Ravena left she looked at the two guards and then joined the others.

'That sound from before, it sounded almost lik…'

"Punnya?"

Ravena's thoughts were interrupted by the concerned meows of the Manju flying in front of her. She smiled and petted Punnya for a bit and then walked up with the others. "I'm fine Punnya I must be hearing things, why would I hear scribbling during a fight."

"Scribbling?" Illu asked.

"I just heard something like pen hitting paper, but I may have just mad it up." Ravena answered her curious friend. "Come on let's go finish this dumb mission nya!" As the girls and pets walked with the others and talked no one noticed an irritated look on Whisk's face.

'Looks like I may have to accelerate things.'

* * *

><p><strong>Time Skip - Admin Barracks<strong>

* * *

><p>"Well I didn't think you guys would avoid those two anyway but did you really have to beat them up that badly?" Rina sighed after hearing the story from Key. The one that fought with the two only shrugged his shoulders.<p>

"Hey I live for a good fight and those two seemed willing." Whisk simply said.

Rina shook his head at the unneeded need for violence. 'This kid is almost as weird as Deus.' The Analyst then looked to them all. "You might as well have this one dropped over at the metal chambers."

"Metal Chambers?" Whisk asked interested.

"Don't bother, it is only a small jail they have around here where they keep some criminals until they can be moved to a more secure facility." Key explained. "And Rina you know you are not supposed to offer chances to fight inmates."

"I never offered I just suggested." Rina waved off then comment. "Anyway you delivered the armor and other things so mission done."

"Yes, now if you can just…" Shadow was cut off by Key covering his mouth.

"Well we have to leave, let's go everyone!" Key somehow dragged them all out of the room. Rina just stared at the dust cloud that was Kurotsubasa before shaking her head and returning to her work.

Outside walking back towards the base a loud grunt could be heard. Key was lying on the ground while Shadow dusted himself off. "Word of advice, tell me things like this ahead of time, don't even place a hand over my mouth."

"Sorry, I owed Rina a favor and decided that we would deliver the supplies to repay her. I only said that because it would be faster to have help than to do it alone." Key explained.

"Then asked don't try a dine and dash routine, and I expect you to pay up for the mission." Shadow sighed. "Anyway I'm taking nap, we're off the clock." He began to walk away.

"Come on Shads, you really want to sleep nya?" Ravena asked.

"After all that has happened I rather take a siesta" Shadow answered. "Like I said we are off the clock, we can all just chill around the base."

"That's cool I need to learn my way around anyway." Whisk was the first to walk in. The rest soon followed after all unaware of the plot thickening.

* * *

><p><strong>FFW<strong>

* * *

><p>Ravena was flying around the building looking around for her favorite drummer. Punnya was not far behind as she traveled with her friend and owner. "DB-Chan, it's that time again nya!" The flying catgirl then froze when she heard a familiar song.<p>

The pet and owner duo opened the door to DB's room and found the vampire jamming away with his drums only something did not sit right with her. DB was playing the beat she and him would dance to with Whisk as he played on a bass guitar adding to the rhythm. The two vampires stopped when they saw the Neko.

"Ever heard of knocking Sis?" Whisk playfully asked.

Chibi Ravena paid her brother almost no attention at all as she looked to DB almost teary-eyed expression on her face. "DB-Chan, that's our practice song, it's our practice time…did you forget?"

DB looked at her apologetically. "Sorry Rave, I was looking for you before Whisk dragged me in wanting to show me his playing, he saw that I had the song up and asked if we could mix it up for a while." He said sadly.

"But…" Ravena stuttered out still not believing it.

"Sis it is still the same song, we just made it rock!" Whisk and DB slapped hands before DB realized what he just did, he turned wanting to apologize only to see Ravena had already flew away.

* * *

><p><strong>FFW<strong>

* * *

><p>After the debacle with DB Ravena took time to calm her down and look for Key. She went into the terminal room knowing he was there going through computer files.<p>

"Ani-Key, please tell me you have some news about some new spells that can help me take my mind off something nya." Ravena asked wanting to hear an answer and at the same time wanting to forget about what had happened earlier.

"So I have to take the path that follows the river right?"

Ravena stopped again one again seeing the cause of her ire was chatting with Key. The Beta had a map displayed on a hologram as they talked about a specific route to reach an area.

"No the river path is a trap, it is mostly for show saying 'here's a path'…don't take it." Key explained and then showed him something else. "Follow until you hit this tree, it provides a one-time use teleport to the dungeon."

Whisk nodded, "That is true but how about…" The vampire touched a few spots on the map and it revealed another pathway.

Key stood shock not knowing of that route. "I have never seen a route like that, how did you find it?"

Whisk smiled. "Well I was underground in another area digging around to see if I could find anything when I discovered a serious of underground pathways. This one specifically leads even passed the door and into one of the deeper rooms in the dungeon."

"And it is safe?" Key asked.

"Of course, it leads to a dungeon save where you can even replenish your health, energy; heck you can even set a marker there to teleport." Whisk pointed out. "I'm surprised Big Sis hasn't said anything about paths like these."

"Well we have been busy with the tournament but as long as we talked she has never really been to this part of FFW…even then I think she only knows about as much as I do." Key said.

"Really, guess I'm an even better explorer than her." He was joking around but Ravena didn't care. She had already let out a silent sigh and left the room without alerting either to her presence.

* * *

><p><strong>FFW<strong>

* * *

><p>"You're overreacting Ravena-Chan" Illu said as she sat with her depressed friend in her realm. "I'm sure he I actin just as you said he would, an annoying little brother."<p>

"I know Illu-Tan but it feels like something more; he took drum-time with DB-Chan, Treasure-talk with Ani-Key, went on a big pranking tour with Hy-Nya without me." Ravena sighed. "It is like he is trying to replace me."

"No one could ever replace you." Illu told her. "They obviously wanted to make him feel as welcome as possible, besides it is only one day give it time and it will all be back to normal."

"Nya I guess" The girl then perked up. "Wait what time is it now?"

"I don't know but it is probably still daylight out." Illu answered confused.

"Nya how could I forget, Shadow-Kyun promised to let me tour the Collection Vault!" Ravena said with eyes shining.

"Wow he barely let's anyone in there." The two left Ravena's realm and exited out into Illu's room within the guild building. On the owl girl's bed was a sleeping Punnya and Mukurowl. Illu smiled and turned to her friend.

"Go ahead and meet with Shadow-Kun; I'll watch them for a while." She promised her. Illu let out a sudden Eeep as she was pulled into a hug by Ravena.

"Nya you're a true friend Illu-Tan, I'll be back soon promise!" Ravena then quickly left out the room.

"Shadow-Kyun!" Shadow stopped walking seeing Ravena was rushing towards him. He had to quickly move out the way unless he wanted to crash into the cat girl. "Nya, I hope I didn't miss out."

"No you're just in time, just try not to do that again…we don't want another training incident." Shadow looked away as he blushed. "Anyway you want to take a look at the room or what?"

"Yep I've been looking forward to it nya!" Ravena said blushing as she remembered the 'incident.' "So let's go I want to see how much treasure you guys have collected nya."

Shadow walked her to the door an unlocked it. The door opened and the two stood confused seeing Whisk observing several things placed in glass; he seemed to notice them and smiled.

"Hey I didn't know you guys found a gelel stone."

"Bro, what the hell?!" Ravena yelled wondering what he was doing.

"Better question is how did you get in here?" Shadow asked.

"Simple I just let myself in" Whisk laughed. "So why you two about to do in here, something that mom wouldn't like?" He teased the two causing Ravena to get more annoyed and Shadow to look away; they both were blushing.

"Whiskas!" Ravena hissed but the next words she heard made her rage completely disappear.

"You know what, forget the look around…both of you just get out of the room and make sure to close the door." Shadow just walked away from the two siblings and left them alone at the room. Ravena looked sadly as he walked away and then looked back to Whiskasfriskas.

"Nya, what was that for, have you been trying to ruin my day since you got here?" Ravena asked.

"Oh nothing like that." Whisk walked out the room and closed the door locking it. "I just wanted to see how your friends are; they seem like an ok group of people."

"Nya Whisky, I know we fight and annoy each other but you have gone too far!" Ravena yelled.

"Oh I've gone too far, like using Felis in the tournament wasn't too far?" Whisk asked.

Ravena was taken aback by his tone but did not back down. "Nya I didn't have a choice, TsundeRose took the bell off of me…but regardless it is my power and Felis is a part of me! You can't tell me what I can and cannot do with my powers."

"True, though I thought you didn't want to use Felis since she reminded you of your old days; when you two were still one: the infamous Raven's Familiar." Whisk said before laughing. "It is almost ironic; one of the most known rogues went off the map by just changing her name but keeping the initials."

"Those days are behind me, besides why would you care, you weren't a part of this world then." Ravena asked.

"I care because it only took you mere days to reach levels that left others in the dust while I was stuck grinding and gaining power slowly like any other new player…however I should thank you because you introduced me to something greater." Whisk said.

"You're making no sense Whisk, I think we have to talk in RL now log out so that we can talk." Ravena said.

"Oh I'm making perfect sense, and we can talk fine right here…or." Whisk's eyes flashed and a purple eye with a famous design stared at Ravena directly. **"I can do all the talking and you can just listen."**

Before Ravena could react her bell was then taken off. Felis then opened her eyes and looked at Whisk in time to hear his first words.

"**Now obey me…GEASS!"**

* * *

><p><strong>(The next day)<strong>

* * *

><p>Shadow yawned as he walked out of the Reception Center; he was up late last night so he was not completely awake. He continued his walk to the guild and he then saw a familiar face in the crowd. Shadow was about to wave to say hi but noticed the person seemed to be waiting for him.<p>

He then stopped before the Admin. "Cast what are doing out here, I figured you and the others would still be searching for CHAOS."

"We kind of got sidetracked after an even happened in Tokyo City last night." The young Admin looked at Shadow sadly. "Shadow this is something you have to see."

**Admin Barracks: Metal Chambers**

Groans could be heard as one of the prisoners woke up into consciousness. Looking around her new surroundings Ravena shrieked and then madly looked around wondering where she was. A familiar ringing told her that her bell was back where it was.

'Wait Whisk took the bell away and then.' Ravena held her head. "What happened after that, I can't remember."

"You can't remember…or maybe, you just don't want to." Ravena was startled by the new voice. She turned to the bars and saw that the A.G. standing guard over her was none other than Leon. She could feel the cold glare from behind the Guard's faceless mask.

"Nya what do you mean won't, I don't even know where I am?!" Ravena yelled as she ran to the bars.

"You are where you're supposed to be; a place for rouges and criminals like yourself." Leon explained and Ravena's eyes widened. "You get it now don't you; you are back in the Admin Barracks…the same place you attacked last night."

"The Barracks nya, I didn't go anywhere last night I was talking to my little brother before." Suddenly the last thing she remembered popped into her head, the look on her brother's face and the eye that he carried. 'Geass…'

"Clever story; however, there were many witnesses that saw you and a few guards that died in your assault." Leon waved a hand and a small screen appeared in midair. "I think you would know who this is on camera."

Ravena walked even closer until she was against the bars and watched the video. It was nighttime in the barracks and the only light was that of the buildings until one suddenly exploded. Many guards were swept away as they tried to stop their attack. Ravena did not understand what she was watching until she saw who was the one destroying the buildings.

* * *

><p><strong>(Scene Change)<strong>

* * *

><p>Cast had taken Shadow to the Admin Barracks, his eyes widened when he saw the difference from yesterday and today, all the rubble that lied on the ground and the holes and claw marks on buildings. "There is no way Ravena could have done this." He said simply.<p>

"Leon saw what he saw and he even has the video recording, true she looked a little different but Ravena Felidae was no doubt the one who attack this facility last night." Cast then turned to Shadow. "Did anything unusual happen since you got back from the Stadium?"

Shadow shook his head. "No not really, everything was normal except for…" He thought back to first meeting Whisk and making eye contact. 'That makes no sense, why would he want his own sister in jail.'

"Except for what?" Cast asked. "Shadow if you know something that we don't please tell me." The Admin asked in an almost neutral tone. "I understand that this is your friend but she has committed a horrible offense and must be punished."

Shadow was silent, trying to think everything true. "Cast…how long do you usually wait until you move convicts to the more secure jails?"

Cast looked at him sadly. "Twenty-four hours, it is how we make sure we have space for all of the criminals in Tokyo City. I am sorry but by midnight tonight Felidae will be taken away." The Admin explained to him.

'Not if I do something about this.' Shadow thought as he began to formulate a plan.

* * *

><p><strong>(Scene Change)<strong>

* * *

><p>Ravena sat depressed in her cell as she thought over the video she had been shown. Her eyes were dulled showing that she looking through her memories to see if she could recall anything.<p>

'This is not right, how did all of this happen?' Felidae asked herself, and she chose to answer back.

"**Is it not obvious by now; you didn't commit any of those crimes DeeDee it was me."** Felis appeared before Felidae as they both stood in her mindscape. Felidae then glared at her other self.

'Why did you do it then, after all these years why…?'

"**Why would I jeopardize your time in peace, your time with those you call friends?"** Felis cut her off. The two then remained in silence until spoke again. **"Simple really, like the time with that Rose girl I had no choice in the matter."**

'Rosie, I don't understand Rose could only control us because she could only control animals…not to mention I can't even remember what had happened after I talked to Whisky.' Ravena recalled.

"**Exactly, that brother of yours switched us before looking at me with that eye, the last hours were blurs but I can slowly recall because of the videos."** Felis explained. **"I used our Yamanaka powers to check our memories as well and I can only find a blank between now and then."**

'A blank nya, so that means we don't remember or…"

"**We were controlled, by Whisk's Geass." **Felis said with a bit of venom in her tone.

'Hold on Whisky may be a lot of things and he may be annoying but even he is not this deviant or cruel, there has to be more nya.' Felidae defended her brother.

"**Really, he seemed so keen on taking your place and now he must be tying up loose-ends. Who is to say he doesn't use his power to make the others forget you?" **Felis asked making her other half depressed. **"They have abandoned you like all the others."**

'No it's not true; this isn't like the past nya.' Felidae slowly slumped to the ground. 'How do we get out of this?'

"**There is no way out, we can't use powers in places like this. The only way out is to wait until they transfer us before we break out." **Felis theorize.

'But then we'll be on the run again, I don't want this to be like the past.' Felis said nothing as she heard Felidae sob. The older looking half sighed before she began to stare off into space.

"**Then let us hope someone has a plan to get us out of here."**

* * *

><p><strong>Tokyo City-Reader's Shop<strong>

* * *

><p>*Aaachoo!*<p>

"Is someone talking about you?" RoM chuckled as he talked with his customer.

"Possibly and I have a feeling I know who that someone is." Shadow then sat in the seat that RoM kept at the back of his store. "So can you do it or not?"

"I don't know you already have a cute kitty who can surf your mind for free, why come to me with payment?" RoM asked curiously as he sat down before Shadow.

"Why does it matter Read, just be happy you are receiving any payment." Shadow just stared stoically at the Info-broker. "Look I just need you to check my memory from the past day and tell me if you see anything unusual."

"Really, anything specific?" RoM asked.

"You know what I mean by unusual, now you already have been paid now hurry up with the search." Shadow said.

RoM sighed before pulling up and chair and sitting in front of the scythe wielder. A book flew from one of the numerous bookshelves in the shop and in his hand. "Try to calm yourself and close your eyes; this won't take long."

Shadow nodded and closed his eyes as he relaxed in his seat. RoM began the procedure but then saw a mark on Shadow's neck. 'What would Shadow be doing with that mark; I may need to talk with MataHari soon.' The book began glowing as he began to peer through Shadow's memories.

* * *

><p><strong>(Time Skip)<strong>

* * *

><p>Whiskasfriskas was walking along the streets of Tokyo City; he let out a bored sigh as he looked around the small city. "No one is over at the base and it has been half a day…wonder if they are planning some kind of initiation." He smirked. 'Right now it doesn't matter, Sis should be loaded up to leave soon and all it takes is a bit of persuasion to deal with the others.'<p>

"Although Shadow may be a problem," Whisk stopped and saw that he had received mail. "Speak of the devil…" He opened the message and quickly skimmed it.

An hour passed and Shadow was now seen standing at the top of a random building. He opened his eyes and saw that Whisk had now arrived as he walked over towards him smiling.

"Hey why did you call me out here, is this a guild thing?" Whisk asked him.

"No the others weren't able to log on today, and for some reason I can't get a hold of Ravena…have you seen her?" Shadow asked his own question.

Whisk shrugged. "Sis is usual online before me; she usually plays every time she is able to get some free time. I have no clue why she would waste a day."

"Well you were the last one to talk to her and you are siblings, has she told you anything?" Shadow said.

Whisk shook his head. "Nope, after I interrupted you two's date she stormed off somewhere. I have no clue where she is, matter of fact, why did you call me out?"

"Because I know that you are lying" Shadow said stuffing his hands in his pockets. "You and I both know that right now Rave is being held in the Admin's Metal Chambers."

Whisk tilted his head in confusion before he realized what he was talking about. "What has news spread about that already, I wonder what she did this time to earn jail time?" He then had a concerned look on his face.

"Something about destroying the Admin's base and taking out a few guards and the facility, if you go by the Barracks part of it is still damaged." Shadow then stared at the boy. "Now tell me, do you think Ravena is capable of that?"

"Of course, she may have not told you guys but she has a certain history." Whisk chuckled, "not to mention Sis isn't exactly delicate, she probably could have blown up the whole Barracks if she wanted to."

"But why would she want to?" Shadow said quietly. "History or not why attack the Guards?"

"Doesn't your guild have a problem with them daily?" Whisk suggested.

"Well we have only just gotten back to Tokyo City so none of us did anything to antagonize the A.G. yet; the only one that did was you in your fight…how did you finish them again?" Shadow asked.

"I just hit a few points and paralyzed them, after that it was easy." Whisk explained.

"Really, you were able to strike pressure points on two Admin Guards using their strongest attacks." Shadow said skeptically. "There are a few things wrong with your explanation."

"What do you mean, you were there." Whisk said.

"Exactly, as someone who uses pressure points, when you hit points the opponent doesn't shriek in pain. Also even if you did hit points it wouldn't have been enough to cancel out the attack unless you know what to hit." Shadow stared into Whisk's eyes, brown meeting red. "Also what happened to the fact that the bodies that were registered dead disappeared suddenly?"

"Maybe I hit them too hard" Whisk joked. "Besides I thought we were talking about Ravena."

"We are; this just happens to be related." A black blur passed by Whisk and his coat opened fluttering in the sudden wind. In Shadow's hand rested a small picture and what looked like a black notebook.

"Now I know for a fact you can't attack pressure points," Shadow showed the picture which displayed Whisk's left eye with a familiar symbol, in his other hand was the notebook. "Geass to control others minds, and a notebook which happens to have the Tweedles names written inside."

Whisk was still silent so Shadow decided to continue. "I don't know what you did with Percival and Gawain but you killed them off with your Death Note, and you used Geass to have Felis attack the Admin Guards base…admit it and I won't have to force it out of you."

Whisk was quiet but he then began to clap his hands softly, he now had a sinister look on his face. "Well nothing gets past you; maybe I shouldn't have used my Geass to have you so early."

"Well I'm usually none trusting of others but for some reason I just didn't like the vibe I was getting from you." Shadow said. "So why plan all of this out, what do you gain for sending your sister to prison?"

Whisk shrugged, "I guess I was a little jealous of all these adventures my sister was having while I was just a wandering fighter…but you wouldn't believe that would you?"

"No and I know someone else who wouldn't believe you either." Shadow said.

"What you mean Ravena; she didn't notice until it was too late sometimes I think she is too trusting." Whisk shook his head. "There was once a time when people heard the initials R.F. that it was feared, now she is just a happy-go-lucky catgirl."

"And why should you care it is her life."

"Her life, wow she really never told you guys anything, don't you know she was…"

"I could care less about what she was before" Whisk was cut off by Shadow's statement. "I could care less about the past; in fact I know my past wasn't that good, Ravena is my friend and a member of my guild so messing with her is the same as messing with me."

"Well that's pretty noble of you; however no matter what you do Ravena will still be carried off to prison and won't ever know about this conversation." Whisk said.

"Are you sure about that?"

After those words left his mouth Whisk finally noticed someone else was listening to the conversation. Ravena flew from the sky and landed on the rooftop next to Shadow.

"How was your day Lil' Brother?" Ravena asked.

Instead of getting worried Whisk just remained calm at the situation. "So you went and busted her out of jail, it is still your word against mine and one is a criminal and the other is now her ally."

Shadow shrugged, "I'm not going to let someone who did nothing wrong rot in jail."

"And you forgot we heard everything you said Whisky." Ravena said.

"Should I be worried about that, the Guards must have noticed the breakout and must be on their way tracking you down Ravena. Even if you two defeat me I still win." Whisk said.

"You really need to listen to your older sister more" Shadow smirked with a knowing look. "She said WE heard everything."

"You think I'm worried about you two?" Whisk asked.

Ravena stuck her tongue out and then smiled. "Who said it was just us two nya?"

"Well this is shocking; I can see how you got me with this ploy now Shadow."

"Honestly are you still sulking about that?"

"Enough arguing, you all heard what has just been said haven't you?"

"Leon is right, we have heard an interesting confession; I believe we owe Ravena Felidae an apology."

Whisk looked all around and saw not just a few Admin Guards, but Speed, Rina, Leon, and Cast as well. Cast stepped a bit forward and looked to Whisk. "Murdering two Admin Guards in cold blood is one offense, but wrongfully framing another is an even bigger one!"

"The bond of family is a strong one and you tried to destroy it" Leon stood next to her. "Regardless, you will be coming with us…your sister has kept your cell nice and warm by filling your spot."

Whisk was now had an irritated look seeing his plan fall apart. 'This is not going according to keikaku…at least I had the rest of Kurotsubasa not log on today but I am still outnumbered. It is time to even the odds.'

Whisk concentrated on Cast and smiled. "Killing in cold blood, who said they were dead?"

"You admitted writing their names in your Death Note, what more reason to expect?" Cast said.

"Oh but they are very much alive and well…in fact" Whisk opened the collar of his white undershirt and showed a tattoo that made Ravena's eyes widen.

"Whisk, you didn't?" Ravena asked.

"Oh but I very much did…now I believe I owe you a few knights." Whisk snapped his fingers and two large objects fell from the sky and landed near him spreading dust. Shadow used his Byakugan to keep track of the Hellsing cosplayer.

"He didn't escape in the dust…wait, why are their two more signatures around him?" Shadow turned to Ravena. "Do you know what he…?" He stopped seeing Ravena was staring wide eyed while holding a hand to her own neck.

"He couldn't have, magic like that is forbidden and he still did it." Ravena muttered out. 'And I can't even call on Punnya either, the lock on my pets are still active.'

"Forbidden magic?" Shadow then saw the dust clear, next to Whisk stood two stone like coffins. The lids began to open and out stepped two figures; a blank eyed Percival and Gawain were standing around the vampire.

"Impossible they are still registered dead!" Rina called out.

"Is that the reanimation jutsu?" Speed asked.

"Oh no, the coffins are just for effects, this is not a jutsu or reanimation…what you are seeing is my power, the magic that was labeled forbidden in this world." Whisk had a demonic smiled.

**Necromancy!**

The two undead knights drew their swords as Whisk began to back away. "Well I will let friends catch up with each other I have places to go." In surprising speed Whisk was able to grab the Death Note from Shadow's hands and began to jump rooftops.

"Get back here!" Shadow chased after him with Ravena flying after him. The Guards were about to pursue before Speed held them all back. "Let them take care of him, we will deal with the zombies they will be a little hard to kill."

* * *

><p><strong>(Scene Change)<strong>

* * *

><p>Whisk was running towards the edge of the city before a crescent slash blocked his path. He stopped and turned around to see that Shadow and Ravena had caught up to him.<p>

"So you left the Admin to deal with their own; though why did you run after me?" Whisk said.

"Nya Whisk, I know this is bad but I don't want to help you; turn yourself in to the Guards and you'll get a lower sentence." Ravena pleaded to him.

"Touching but no" Whisk opened the Death Note and a pen appeared in his hand. "Since I can't control you both anymore I rather just mark you both down and be on my way."

"I don't think so" Shadow made a sign as soon as ink touched paper. The Death Note ignited in flames causing Whisk to throw it to the ground or risk burning his hand; the book opened as it fell revealing a paper bomb within a page.

"I wasn't going to allow you to get an ace like that easily without having a trap." Shadow pulled out his scythe from his back. "Rave I know he is your brother but if he doesn't stand down I'm taking him out myself."

"Shadow-Kyun please, this isn't like him, Whisk would never…"

"Enough!" Whisk yelled interrupting them. "I rather not have to fight but I don't want to reveal how many other undead I have with me." He got into a basic stance and looked at the two. "All right let's fight, I'll take both of you if you like."

"**Why are you hesitating, after all that he has done don't you want a chance at revenge?" **Felis shouted in Ravena's head.

'I rather not hurt my own brother, something is wrong and I'm going to find out.' Ravena then saw Shadow's hand in front of her. "Shadow-Kyun?"

"I know you don't want to do this, so stay back and let me handle him." Shadow said.

"Nya, he's my brother…"

"That makes it worse, you don't want to hurt him do you Ravena?" He asked her. Ravena looked down a bit telling Shadow what he needed to know. "I'll take all the guilt for this, so you won't have to."

'Shads' Ravena then nodded and stood back with a light blush. Shadow didn't notice as he discarded the extra weight of his jacket.

"I know for a fact I'm not beating you in raw power, but now you won't be able to touch me." Shadow said before rushing forward.

"We'll see about that!" Whisk responded to Shadow's charge with his own.

**(Play Digimon Xross Wars OP: New World)**

Leon blocked Gawain's blade as he saw the other guards having trouble with the two. Being reanimated corpses meant they no longer felt pain and they could keep going unlike the human guards.

"We need a way to end his magic; we can't wait for Kurotsubasa to finish this." Leon said.

"I agree Leon could you back away." Cast then had two blades appear in her hands. One sword was white while the other was black and had dragon symbols of opposite color on each sword.

"I know what you're thinking cousin and I'm right there with you." Rina pulled out a naginata with a red phoenix symbol edged in the steel blade.

"Cast you can't be…" Leon had to push the zombified knight away and look at her.

"Leon I gave you an order, please follow them." Cast said. Leon didn't like it but did as he was ordered and backed away. Before the two guards could mount an attack the two Admins had already appeared behind them ready.

**Starlight Cross!**

Rina's naginata filled with light energy and slashed through Percival's armor. A cross shape slashed appeared on the steel and the spread over the knight making him burst into glittering light.

Cast was involved in a duel with the green haired Gawain; light and darkness flowed through the dual swords as the Admin began to overwhelm her target. A slash sent him back as Cast pointed with both swords and fired a beam of twilight energy.

**Moonlight Beam!**

The attack pierced through the armor and left a hollow hole through Gawain. The broken warrior dropped to his knees then hit the ground before bursting into data. As the other guards stood in awe Rina decided to check on the two guards.

"He no longer has control over those two guards; they will come back as good as new tomorrow." Rina announced.

"That's one piece of good news, I wonder if he is the cause behind the attack on the guards throughout FFW." Cast wondered.

"Regardless we still have a criminal to apprehend." Speed reminded them all. "Let us hope those two managed to slow him down."

* * *

><p><strong>(Play Air Gear Ost: Chain (Tekno Value)<strong>

Shadow dodged to the left to avoid a fist to the chest; he went for an overhead strike with his scythe only for Whisk to back away. The vampire continued to deliver punches only for Shadow dodged and weave through them; Ravena was watching as they seemed to battle to a stalemate.

"Nya both are equally good, Whisky can't even hit Shadow and he's strong enough to endure anything Shadow tries." Ravena said as she observed the battle; inside her Felis seemed to disagree.

"**Please, right now the idiot is toying with your brother; he is trying to get a feel for his style. Shadow is used to fighting someone with similar powers as Whisk so I don't know why he is still playing around." **Felis said.

'I don't think he's playing nya.' Felidae said back to her other half.

By now Shadow had ducked to avoid another punch. He suddenly let go of the pole of his scythe to deliver a twin palm thrust to Whisk's legs. The vampire stumbled a bit and then met with a few more gentle-fist marks to the chest.

Whisk felt his body numbing as he slowly backed away from Shadow. 'I should have known he would have tried something like that, the battle up till now was to see what kind of openings I had.'

"In a few minutes you won't be able to move, just give up." Shadow said. "As fun as it is teaching you a lesson you're expected back to jail; the Admin have finished off your zombies."

Whisk laughed. "Well it seems that I've lost, Princess won't like to hear this."

"Princess?" Shadow asked.

"Is this girl the one making you do this?" Ravena asked.

"Well all of this is my plan, which would explain why it ended up exploding near the end; she definitely won't be happy to hear I failed, but she will be more unhappy that I ended up getting caught and arrested." Whisk said to the two.

"This Princess wouldn't happen to be…?" Shadow asked.

"Now that would be telling but I bet you know who she is huh Shads?" Whisk smirked.

Ravena then thought back to the Tournament, "Bringers of Destruction, and Kusanagi nya."

Whisk didn't say anything but his smile grew; Shadow was about to advance when all of a sudden a rift seems to appear behind Whisk. The vampire continued to look at them as the portal grew. "Like I said I have to go but at least now you better be on your toes, don't forget you have a lot of enemies Shadow."

Shadow just glared as he saw Whisk walk into the portal, Ravena was about to stop him before the rift vanished taking her brother with it. The Neko sighed before turning to Shadow.

"He may not seem like it now but he really is a good person nya, I hope whatever happened didn't affect him in the real world." Ravena said in a hopeful voice.

"The only thing those guys can produce right now are comas, I'm sure he is still fine." Shadow heard noise and saw the Admin had now arrived.

"So you let him get away." Speed stated rather than asked.

"You try stopping a force of nature, anyway he's gone but can't you guys track him as soon as he gets online?" Shadow asked them.

"No he must have a way of blocking himself from being found." Rina said as she attempted to search for him. "We'll find him one of these days."

"Still I am sorry you got mixed up in all of this." Cast apologized.

"It's all right nya, though can you please remove the block from my items." Ravena asked.

Cast nodded and began to work with Rina to restore the nekomata's equipment. Said girl turned back to Shadow as they stared in the direction of the rift.

"So how did you find out about her?" Shadow asked.

"Back when you were ambushed by Team Destiny I was there when they were talking about it nya, I didn't have time to talk to you as we had the Tournament and then CHAOS to worry about." Ravena explained.

"I shouldn't have kept it that much of a secret anyway" Shadow said. "I'll tell you and the others something I should have said before tomorrow."

"Ok, I may be late as I want to check on Lil Bro, it has been a long day." Ravena then heard a ding and opened her menu to see that everything was working. In a pink flash Punnya appeared and flew to her owner in worry.

"Punnya" Punnya said sadly.

"I'm fine Punnya, though I hope Whisky is the same." Ravena said. Shadow saw the two interact and opened his menu.

"Ravena I think it is best if we log out, I'll see you tomorrow." He was about to press the log out button.

"Wait" Shadow stopped and saw Ravena giving him a genuine smile. "Thanks Shadow-Kyun, for all that you did today."

Shadow turned his head so that she couldn't see the small blush on his face. "Don't worry about it, good night." In a flash Shadow had disappeared signaling his exit.

Ravena nodded before she vanished and then hugged Punnya. "Well I guess I'll log out and check on bro."

* * *

><p><strong>Kusanagi's Castle<strong>

* * *

><p>Whisk hit the polished floor of the throne room after he arrived. Before he could sit up a foot slammed on his head forcing him back down.<p>

"Now who said you can get up, coming back here after you failed you have got some guts kid." The man said.

"Hey I didn't come here, one of you called me back." Whisk protested.

"Wow and the back talk too, I wonder what those guts would look like after I cut them out." Slit green eyes shined a mischievous glow.

"Mugen that is enough, I called him back here with the rift so let him off the floor." Kusanagi said as she entered the room. The resurrected man did as she said as he took his foot away and lazily help Whisk to his feet.

"Just want him to know to expect punishment for his failure."

"Yes and I will be the one who decides it, now be gone…you have some projects to work on that I want to see results." Kusanagi told him. Mugen nodded and then left the room, Kusanagi then walked to Whisk who was now wiping the blood from his head.

"Sorry Princess, I guess I should have planned better ahead." Whisk apologized.

"Never you mind, you actually ended up doing me a favor." Kusanagi said.

"A favor" Whisk repeated.

"You showed Shadow how far my powers have extended up to now, soon my sister will have gotten word and may be forced to come out of hiding." Kusanagi explained.

"Even if your sister did, aren't you technically trapped here?" Whisk asked his answer came as a sly smirk from the destructive leader.

"Oh I have a plan for that as well, for now you can stay and rest; I cannot have my best warrior weakened while I have work to be done." Kusanagi answered.

"Best warrior, I thought I was still low in the deck." Whisk said.

"You are in need of a promotion though after this setback I can't exactly have you as one of the faces. For now you are a ten, until you can break the mold and show me results." Kusanagi said.

"As you wish Princess."

* * *

><p><strong>Scene Change<strong>

* * *

><p>Somewhere in the real world Ravena removed her neko visor. The girl was about to look for her brother until she saw him at the door of her room.<p>

"Oh I was about to get you, dinner is about to start." Whisk said.

"Ok, hey Whisk do you remember what happened in FFW today?" Ravena asked him.

"What do you mean, you were probably hanging with your friends again; I'm in a small town a mile from Coastal Port. Why did something happen?" Whisk asked.

Ravena sighed in relief that her brother was all right. "No it's all right, come on let's eat." Her brother nodded and they both went to meet the rest of their family with Ravena looking into Whisk's room seeing his visor on the floor.

'No matter what Whisk, you are still my brother.' Ravena thought as she caught up with him.

* * *

><p><strong>TBC…<strong>

** This chapter is long overdue and at least now it is up so I hope you all enjoy it. Probably one of the longest I have written that is not filler so let us welcome the New Year with this chapter.**

** Also, and this is on the DeviantArt page, I plan on making a Youtube page to help promote FFW. Just one of the many ways to get the idea out to the world and also to better interact with all of you, more info as I said is in deviantart in this link:**

** journal/Face-behind-the-project-349550809#comments**

** Everyone please review and PM with anything else you want to know. Stay tuned for other fillers as Valentine's Day is around the corner and the Oneshots as it appears the next two chapters have been decided.**

**-Shadowlight0982 out.**


	23. Chapter 19: Aetherion

** It's been a long time coming but this new chapter is finally ready to be up and start the next arc of the series. The chapter was going to be like fifty or sixty pages as I was writing it but I decided to split this up into two parts. If you prefer long chapters then tell me and maybe we'll start seeing longer chapters but if not then this will be the norm. Now let's address some things before we begin.**

**Announcements:**

** I'm putting the side projects on hold for now, why because they are side projects and it feels like it would be better to give you the entire main story than focusing on the fluff stories and the gakuen one. Every some odd days I may update them but not for a while since they get low reviews. So expect me to work on this story much more often now, but I'll have polls and all that other stuff open for when I want to write. I'm going to be asking a question for YouTube at the end so be prepared for that.**

** Now since the reviews are short and I think I answered them all let's just start the story everyone. ON WITH THE SHOW!**

* * *

><p>"FFW"-Speech<p>

'FFW'-Thought

'_FFW'-Flashback_

"**FFW"-Attacks**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any reference to any anime/game/show/book, etc. that appears in this story. I own the original plot (at least I hope its original) and my own characters and OC's. All other characters and references belong to their original creators.**

* * *

><p><strong>Ch 19: Aetherion<strong>

* * *

><p>Within the town of Tokyo City, there lay many sights for players to see. Some of these sights stand right in front of their eyes while others lie hidden from the eyes of many. It is these hidden sights that are highly sought after by many organizations, especially guilds. In a small clearing of Tokyo's lush forests, an old warehouse stands unoccupied…at least it appears to be.<p>

A group of men walked out of the forest and into the clearing towards the "abandoned" warehouse. After finishing their trek through the forest and parts unknown, the five men walked up close and observed the empty building.

"Man I can't believe we've been gone for so long! I mean look at it, the places looks even more rundown than usual." One of the travelers complained as he saw the rust and damage that the warehouse had.

The man had spiky unkempt red hair that also had a ponytail that trails down to the small of his back and light grey eyes. He was wearing a sleeveless dark red turtleneck shirt with two belts crossing each other on top of it; he also had a white Chinese style pants held with a black sash and black boots. A silver armlet rested on his left arm and two red spiked chakrams were strapped to his back using the belts.

"That's the point; we left this base looking like this so we don't have to worry about any thieves taking advantage of our empty base. We don't have the environmental advantage like we do back in the Asian Server." Another one explained.

This man had short stylish dark blonde hair and dark purple eyes. The man had on a long sleeved teal kimono with the sleeves being a darker color and reached past his hands hiding them from view. Around his waist was a light green fabric with a white edge that was held up by a brown belt; his outfit was finished with loose dark navy robe pants that stretched past his ankles and light brown boots. Over his whole outfit was chartreuse cloak that was open and hung over his shoulders. His weapon was a long axe polearm that was strapped to his back.

"Hey Zephyrus is the place as we left it or has it been ransacked while we were away?" The robed man asked.

"Yeah Ponyboy what's the damage?" The redhead added.

"Give me a minute…and don't call me that Sol!" The man walked even closer to the warehouse and pulled out a pair of green tinted goggles.

Zephyrus, as he was called, had short, spiky silver hair resembling a certain Shinigami captain and light gold colored eyes. He had on a dark silver tunic with yellow trim over the collar and helm with a light yellow scarf wrapped around his neck. The tunic went past his knees but the front was tied up with a white sash so only the back trailed down; he also had black pants and dark silver boots. Three small rods held together by a chain were kept inside the sash as well.

While Zephyrus was scanning the warehouse and the other man and Sol were chatting with each other, the silent member of the group noticed how tense the last member of their party was.

The silent male had on a silver plated blue mask that hid his face but allowed cold electric blue eyes to been seen through the black eye holes. He had a slimmer and lithe figure compared to the whole party and wore a white trenchcoat with a dark blue front with white gloves, white pants and dark blue boots. A long steel blade sword rested on his back with a spike on the other side leading to a circle that was also attached to the sword, the handle was inside the circle wrapped in bandages. **(A.N.A horrible description but its Izanagi no Okami's sword from Persona 4; the outfit is also based on Izanagi's initial design with a different pallete.)**

"You've gotten quieter our whole journey Leader-sama, even more than me and that's saying something. Is there something on your mind, besides the obvious?" The masked swordsman asked.

"Wow that's the most I think you ever said in a sentence when we're online, what's gotten you all chatty Ganymede?" The leader of the group asked.

The man had spiky brown hair with blond streaks that spiked out more in the back so it was pulled into a small spiky ponytail; his bangs hung a bit in front of his blue eyes that seemed to glow brighter but the light made it hard to tell. He wears a black leather bomber jacket over a white deep V-neck t-shirt which parts down the middle of his chest with black pants and white fur along the collar of his jacket and top of his pants. Brown belts looped around his waist with a holster that held a Gunblade, and in his hand was a large Fusion sword, like that of Cloud Strife's, that he rested on his shoulders.

"Don't change the subject Aeon; we only need to check on our base before we go direct to her." Ganymede said.

"I know that Gany but I feel that I should have never left her alone here, like things would have turned out better if I had at least stayed here or brought her along with us." Aeon said in a mournful tone.

"What's done is done, besides she is still safe from what my sources said and well." Ganymede promised him.

"I don't doubt your sources but…"

"Hey you two let us in on the conversation if you're gonna keep it a secret! GACK!" Sol was suddenly met with a short blast of water that sent him sprawling along the ground.

"The point of a secret is that not many people know hothead." Ganymede stopped the torrent of water.

Sol got off the ground and spat out a bit of water and a fiery orange aura appeared around him drying his body and clothes and turning the water to steam. "Oh ha-ha, nice joke there Gany but like it's a secret what Aeon is thinking."

"Look before you two start your brawl can we at least get inside so we don't attract attention to us, how does the building look on your scouter Zephy?" The sole nameless one asked.

"I swear to Kami Malachite, you and Sol, I will get you back for all the scouter jokes you made and all of the goggles that you two broke." Zephyrus took off the goggles after he was finished and turned to them. "The disguised worked and no one we don't know has entered or left the base; everything has been left intact."

"Then take down your spell Zephyrus and let us get in, who knows what kind of players are prowling around by now." Aeon said.

"Actually not many players enter the forest and the last group that had any type of control was disbanded and disposed of a while ago; the Red Savages I think their name was." Ganymede informed all of them.

"Red Savages aren't they…" Before Malachite could finished his sentence all of them felt the killer intent that seemed to be coming from their leader. They all chose to be silent as Zephyrus peeled off what at first they thought was sticker but was actually a glowing card. The warehouse made an instant changed and turned into a more cleaner and well-kept building than the almost condemned disguise it once held.

Zephyrus opened a hidden hatch and pressed a button that allowed the warehouse door to slowly rise up. "Well it's good to be back." Just as he finished that sentence dark blue energy grabbed him and pulled him inside.

Before any of the others could react they all heard a familiar giggle that sounded throughout the warehouse making them all sigh and stand down.

"That girl's going to give us a heart attack one of these days." Sol said with a sweatdrop appearing on his head.

"Not if she doesn't smother Zephyrus to death." Ganymede said with a dull look in his eyes.

The group walked in and all of them almost laughed seeing Zephyrus on the ground with a girl on top of him with her arms wrapped around his shoulders, the wolf like ears on the girl's head didn't surprise them either.

The girl had long white hair that went along with her wolf ears that touched the ground making it seem like a large white curtain and cinnamon red eyes. She was wearing a red and white kimono with a black wrapping around her waist and a red bow that kept the outfit closed, the kimono ended at her mid-thigh acting like a skirt. She had red wrappings around her ankles but she was barefoot and light blue markings on her forehead.

"Zephy-sama it's been such a long time!" The girl said as she pressed his face against "them".

"S-Saphir-chan, we've chatted with each other for days and we meet in the real world so it hasn't been that long!" A blushing Zephyrus managed to stutter out.

"I can't help, since we've been on two different Servers you felt so far away and besides…" Saphir then began rubbing her face against the silver haired boy. "Watashi haanata Zephy-sama wo itoshi teimasu! **(1)**"

"Hey you two break it up, take it to your room Saphir if you're thinking about making pups." Aeon yelled after passing the two. "Come on we need to brief now!"

"Moe, but we need this time to catch up!" Saphir complained further hugging Zephyr to her chest, much to his chagrin.

"Come on Saphir-chan, besides we need to talk about Imouto-chan!" protested a glowing red Zephyrus was able to work his way out of the girl's grip.

"Imouto-chan! Why didn't you say so in the first place?! It's been forever since we all have seen her too; not since she took my shifts weeks ago!" Saphir jumped to her feet. "So what did you find out?"

"She's well and safe; did you see the highlights from the Eclipse Tournament?" Malachite asked the wolf girl.

"Of course, wait you mean she…?!"

"Yep, that was Imouto-chan all right, after we all done unpacking we're going to heading off and go get her!" Sol answered her. "She's still in the Tokyo City area; I'm surprised you haven't run into her lately."

"Well I didn't know what happened, after she left that note saying she wanted to travel on her own I didn't try to find her since that meant leaving this base unprotected." Saphir explained. The rest of Aetherion understood her reasons for not searching for her and didn't blame her for the girl's disappearance.

"It's not your fault Saphir-chan, so basically what's the plan now Aeon?" Zephyrus asked the leader of the guild.

"The plan is we go up to her and bring her back" Aeon said. "After what we all saw I want her to be safe with us like she used to be."

"Calm down Leader" Ganymede then continued. "Maybe it's best that we calmly talk to the group that's she's with and explain the situation; she's been well taken care of and that guild isn't what some of the publicity believes it to be."

"You're not saying that because they're actually worse than what the public says are you?" Sol playfully asked.

Ganymede chose to ignore the obvious joke. "They are local heroes in Tokyo City and each member of the guild has their own talents and strength; most of the gossips about them though are from either supporters or hateful groups."

"Like the Admin Guards, but I agree with Gany; while it was an exhibition tournament they did make it to the finals of the Eclipse Tournament that shows some level of skills considering the competition. I say, tomorrow we just calmly go to their base and meet with them while avoiding any conflict." Malachite proposed his plan.

"Man that sounds boring, though it would be better than having Ragna here blow his top in front of them." Sol agreed. "No offense boss but when it comes to Imouto-chan you tend to take things way too far.

"If it was your sister you would understand how I feel, but enough jokes Sol. Gany, Mal we'll try it your way for now but if it doesn't work out be prepared to fight." Aeon scoffed off Sol's remark and then went over to the wall where all their electrical equipment was kept on a long steel desk.

While Aeon turned on the terminal and Zephyrus pressed a switch that rested against the wall. More lights in the warehouse came on, illuminating the whole room and displaying a large symbol painted on the back wall. A dragon's head within a circle and six streams radiating from the circle to circles that had different elemental symbols.

"Aetherions get ready; tomorrow we're heading to find Kurotsubasa." Aeon ordered them all so that they would get ready for the next day.

**Fanfiction World**

Walking into her bedroom a young girl looked around her room before finding where she last kept her visor. Now that her studies were done for the day the girl planned on relaxing online with her favorite game. She placed the visor over her eyes and adjusted her long hair so that it flowed over the metal of the game piece.

'I know Shadow-kun said we have an important meeting today but there is something important that I have to check out. Hopefully I'll have enough time to make it to the meeting.' She put in all of her account information and smiled seeing a familiar staring back at her with red eyes and purple hair. The two girls became one after she said the command phrase.

**"Dive in!"**

**(FFW: Tokyo City, United Server)**

Walking out of the Reception Center Illu took into the familiar city square and then headed to her destination in the merchant district. In a flash Mukurowl appeared and landed on her head causing the girl to smile.

"Hello Muku-chan did you have a good nap after training yesterday?" Illu asked her pet while she massaged his feathers.

Mukurowl gave her a tired hoot when she mentioned training. Ever since the guild returned from the Eclipse Stadium the hybrid girl literally dived headfirst back into her training. While the others encouraged her and tell her she did well in the tournament, Illu disagreed every time. She kept a copy of her fights recorded in her visor and watched them repeatedly.

'Something happened to me during that tag fight with Bella-chan, and I couldn't even beat Wolfey in our battle.' Illu sighed sadly; soon, a determined look then appeared on her face. "Right, sorry you feel that way Muku-chan but after we finish with our errands and the meeting we're going back to…"

**"These are actually bigger than they appear why you hide such gifts behind that coat I'll never know."** Doppelman said after he appeared behind the beet red girl with his hands along the front of her coat.

The reason for Illu's flushed look and her silence was where the shadow's hands were placed; Doppelman had literally popped out of nowhere and was now groping the shy girl's chest. The specter didn't notice the glint in Mukurowl's eyes and the miasma flowing from Illu's body until…

"HENTAI!"

A huge explosion then shook the ground alarming those who weren't already startled by the loud scream from before. Illu was releasing large breaths while she was looking at the crater where the shadow was lying battered and beaten.

**"T…hat was s-supp…osed to be a c-compliment"** Doppelman wheezed out before falling unconscious.

"There you are, seriously you always end up in trouble as soon as you leave my sights." Grim said and then noticed their huffing girl holding a glaive and that his shadow was now lying beaten in a hole.

Grim then let out a tired breath. "Hey Illu, sorry about him he just took off for no reason…though now I see why."

Illu noticed the bounty hunter's appearance and regained her composure. "I-it's fine Grim-san, but please keep a closer eye on him." Illu was able to say after she calmed down; she then noticed the time and gasped. "It's that time already; I'm going to be late if I don't hurry!" She turned to leave.

"Hold on," Grim said catching her attention. "If you're heading back to your guild here's something that I need you to give Shadow. I would have dropped by Kurotsubasa and dropped it off but here you are and it would be too troublesome to walk all the way there" The cloaked reaper pulled out a piece of paper from his inventory and gave it to Illu.

"What is it?" Illu asked looking over the page.

"Don't know, some kind of formal challenge that Wolfey came up with out of nowhere." Grim answered with a sigh. "That troublesome guy went back to his old ways after the tournament ended and I guess he has his sights on Shads now."

"Really, what exactly does Wolf do?" Illu asked softly as she read off the letter closely reading each individual word.

_Yo Shadow_

_ Just because your group beat mine in the Tournament doesn't mean anything; we didn't even get a chance to fight since Rose wanted to save you all to herself. Well I won't believe the results until we fight personally, the fight with birdgirl left a bad taste in my mouth from how close it is._

_ Meet in the forest around the town's west entrance; let's see how good you are without a magical bracelet helping you out._

_I'll be waiting;_

_Wolfey141_

A part of Illu felt worried after reading the letter; after all she was concerned about Shadow's safety. But when she read what he said about her and thought back to her fight, which sparked another rare emotion she rarely felt.

"Yeah, make sure he gets that letter ok. I managed to make him pay me for the delivery and I want to be a man of my word." Grim then picked up the limp Doppelman and began to walk away. "See ya later Illu, tell everyone I said hey."

"Good bye" Illu thanked him and then continued on her journey. Mukurowl sensed the emotions forming in his master's head and gave her as the most stern, almost disciplining, look an owl could muster.

"I know what you're thinking Muku-chan but…this feels like something I have to do." Illu tried to convince her pet.

One big reason for her increased training was the results of her battle with Wolfey141. In that fight Illu had tried her all (even using her newer abilities) and still lost. 'Maybe this is a sign, but first I need to have my scroll looked at.' Illu thought as she reached the shop she was looking for.

It was a one story almost Edo-period like shop; on the inside were shelves filled with various scroll with small pictures of animals and creatures displayed on the seals. The name Summon Realms was written calligraphy style on a banner outside of the shop.

Summon Realms was a skill shop where players can purchase summon scrolls and establish links with certain summons; this also happened to be the same place where Illu had bought her scroll for Yamata no Orochi but at the time she didn't know all that the scroll could do since she had to chase after Mukurowl after he was under Rose's control. And now she was back to see if there was more to the scroll besides the demon of legend.

Illu walked up to the counter to speak with the owner of the shop. The place was run by a kindly old man dressed in historical clothing like that of Japan's feudal era; the man's profession was in summons and their many powers as he was an NPC program to establish and control all the player links in FFW.

The old monk though recognized Illu in a flash because while she did pay for her scroll she left before he could give her the full rundown of the scroll. He smiled seeing her and gave her a fond greeting.

"Ah the young owl who has fondness for serpents and poison; I see from your recent connection that you have tested out the scroll you purchased." The old man inferred as he could already feel the faint connection the girl had to the mythical Orochi.

"Yes but I was wondering if there was more to the scroll that I bought from you?" Illu brought out the scroll from her bag. "I mean the scroll works and I was able to summon him…and I was even given an audience to spoke with Orochi but for a summon scroll to only have one summons is odd in itself even if that summons is a legendary."

The man chuckled in humor. "Yes there is more to that scroll but you run out of here in such a rush that I didn't get to truly tell you how Yamata no Orochi's scroll was different from that of regular summons."

Illu blushed in embarrassment when she remembered she ran out after she paid for her summon; Mukurowl had a downtrodden look on his face remembering he was the cause for Illu's rush. "Um when you say that the scroll is different what do you mean, that I can summon the boss anytime?" Illu asked after her blush faded.

"Well there is that but there is more; most summoning scrolls you see in this shop are in a regular class, after a test from the boss-summons anyone can use them. However; Orochi exists in a class known as Divine Summons, those who have fewer forces than regular summons but give their users more abilities." The monk explained.

"Abilities, like anyone with the toad contract have the extra skill for Sage Mode" Illu asked.

"Exactly; Orochi here has only a few summoners in its lifetime…in fact while it is a popular creature it rarely accepts anyone to be its user." The Monk said to Illu's surprise from how easily she passed Orochi's test. "You may have been acknowledged as it's summoner but you must establish a true link in order for the skills to be available to you."

"Truly establish a link what do you mean by that Genma-san; I mean from what forums say about this shop ceremonies can be done here to form links but what does that mean exactly?" Illu asked wanting to know what abilities she would receive from the eight headed serpent.

"I perform a special ritual here that can give you an audience with the leader of your summons; you will then be able to speak with Orochi regarding the powers he gives you as his summoner." The newly named Genma explained; the NPC took a glance around the store and saw that most of the other shoppers were browsing around the scrolls for now. "Seeing as you left before we could discuss this I can start the ceremony in the back for you now."

"Really, doesn't the ceremony cost a lot you would just give me one for free?" Illu said in confusion about the old man's generosity.

"Well while normally I would charge a high degree because of the materials I need and the time it takes for each ceremony differs for each person…but since you had to leave before the original purchase and heard so many nice things about you from Lily at her herb shop I can give a small discount." The old monk smiled again.

"Really Genma-san!" Illu said in happiness and disbelief. "Ok how do we prepare for the ceremony?"

Genma moved from behind the counter and placed a small sign on the table that said 'Ceremony in Progress.' He opened the door that led to the back of the story that was very spacious than the front. "You don't need to do anything but I need to set up before we can officially start."

"Is there anything I can do to help you, I hate to do nothing while you're taking time from your shop just to help me." Illu insisted on helping the elderly man.

"Nonsense child you don't need to lift a finger" the old man promised her. "But if you really are insisted on helping an old man with his duties than there are some ingredients on some high shelves that I can't get without wounding my old bone; you would really be helping me if you could get them when I need them."

"Of course and thank you again for this Genma-san" Illu bowed and went into the back to help Genma set up for the ceremony. Mukurowl flew off to help the two; while they were gathering what Genma needed the monk drew a large pentagram on the ground using purification salt.

**(Scene Change)**

"I understand why Zephyrus needs to drop by the shops to buy some things but did we really have to tag along with him?" Sol asked Malachite as they were waiting outside on of the shops in the merchant district. Saphir was there was well playing with a dark blue sphere of mana.

"Yes because you had to pay to repair Zephy-sama's goggles after you broke them while doing another prank. Why you two just don't stop with that gag, I don't know!" Saphir answered for Malachite who was 'occupied' by some of the passerby's.

"Hey 'Over 9,000' will **never** not be funny; he just needs to stop being a stiff and buy more durable goggles." Sol heard the girl's huffed and turned to the other male of Aetherion. "Mal is this really the time to be…well you?"

The reason he said that was because Malachite was absent mindedly flirting with three female players. After creating a few crystals that sparkled in the sunlight; the Sentinel of Aetherion gave them each a bright pink rose and bid them goodbye letting the girls leave while blushing and giggling.

"I can't help it Helios there are just so many pretty flowers roaming about today and more seem to be arriving by the second" Malachite said as more and more girls walked out of the Reception Center an into the town. "Why couldn't we be blessed with this garden instead of the mountains we have back in the Asian Server?"

"A little something called extra security; we could have a more public base like Kurotsubasa is known to have and take jobs that way but with a few of our rouges about we don't risk it." Zephyrus answered after walking out of the shop, this time with goggles tinted yellow to match his scarf.

"Plus what would poor Saku-chan think if her Malachite-sama flirting with everything that has a skirt." Sol smirked.

"Saku-chan just happens to be…a little overprotective of me, but right now she and Bo-kun are on standby right now so she doesn't have to know about this." Malachite said to him though his tone dropped a bit when talking about Saku.

'I know that feeling' Zephyrus thought feeling Saphir cling to his arm. "You know that Saku and Bo are connected to your character and can look through your memories so Saku is going to find out eventually."

"Ehehe so Zephy how's the search coming along? I thought yours and Ganymede's research said that Kurotsubasa was in the merchant district." Malachite quickly moved the topic to something else.

"No we said their territory was the merchant district; they seemed to have their tracks covered very well though Ganymede should have a more accurate knowledge of their address. The reason we're here is to pay for the goggles you two broke." Zephyrus explained while calibrating the goggle's settings.

As Sol and Malachite tried to apologize for the destruction of the boy's property Saphir smelt a familiar scent in the air; the scent of snakes. "Um could we please get going Zephy-sama?" The girl asked.

Zephyrus noticed the tone of her voice not used to seeing Saphir act so nervous. "Is something the matter Saphir-chan, you seemed startled by something?"

"Just nervous because I just smelt a really strong snake's scent, maybe it's just my senses going off because I used a lot of Okami traits for my avatar but snakes always have me uneasy." Saphir explained.

Before anymore words could be said they all received a whisper message from Ganymede. "I'm waiting a few feet from the shop because I don't want to go in myself; Leader-sama went to get his blade finished before meeting me here. Come here now." The masked hunter's prerecorded voice played from their inboxes.

"Honestly the guy could use more emotion; the only time I usually see him act different is when his mask is off…and that's not always a good thing." Sol said.

"Well you heard him; we need to meet up before we go on with the mission. Saphir-chan, if you still feeling uneasy maybe you should log off for now." Zephyrus suggested.

The wolf girl shook her head. "No I'm fine, maybe we should get going so I won't have this feeling. I'm usually good around snakes but this one is a lot stronger for some reason; let's go Sol-kun, Mal-kun, Zephy-sama." At the girl's words they all made their way to meet their stoic teammate and their leader so that they could finally see their guild's 'Little Sister.'

**(Kurotsubasa Base, Tokyo City)**

Shadow sighed as he was seated in the head seat in the meeting room; after having to deal with paperwork for the Guild and paying for damages after Bella's latest experiment he was ready to get the meeting over with. A half hour past deadline and he saw all the other members of Kurotsubasa seated in their seats except for Illu and Mukurowl who were still absent.

"Does anyone know where Illu is; she's usually not one to be late especially when a meeting is called." Shadow said wondering why the girl was late.

Most of them shook their heads as they didn't know where the girl was. They all assumed Illu was taking time to look over her garden in the back or was still training in the dojo but those were proven false since they all haven't seen her enter the base.

After a while, Ravena gave him an answer. "I messaged Illu-tan when I got online and she said something about getting an item looked at to make it stronger. She'll be here in a bit." The catgirl answered in a rather dull tone without even using her usual vocal tic.

Some time had passed since her brother's betrayal but the incident had somewhat cracked Ravena's cheerful personality.

"You feeling ok kitty? You're not acting like your spunky self…" Bella asked her partner-in-crime. While the toon-girl had an idea what was bugging her she decided not to mention it; after they all recovered from their mind control Shadow explained to them what happened but also said not to bring up the subject around Ravena.

"I'm fine, see" Ravena tried her best to not have her friends worry about her but she still saw their concerned looks. Punnya looked at her owner and friend with a sad look on her face since she can understand Ravena's feelings better than anyone there.

"Punnya" Punnya gave a sad mewl wanting to cheer up her friend and master.

"I'm fine really Punnya" Ravena said petting the manju and placing her on her lap. "Let's just go on with the meeting; you said it was something important Shadow-kyun." The nekomata said wanting them all not to worry about her.

"It is…" It was Key that decided it was best to move the conversation along. "We might have to start the meeting now if we want to have time later for preparations; emails are being sent out about this now so if Illu doesn't already know then we'll tell her when she gets here." The Beta said to the group.

"Wait preparations, what's coming up now? Please don't tell me we have another attack to worry about." DB then took a shot of his drink. "We've finally gotten a small break after the tournament; hell FFW has pretty much been peaceful for a while now."

"Exactly and there is a reason why it's been so quiet. It's the calm before the storm and this storm is one that will hit us hard if we don't prepare for it." Key said.

"Who is it now; like we can't deal with anyone that comes our way, and if we need to use the big guns…well my men and I could use a good work out" Bella said proudly as she cracked her knuckles.

"I don't think you and the Hyna Squad are able to handle the whole entire world Bell" Shadow said and then continued on with the meeting. "Like Key said everyone is preparing, or should I say every Guild is preparing for an event that comes around this time of year."

"And what is this event, we talking about another tournament?" The drummer of Kurotsubasa asked. "Is this one going to involve the other Servers?"

"Is it another big tournament Shads; right I get ya, we may have won the last tournament but we need more training to keep ourselves in the top spot!" Bella said excitedly. "Just leave it to me I got some new men I can turn into and new ideas popping in my noggin!"

"Bella let's talk about what we need to prepare for before you go all Gung ho on us; Key you can explain this better than I can so I'll leave it to you." Shadow said passing the floor to the Beta.

Key nodded his head and turned on the terminal in the room making a hologram screen appear. "You can say that it's like a tournament, but like Shadow said it involves the whole entire world. More specifically every guild that is signing up to register right now" the screen lit up with thousands of pictures and logos, with Kurotsubasa's being one of the thousands on screen.

"All these guys are guilds? Wait I know some of these guys!" Ravena said and then looked and Key. "Are you talking about the Guild Wars Ani-Key?" Ravena asked still not using her vocal tic.

Key nodded his head towards the catgirl; Shadow noticed that Ravena was still in her funk but said nothing and continued from where Key left off. "In about one week's time the Guild Wars will officially start, guilds all over FFW are registering and preparing themselves for the rising competition and potential rewards. If it isn't obvious enough Kurotsubasa is going be a big target during the Wars." Shadow explained.

"Yep ever since you had that bracelet strapped on your wrist you've been a trouble magnet, just like Bella" DB started out by with saying ignoring the sharp "Hey" from Bella. "But you said Guilds that register compete in the Guild Wars; not to sound uninterested but can't we just sit this one out?"

Shadow shook his head. "It's a required event, all guilds have to register or risk termination by the Admin and besides I already submitted all the paperwork today. There is no way out of this Tournament." The scythe user finished showing them all the seriousness of the Guild Wars; while none of them had looks of fear they all knew that they were in for a long season.

"Still is this really any different than we're used to, random guys popping up and trying to gain a name by taking us out or money from trying to get the Wings? So why is this Guild Wars so special?" DB said wanting to know why a competition was so serious.

"Well a few things really; it's a form of entertainment and gambling that the company that makes FFW air so that others could watch. The Guild Wars even appears on a special channel that they have control of." Key said wanting to get the lighter reasons out of the way. "Another reason is for management; in order to make sure not too many guilds remain in the system this regulates the number of guilds in FFW."

"Regulate, what's that mean Ani-Key? I thought there could be an unlimited number of guilds in FFW just like everyone else" Ravena asked curiously. Punnya looked up from her spot on Ravena's lap also curious of what the Beta had to say.

"A lot of resources go into a guild; one of them is space on FFW's official mainframe. It can only keep data of so much and while there are guilds for many different things some argue that some don't deserve the backing of the Admin to be guilds." Key explained to her and everyone else by extension.

"Groups like the Red Savages try to become guilds so that their 'beliefs' are in a way legal; and while some try to protest there are few ways to disband a guild outside of Admin involvement. That's why in the Guild Wars. Guilds put their right to be a guild on the line," Shadow also answered. "During an official Guild Wars battle the winning guild has the right to disband the losing one." The scythe user said letting them know the seriousness of the situation.

"Wait hold up, you mean if we by some fluke happen to lose a battle during this it could break up Kurotsubasa?!" Bella said shocked.

"Nya, we can't let that happen! Why do good guilds have to be punished for what the awful ones do!" Ravena said outraged, her verbal tick showing up out of anger.

"Punnya nya!" Punnya agreed flying out of Ravena's lap in a fit of rage.

"See why I said this meeting is important; think of all the people who want not just the Wings but to take out Kurotsubasa as a whole; we aren't going to allow that to happen!" Shadow stood out from his seat. "We're all going to put in more effort on our team training and our own individual training as well. This is the last thing we need to worry about that right now." The leader of Kurotsubasa looked at all of them with in fire in his eyes. "We'll deal with the battles as they come but we've dealt with criminals, madmen, and killers; we can handle a few pesky guilds! We stand strong alone but stronger together and we aren't going to let someone take that away."

DB smiled as he finished drink and slammed the cup down. "I hear you Shads, risks and all of that be damned we can deal with anything this world throws at us." The vampire let his enthusiasm show with the fire that ignited in his hand that he let flicker before snuffing it out. "I've haven't really got the chance to let loose for a while."

"Kurotsubasa is like my family just like the Hyna Squad; and we're not going to let anyone hurt family!" Bella agreed with the pyro. "We got a whole toon army on our side plus a whole lot more!"

Shadow smirked seeing them energetic for the battles that will be coming around in the future. He then saw Punnya flying around with her tail waving wildly as if getting ready to fight herself; a look to their resident magic expert and Ravena gave him a smile before adding her thoughts.

"Minnya! We're definitely going to pull through guys, there isn't anyone that's going to break us apart nya!" Ravena cheered alongside them, all their moods brightened hearing their magical cat act like herself. Even inside the confines of Ravena's mind Felis seemed to be smirking in her sleep.

**"Soon we'll have a whole litter of opponents to sink our claws into; I think I might stick to working with you guys this once" **Felis commented seeing as she'll support Kurotsubasa given her good mood and Felidae's being back to her cheerful demeanor.

Key gave everyone time to enjoy their talks on how they'll all decimate the competitions. After a time of celebrations he loudly cleared his throat getting their attention and had them look at the holo-screen which now displayed a map of Tokyo City. "Glad that you all are excited to start but let's talk about the real goals of the Guild Wars" The keyblade wielder said as he highlighted certain parts of the map.

"Goals, what goals do we need? Any person that comes by looking to fight we beat them and send packing." Bella said.

"Close but not quite Bell, in this tournament the risk of disbanding is still present but the benefits outweigh the risks. Guilds fight for two things, rankings and territory; we have to keep that in mind while we work to better protect our guild." Key then tapped the screen the highlights turned into ten different colors with different logos on top of them. "In the rankings Kurotsubasa is ranked #587 which is pretty average and our territory extends to Tokyo City's merchant district."

"Rankings, territories…shouldn't our rank by higher than that after the tournament and why do we need to worry about territories it's not going to be like an actual war is it?" DB asked as he looked at the map.

"No the Guild Wars work like this; one guild sends out a formal challenge to the other this is mostly done by placing their symbol in another guild's territory. Once the challenge is accepted the challenged guild decides on a competition that determines the winner, it's not always a fight though" Shadow took the time to explain. "Once a winner is declared the winning guild's rank goes up and they receive payment from the losing guild along with one request they can't refuse."

"And that's usually the disbanding right Shadow-kyun?" Ravena asked as they all got the gist of what the scythe user was saying.

"That's right, if the losing guild is allowed to continue they give a piece of their territory to the winners to do as they please; guilds can even make the option to have the loser join the winner giving them the whole territory." Shadow finished.

"What are the benefits of a territory, I mean I still prank around the merchant district but I still get chased around by the Admin Guards." Bella asked.

"Well we don't have enough to influence the guards but have you noticed that the gag shop you go to gives us a discount and that it's easy for us to know when shops sell rare items. Those are some small benefits." Key answered.

"So that's why the shopkeeper gives me an extra bag a dumplings every time I shop there; I always thought it was just because we were famous or that he was just being nice." Ravena reasoned.

"Maybe not if he's a human merchant, but this goes to NPC's mostly" Shadow said. "Key from the look of the map we have a few 'neighbors' to deal with right?"

Key nodded and all attention was brought back to the map. "As of recent count Tokyo City has at most 10 guilds. Most of them; however, are still relatively new with not that much territory between them."

"What about that big one out around the forest; that looks like a big chunk of land that's in that red color?" Bella asked pointing to the only guild with more territory than Kurotsubasa. The toongirl accidently tripped and her finger pressed the symbol bringing the terminal to a new page. Kurotsubasa was now looking at the main page for the guild; Aetherions.

Key got the screen under control and the Aetherion's logo shrunk and seven images showing the members appeared though one was shadowed in showing only a female silhouette. "I don't know much about these guys; they work more in the Asian Server but have a small base outside Tokyo City; they go by Aetherion they're Bounty Hunters and Mercenaries by trade but the do Item Hunting and Map Making of all things."

"So they're like us except they don't do all the odd jobs that people are willing to give them." Ravena said as she tried to get a better looked at the blacked out image. "You know call me crazy but why does the only one we can't see look so familiar?"

"Maybe it's a coincidence besides you can't even see her face or anything; all I can really guess it that she's a cute girl." DB then turned to Shadow, "Hey Shads, think while we have this stuff going on we'll have to deal with Chaos and Destiny too?" DB asked.

Almost instantly Shadow glanced over to Ravena who visibly tensed briefly and had a far-off look in her eyes, the incident involving her brother was still fresh in their minds. The only reason the others didn't know was because they didn't say that Team Destiny and Bringers of Destruction were one and the same. He could almost make out a small snarl from the girl; whether this was about the girl Sakura or the one responsible for her brother's turning, the boy wasn't certain.

"Maybe, but we'll have to deal with them later. Besides Cast wants us off anything involving them; something about it being too risky having the Wings fall into Chaos' hands" Shadow said.

"But we sent them packing last time" Bella reminded them.

"After he disrupted an Admin event; sealed hundreds of people inside a stadium holding them hostage and had his number two guy rip out Illu's soul; these guys are on another level of evil." DB reminded the toongirl of the events of the final battle. "I say we stick with Shads' plan of getting stronger and better before something new drops in on us."

As if on cue they all heard knocking from downstairs causing them to look deadpanned at a chuckling DB whose jinx may be the cause of another possible opponent at their door. All of them wondered why they would have guests considering they were closed for business today.

"You guys think it's Illu wanting to get our attention?" DB asked.

"Why knock, if Illu-tan is going to knock somewhere it would be on the meeting door not the front; and even then she comes in from the back because she wants to look at her plants every day before she comes in." Ravena then called Punnya over. "Hey Punnya; think you can see who's at the door?"

"Punnya" The happy neko manju said before flying out of the room wondering who the mystery arrivals were. Kurotsubasa waited patiently for the manju's return.

"And now we wait and hope for…"

**_"Punnya!"_**

"Punnya I'm coming!" Ravena almost ran out the door if it wasn't for Punnya flying back in and into her large 'chest.' "Punnya who was it at the door to make you scream like that?" The girl asked her pet. The rest of Kurotsubasa was curious to what could have startled Punnya.

"Punnya! punnya nya; nyaya ya!" Punnya mewled loudly while pointing with her tail at the image that still decorated their terminal screen. The guild put two and two together seeing the urgent look on Punnya's face and why she was pointing to the faces of Aetherion.

"Wait you mean to tell us that the only guild that might be competition to us in this town is already at our doorstep?" DB asked.

"Is that true Punnya?" Ravena asked.

"Punnya!"

Key changed the terminal and looked at the security camera to show that there were six people waiting outside their door. As they watched they saw one of the members, a girl, ran off somewhere but the others stayed knocking again.

"Well these guys are either extremely polite or they aren't here to fight; not many challengers wait out patiently and knock on the guild's door. Plus the Guild Wars haven't officially started." Key spoke his thoughts out loud.

"Maybe these guys just didn't get the memo; just give me five minutes and I'll have the guys throw them out in no time flat." Bella went to activate her Omnitrix only for her hand to be stopped by Shadow before it could reach her wrist.

"Look they're waiting, that means they want something but it doesn't require violence which is why they gave away their location and are waiting for us. Maybe they're here to negotiate something." Shadow figured on Aetherion's intentions.

"We wouldn't have to guess if you would just let me have at them!" Bella complained after Shadow let go of her hand.

"Careful Bell, this it could just be a misunderstanding and we don't need to be making enemies before the Guild Wars even begin." Key said. "Aetherion is made of hybrid characters; players who shift from half-animal and full animal forms. Let's at least see what they want before we imply anything.

"Fine but if they're up to no good I get first whack at them; maybe the guy with the giant knife first!" As the girl raved on they waited for Bella to simmer down before making their way downstairs to see what Aetherion could want. Ravena stopped to look at the seventh member while replaying what Key had said about them.

"Six members, five of them being boys and Ani-Key say that they are all hybrids; and our own hybrid girl Illu-tan isn't here. This is too much to not be coincidence." Ravena spoke to herself but then joined the others downstairs. "Wait up nya!"

**(Scene change)**

Aeon released another sneeze, thanking Zephyrus who materialized a tissue for him; once the swordsman was done the used tissue became a card that went up in flames. "That's the third one now; think they're talking about us guys?"

"Maybe who knows what Imouto-chan could have told them about us; she could tell them our embarrassing qualities or worse…her pet name for you Aeon." Sol smiled hearing a groan from Aetherion's leader.

"I'm seriously trying to get her to change that…Ganymede seeing as we got some time before they show any hospitality care to inform us about Kurotsubasa?" Aeon asked their Intel expert. "I want to know all about the ones taking care of my sister."

"Right; Kurotsubasa, the Black Wing, is a hunting, mercenary, and basically an odd job guild, with an occupation like that no wonder the group full of…well let's call them unique members." Ganymede showed them all an image of each member of Kurotsubasa.

"Keybladedude or Key is one of the Betas, possessing a large amount of knowledge of FFW and all its workings. In my opinion, this may be one of the reasons why the Admin hasn't tried anything too drastic on them."

"GeneralHyna or Arabella Hyna, Bella for short, has a record longer than you would imagine. She's a pranking expert that once literally painted this very town red and has a long list of powers I'm not even going to try and lessen."

"DB or DrummerBoy4Life is just that, a drummer…who also happens to be a vampire and possesses pyrokinetic power. He's a powerful warrior that is known to leave plenty of people in the burn ward of the hospital."

"Sounds just like you Helios; maybe you got some healthy competition." Malachite smiled jokingly.

"Hopefully he doesn't have the mouth to match you Salamander."

"Hey!"

"Ravena Felidae" Ganymede continued cutting Sol off and infuriating him even more. "A nekomata with all kinds of magical powers and a list of many other things; surprisingly she too has a long history and a record but not like her teammate Bella, though she is one of the most upbeat and strongest members."

"And" Aeon asked him to go on. "You know who I really want to know about so continue on Ganymede."

"Shadowlight0982 or as many bounty hunters know as Shadow has a long and…thrilling history; he's the leader of Kurotsubasa as has many titles as well as accomplishments you really have some competition with this one. Known as a powerful warrior, almost undefeated, and tracker, he's explored some of the most challenging parts of FFW and lived to tell others."

Ganymede began to laugh a bit causing the others to wonder about the masked warrior's mental state. He then spoke to them in a language that they all understood; "kanojo no yuujin ha...kyoumibukai noha yoi kurotsubasa no riidaa, riidaa no youni kiwotsuke ru **(2)**." Ganymede snickered again.

"Kareha sonoyouna bukimi da eru toki, watashi ha kirai** (3)**" Sol said lowly wondering why Ganymede felt the need to act that way. "The guy is too random; speaking of which where did Saphir run off too?"

"She talked about being called back to the merchant district; she'll be back though maybe she saw a gem she liked or something?" Zephyrus shrugged his shoulders thinking about the girl's behavior. "Anyway you know the plan right Aeon?"

"Yes yes I get no need for you guys to keep pointing it out for me; we go in and find Imouto-chan, see if she's all right and nothing bad happened to the seal, and then…"

"Explain to her about what we hid from her ever since she logged on." Zephyrus cuts him off knowing that he would try to skirt around the detail. "As her brother you need to tell her, it's important if not…"

"I get it Zeph and I was going to say that if you hadn't interrupted me, now how long will it take for them to open the door?" Aeon asked no one.

**(Play Persona ost: The Poem for Everyone's Soul)**

"If you tried asking nicely you might have been let in sooner Pun!"

All of Aetherion looked to the ledge where Kurotsubasa's sign stood to see a catgirl smiling down at them with her eyes closed; this girl didn't look like any of the members in Kurotsubasa's roster. The girl had pink fur and what looked like darker pink midriff and bottom with a large golden bell hanging from a collar around her neck. Two flowing pink neko tails and pink neko ears stood out on black hair with pink highlights and they could make out black wings on her back. She opened her eyes revealing red catlike pupils.

As they stood silent Malachite took the time to walk forward, "Sorry we may have the wrong place milady; we thought this was the base for the guild Kurotsubasa." He said in the usual suave voice he saved for women making the rest of Aetherion groan.

"No you're right this is Kurotsubasa…see nya!" The girl moved out the way showing them the sign fully. "Now you guys know we're closed right?"

"Yes but we didn't come here to discuss business, we came to talk with the guild. It regards of member of your team, Illusionist Owl or Illu as she calls herself." Malachite began to explain getting slightly serious. "We would like to talk to the guild about her."

"Illu-tan, why didn't you say before nya?!" The girl slinked away back inside the building.

"Wait, come back catgirl! If you want Gany here has some nice fishes you can eat!" Sol called back to the girl and dodged a swing from Ganymede who was holding a bat made of water.

"She's not eating my megalos" Ganymede said, short and to the point. They all watched as the door opened letting them walk inside. They then saw a table was ready for them with Kurotsubasa's members either sitting at random spots or standing; the girl who greeted them was nowhere to be seen but a pink manju was smiling in a girl's arms. Their attention was at the person sitting at the head of the table with them.

Shadow's eyes were closed but he slowly opened them as soon as Aetherion entered the base. Once they took their seats Shadow began speaking.

"Welcome…to Kurotsubasa."

**(At the same time - Summon Realms, Tokyo City)**

"Is everything set up correctly Genma-san?" Illu asked as she was now sitting in what she originally thought was a pentagram. After some explanation from the monk it turned out it was a Chinese five point star which was used for the ceremony. While she was in the center Mukurowl was perched on one of the shelves and Genma was out of the circle placing bowls of elements at the end of each star point.

"Yes it is, now just be calm as I finish the preparations." In each bowls were elements of Chinese creation: water, wood, fire, metal, and earth. After the bowls were placed in their correct spots; Genma then lit a few incense candles after turning off the lights. "Now let me explain what will happen during the ceremony; while your body will remain here your mind will be transported off to meet with Orochi." Genma explained to the girl.

"Ok, this will help you send me into Orochi's realm so that I can speak with him?" Illu asked as she tried to understand the procedure. Mukurowl looked around in both curiosity and worry as he shared his master's questions. "How long do these meetings usually last?" Illu asked.

"It's all dependent on the boss; whether you are on good terms with them or not. I remember Orochi is usually mutual when it comes to his summoners but the fact that he was so quick to accept you says a lot about your character." Genma smiled and placed a hand on the slat making it shine a bright light to Illu's surprise. "However; these meetings do tend to last quite a while I hope you don't have any place to be."

'I was supposed to be at the base for the meeting…but, I guess I can find out later by messaging Ravena-chan or Bella-chan. If it was really important like Shadow-kun said he'll make sure I know.' Illu then closed her eyes and let out a small breath "I'm ready Genma-san."

Genma nodded and whispered an incantation; it felt so arcane and powerful that Illu felt the energy behind each word. The star began to glow more and more until all the girl saw was white; the last thing Illu heard was a hoot from Mukurowl before everything went black.

Illu looked around and saw that she was floating, no standing on some invisible platform in this dark space. The girl looked confused wondering if this was really her mindscape or if it was Orochi's personal realm. "Did it work?" Illu asked herself as she looked around.

**"So you have finally arrived here young one; that is good we have much to discuss" **Something that sounded like eight voices speaking in unison while hissing at the end of the sentence. In a wave of power Illu braced herself at the sudden wind and saw that she was not alone anymore. Now standing before the young hybrid was the legendary eight headed demon: Yamata no Orochi.

Unlike their first meeting Illu could see it more clearly now than the white apparition from the first meeting. It had dark green scales that looked almost like armor and from the lack of scars Illu doubt anything could pierce it. Softer brown underscales made up its bellow and she could see its blank eyes lined with blue.

Illu gave the summon a respectful bow before she started to speak. "Orochi, I wanted to talk to you after summoning you in the tournament; I thought…"

**"Yes we remember your fight with that earth-user… and from what your thoughts are saying it is one who you wish to fight again." **Orochi cut off with its words; they saw the surprised look on Illu's face so they explained. **"From the moment the contract was established we were linked to your more inner thoughts powered by your emotions; we know all about your intentions with that letter."**

"My…intentions, I don't know what you mean I'm going to give the letter to my friend after I'm done speaking with you." Illu stuttered as she tried to explain herself to the large serpent.

**"If that is so why not send it ahead with your pet before coming to this store; have your friend know if you are truly that worried about him." **One of the heads asked.

"I do care about Shadow-kun…" Illu blushed at the meaning of those words but kept on speaking. "While he may have seen what Wolf could do who knows what plans he has; it may be an ambush to try and kill him."

**"So instead of giving your friend that message, you wish to face that warrior again for his safety…or is it for another reason?" **Another one of the snake demon's heads asked.

"Huh what do you mean?" Illu asked wondering where the summon was going with the conversation; however since he had a link to her emotions maybe he knew something that she didn't. Illu knew that it was wrong to keep the message and not tell Shadow the moment she got it but something inside her told her to hold onto it. "I don't have another reason; this is to help my friend."

**"I see, though you may not know now you are feeling more than concern for your friend." **A head spoke. **"It's an emotion that everyone creature has though it is also something that they don't want to admit they have."** Another one said having Illu confused to what they were talking about.

"Ano, what do you mean by emotion?" Illu asked.

The heads of Orochi decided to speak as one, "**That is something you must discover for yourself and when you discover it then we will talk about what gifts you receive our pure hearted summoner."** The demon's voice began to fade along with its form.

"Wait, I still need to talk to you about our link and about what those gifts are?!" Illu yelled wanting Orochi to answer before he departs back to his dimension though she that it was in vain for her to try and stop the summons from leaving.

**"All will be said in due time but for coming this far and still maintaining that purity you had when you first summoned me I leave you with a small gift." **All of the heads opened their mouths and small beads of light floated out and combined to become a solid sphere of energy. The orb then landed in Illu's arms. **"When you return you will have proof that you are our summoner by that medium but keep searching for the reason why you truly wish to fight that human."**

Illu wanted the meeting to last longer to find out what the serpent meant but the dark plane began to fade out around her. The girl then blinked and opened her eyes to see that she was back at the store slumped along the ground. She saw Mukurowl's questioned look and Genma's humorous laughter.

"Excuse me; while we may have just met I appreciate it if you not try to crush me Summoner."

Hearing a new voice Illu got back to her feet and looked around wondering where the new voice had come from.

"You may want to look at you wrist though Orochi usually leaves other ways to signify it's summoner but this is the most unique one I have seen in all my days running this shop, hohoho!" The monk finished with a cheerful laugh.

Mukurowl landed on her shoulder following the girl's gaze to her wrist which was once barren now had a new…occupant. It was a small snake wrapped around her wrist that she would have mistaken as a bracelet if it wasn't for the fact the snake was staring back at her. Its scales were an earthly green almost like that of Orochi's but a ring of scales under the head were light purple almost like a collar.

"Yes thank you kind sir for pointing out my whereabouts; now Mistress my name is…" Before the snake could finish Illu was rubbing it against her cheek.

"Aw nanika waii hebi, soreha chibi-Orochi noyouna monoda soreha totemo kawaiidesu! **(4)** Illu said as she continued playing with her new companion. Mukurowl looked at Illu and the snake in confusion and let out a string of hoots.

"I beg your pardon, I am more than just cute and I am not a worm as your feathered friend mentioned! My name is Nyoka and I happen to be a medium; the one who speaks to you at Yamata-no Orochi-sama's behalf!" Nyoka protested, Illu was shocked and brought the snake off her wrist and into her hand to talk to her.

"Medium, so you were the gift Orochi gave me and you can even understand Mukurowl too!" Illu said excitedly. "Is there anything else you can do besides that Nyoka-san?" Illu asked using a respectful honorific seeing Illu's comment angered the snake some.

"Well of course, Orochi-sama chose me out off all of his servants to be your medium because I was the most compatible to you. As a matter of fact…"

"While it is wonderful seeing you enjoying your new gift from Orochi I really must return to the shop before I lose any business." Genma said reminding Illu he was there and where she was. Illu bowed in apology to the old man for wasting his time.

"I'm sorry for wasting your time Genma-san; I j-just get like that when I'm really excited." Illu reached into her pouched and pulled out a wrapped bundle of munny. "Here, this is to thank you for all of your help today.

"Ohoho nonsense; I'm always ready to help my customers and this is the least I can do for one who missed her first chance originally. Genma laughed as they all walked out from the back; the monk then waved goodbye to Illu as she left. "Now off you go, Orochi seemed to have brought you two together for a reason I can only wonder what other gifts he has bestowed on you."

Illu bowed to the man and left with Mukurowl on her shoulder and the newly named Nyoka on her wrist. As they walked out into the merchant district Illu got to know Nyoka a fair bit on her walk to Kurotsubasa.

"So not only do you have special poison abilities like your species but you can change your size as well?" Illu asked the small snake; maybe what Genma spoke was true that Nyoka was chosen for her since size-altering was a power Mukurowl had as well.

"That is correct; and I also have a few more abilities as well, I can even grow to the same size as Orochi-sama himself. But, please tell me about yourself miss…you must be something for Orochi-sama to choose you as his summoner when you look like a frail girl." Nyoka asked.

Illu laughed nervously at the snake's words but decided to comply with her request. "Well my name is Illu, like you I use poison but I'm very skilled in illusions and magic as well. Mukurowl here can also change his size like you but we can combine to achieve a hybrid form; it may not show but I'm a hybrid half human/half owl with Muku-chan's help." Illu explained to Nyoka.

"Hybrid, so can you transform without the aid of your bird there?" Nyoka asked not addressing Mukurowl by name after the worm insult.

"No I can't the only time I ever tried was when I first tried to transform but I blacked out; that was when I was training with my brothers. One of them gave me a spirit egg that hatched into Muku-chan so that he could help me." Illu said while rubbing Mukurowl's feathers. "From the Eclipse Tournament footage I transformed without him again but my videos always go down and I never saw it; I don't even remember that battle honestly."

"So you don't even remember your transformation Illu-sama?" Nyoka asked.

"Illu-sama?"

"Since you are my master's bearer I must treat with the same level of respect…unless you call me a worm or do something to break Orochi-sama's contract." Nyoka explained.

Illu understood and then shook her head to her first question. "No I remember neither one; but from what the medics who saw me said there is nothing physical wrong with me so I leave it alone."

'So you doesn't have any memory, does that me her powers have been partially sealed?' Nyoka noticed the mark on Illu's forehead but chose to leave the matter alone. The snake then felt a presence that caused her to hiss.

Illu noticed the girl's hissing, "Um Nyoka-san why are you hissing?" She asked wondering about her change in behavior.

"Something vile is approaching" Nyoka whispered.

Illu wondered what she meant until she saw someone she never seen before in Tokyo City but felt familiar to her.

What she saw was a man with long white hair that went down to his past his shoulders and was tied in a ponytail with a red ribbon. The man had blue markings on his face and familiar cinnamon red eyes as well; he wore a white and red male yukata that hung loose against his body and black straps on his arms with the ends of each tied to a single finger **(Think Miroku's gloves from Inuyasha)**. Finishing his outfit were black baggy pants that puffed up around his knees and bandages tied around the ends going down to his bare feet.

The man walked closer and saw Illu and then ran over to her; the girl stood wondering where she had seen the guy before with Nyoka still hissing with many voices coming from her mouth saying 'the enemy.'

"Illu-chan, it's been so long!" The man said as he got closer.

Illu looked at him confused wondering how he knew him while Nyoka was pulled her back and away from the male. "Um sorry but who are you again?" Illu asked.

"Have you really forgotten me already, I know I wasn't around as much as you brother but come on…it's me Saphir." The male Saphir said. Illu then noticed the wolf ears on his head and her eyes widened.

"Saphir-chan, what are you doing here? I thought you would be watching the bas…the base oh Kami! All this time I never checked in!" Illu said in worry.

Saphir gave her a wave. "Its fine I was able to take care of it; besides from what the news said you've been pretty busy Illu-chan…by the way who is the snake and why are you backing away from me?"

Illu wondered what she meant but felt herself being dragged by Nyoka who was slowly but surely moving her away from Saphir. She planted her feet firmly and looked at Nyoka, "Nyoka what's the matter, this is my friend Saphir Heart sh-well she's harmless." Illu explained.

"HARMLESS?! How can you say that to anyone who wounded Orochi-sama regardless of his intentions!" Nyoka yelled; for some reason Illu herself was feeling a small amount of fear from Saphir.

"Orochi…oh you mean Yamata no Orochi!" Saphir said realizing what the snake was talking about. He then pulled out a sword that was sheathed on his back; the whole sword was azure blur from blade to hilt thought it was still sharp. On both side of the sword's handle were gold rings that were a part of the sword.

"This sword is called Tsumugari no Tachi or Tsumugari for short and in the game I got it from it was the reformed version of the sword used to kil…Illu-chan you're backing up again." Saphir noticed the steps Illu was taking.

"Well that sword feels scary for some reason and I being Orochi's summoner must make me feel what he feels." Illu said nervously.

"KEEP THAT BLOODY SWORD AWAY FROM US!" All of Orochi's head spoke out of Nyoka.

Saphir sighed and placed the sword away. "Fine I'll keep it away so the big bad snake won't get upset. Speaking of upset, Aeon almost went ballistic after he saw the Eclipse Tournament battles; the guys are at Kurotsubasa's base to find you."

"Anataha nani Niisan wo imi shi, hokano nin ga ima deha, besu niaru! Aa Kami nani watashi hasurutsumoridesu **(5)**?!" Illu hands flailed around at the thought of what her brothers could be doing or saying to her friends.

"Hold on now Illu-chan no need to be like that; I'm sure the guys have it under control and Zephy-sama is making sure that the guys don't act like…well themselves." Saphir tried to calm the girl down but couldn't get near due to the hissing Nyoka. The wolf boy then got serious, "Also Illu it's important that the others talk to you."

Illu was shocked at the loss of her playful tone and lack of honorific; that showed how serious this visit must mean. "Ok, you say they are at the base now; then let's hurry I don't want Chocobo to do anything too embarrassing."

"True but I think you should worry about all of them…besides Zephy-sama of course!" Illu ignored the girl's favoritism and ran in the direction of Kurotsubasa; Saphir followed after the girl since she knew the way better than he did.

**(Scene Change)**

"I thought the rumors about you guys being eccentric were false but it seems all of you have your moments huh?" Aeon asked seeing the set up they were trying to make; he was sure if the whole café was a monochromatic shade of blue that Aetherion would be in the Velvet Room.

"You must not be from around here if you're saying that; actually we know you aren't from this Server…though none of us are but that's beside the point." Shadow said. "But what we do want to know is why five days before the Guild Wars one of our possible opponents decided to visit us now?"

"Well we didn't come here to start any conflict; like you said the Guild Wars are about to start and we would rather avoid any sort of battles between us that aren't necessary." The one wearing a cloak said. "What we are here for is to talk to you about a certain member of your guild."

DB then looked over to Bella suspiciously; "Bella I thought you said that you were prank free for three days, I guess you decided to break you streak this time?" The vampire asked.

"Hey I am still clean; I haven't pranked anyone in days!" Bella yelled back at DB.

"Normally when someone is here to talk about our guild it's because you did something to tick them off." DB said.

"Well this time I did nothing honest" To empathize her point she pointed at the halo that was now floating over her.

"I'm not even going to ask" DB sweatdropped; Aetherion was silent thinking that this must be the norm for the guild.

"So who are you here for nya; it must be important for you to come all the way from the Asian Server." Ravena asked. "Are you here for a request, because we're closed or maybe you're mapping the area?"

"Hey hear that guys, looks like we're famous even here." Sol smiled and puffed out his chest seeing as they heard of them.

"Actually we've only just found out about you guys today, other than your guild's name we know nothing about you." DB said deflating the redhead's ego. That sentence caused the boastful teen to facefault to the ground.

"So you were able to infer just from a small amount of information; that's impressive." Ganymede then looked at Key. "Was it perhaps you that was able to gather this information?"

"Possibly, but like DB said that's all we know and we know that you are missing two members of your group right now." Key said counting the five men there. "You are missing two girls, from what the information from your guild profile said."

Zephyrus sighed; "I guess we should have our page be more private, but if we did that we wouldn't get as much jobs as we had. So do you know the last two members because it concerns one of them and one of your guild mates."

"Not really, we don't even know you guy's names personally. So who in my guild are you here to see and what is the real reason why you're here?" Shadow asked watching them with his Byakugan active. "From what you guys have told us you haven't told us the whole truth, but didn't lie to us…yet."

"The Byakugan must be very useful for situations like this; I was thinking of getting one but a player has to be female to get a water-attributed Byakugan." Ganymede whispered.

"Well if you know what we said is true than you know we're not here to fight, even though a spar with you guys would be awesome!" Sol smiled before he continued. "We need to see Illu if she's here?"

"Illu-tan hasn't been here for a while though she was supposed to. Why do you guys need to see her?" Ravena asked them still holding Punnya.

"It involves what happened during the Eclipse Tournament though I think it would help well if I explain who I am." Aeon cleared his throat to help him speak clearly. "As you already know we're known as Aetherion and I'm the leader; my name is…"

"CHOCOBOOOOO!"

To everyone's surprise Illu appeared suddenly and bulldozed Aeon into a wall knocking the sword wielder out. Illu was breathing hard before she noticed what she had done and blushed red. "Uh, sorry I was late everyone" She said shyly.

The rest of Kurotsubasa widened their eyes at the strength of the impact from their usually docile, gentle member. Saphir had walked in behind her, now in her female form, wondering why she yelled. She then saw Malachite and Sol helping Aeon off the floor and put it together.

"She caught him doing something embarrassing right Zephy-sama?" Saphir asked.

"No he didn't even get to that part this time." Zephyrus sweatdropped when he saw the cartoonish bump on their leader's forehead.

"Wow…." Was all Ravena could say.

"Punnyaaaa" Punnya said impressed.

"I…didn't know you had it in you Illu; but next time maybe you shouldn't slam a guy into a wall unless he really deserved it." Shadow said to her after the girl calmed down. An embarrassed Illu nodded her head before walking over to the swirly-eyed Aetherion.

"Chocobo are you all right?" Illu asked after she apologized for intentionally pushing him against the wall.

"I would be better if you didn't use that name" Aeon got back to his feet and brushed off the debris from his impact. "Anataga kabe ni watashi no zugaikotsu wo bash ni motte inakatta, anataga shitte iru hontou ni kizutsu kerukoto.** (6)**" Aeon said in a language Kurotsubasa recognized as Japanese.

"Watashi ha moushiwake arimasenga, watashi haanataga watashi no otouto wo embarass toha omowa nakattasugiru baai, watashi ha motte inaideshou** (7)**" Illu said back confusing Kurotsubasa even more; the only one who really had a clue what they were saying was Ravena.

'I know Illu told me she was from Kyoto, but hearing speak the language is just something I never seen until today.' Shadow thought as he watched the siblings have their own conversation. After some time he cleared his throat getting the two's attention.

"Wow Owlgirl I didn't think you could speak another language; so what have you told these guys about us?" Bella asked the embarrassed girl.

"It's not like that Bella-chan; I'm from Kyoto in Japan along with the rest of Aetherion. That's the language that we grew up speaking before we learned English thanks to the visors." Illu explained.

"The visors what do you mean by that?" DB said feeling the now invisible piece of metal around his head.

"Not everyone who plays FFW speaks English; the visors have a translator feature for when you log into the United Server so that we could all speak the same language. The feature can be switched off too…like what Illu did just now." Key explained.

"Sorry I never told you guys before, anyway I'm sorry for the…wall Chocobo" Illu apologized again to the swordsman.

"Illu-chaaaannn don't call me that! Call me Aeon-niisan or Ragna-niisan, anything but THAT name!" Aeon complained to the girl.

Ravena chuckled, "Why not I think it's a cute nickname Chokobi." The catgirl smiled along with Illu.

"I know right Ravena-chan; you can guess how I made the nickname right?"

"Of course, Chokobi doesn't really try to hide that he's a combination of a Squall and Chocobo." Ravena answered the girl's question.

"I know but I find it more fun to call him Chocobo" Illu smiled.

"Can we please talk about something else besides that name?!" Aeon glared at Illu who was looking back at him innocently. The swordsman sighed as he crossed his arms in an angry huff. "Imouto-chan could you at least introduce us to your friends?"

"Ok I've know enough Japanese to know what imouto means; this guy's your brother Illu?" DB asked the girl.

"So he's the brother you told me about" Ravena figured out from their conversation some time ago. "He doesn't seem as bad as you said he was."

"Hey!" Aeon said outraged, Illu calmed the boy down and then walked over to Kurotsubasa to begin introducing the other guild.

"Well these guys are Aetherion; they're from Kyoto just like me and they're the closest thing I have to having brothers and a sister." Illu smiled and then started from the right. "This is Sol-niisan or Sol of Helios; he's one of the best fighters on the team and a fire user."

"Please to meet you guys; it's about time we finally get to see the guys in the pages of Illu-chan's E-diary." Sol said.

"Sol-nii!" Illu yelled.

"Oh come on Illu-chan I think it's cute; you even have a page filled with pictures of…" The redhead pulled out his chakram to block a glaive from the furiously blushing girl; seeing his joke go too far he decided to end it there. "Anyway the name's Sol; you looking for fun and fire you come find me!" Sol gave them a huge grin.

"Seems like you got some competition there DB-chan; isn't that your usual position nya?" Ravena asked the drummer.

"Rave I think the fun he's talking about involves pranking which is more Bella's territory…though I may have to test you out on that fire thing, see which one of us is better." DB gave Sol his own grin.

"Bring it on; I don't use Helios just because it looks cool. Where we're from I'm known as the Walking Volcano: Sol of Helios, let's see what you got some time." Sol said in a challenging tone.

Illu decided to move down the line before DB and Sol could "bond" anymore and they had to sweep up the ashes. "This is Malachite, he's the one that gave me all the plants I need and helped me make some of my stronger poisons."

"It's better than going to a store that will charge high prices for things that can be easily made yourself, but Illu-chan…" In a flash, Malachite was kneeling before Ravena and planted a small kiss on the back of her hand. "You didn't ever say this guild had such a beautiful flower on its team."

"Uh…thanks?" Ravena said with a small blush at the cloaked boy's actions.

"Mal-nii I didn't say anything because I knew you would do this and there is another girl in the guild." Illu told the flirt.

"I know that you're in this guild too but I can't in good conscious ask out my friend's little sister…not after last time." Malachite said whispering the last part.

"What was that Mal?" Aeon said threateningly.

Before Malachite could answer he was sent flying with a kick to the head. Aetherion looked at the attacker in question while part of Kurotsubasa was groaning at Bella new appearance. The attacker seemed to brush dust off his shoe before putting it back on the ground.

**"You dare to say you acknowledge beauty as flowers you didn't even noticed the hidden bouquet that is Arabella; obviously your sense of beauty differ from others." **Charlotte Chuhlhourne said to the downed Malachite.

"Bella could you change back, being in the same room as this guy is making me…uncomfortable." DB said not liking the latest Hyna transformation. Before Charlotte could object Shadow hit the Omnitrix symbol on his wrist turning him back into Bella.

"Hey how did you change me back?" Bella asked the scythe user.

"I took a class from Azmuth; now we don't need anyone else getting hit unless I can help it." Shadow said and then turned to Illu. "Anyway Illu can you please keep going before anyone else ends up with a bump.

Illu nodded but not after putting a large Band-Aid on Malachite's face. 'Poor Mal-nii, I guess I should have warned him more about Bella-chan before he ended up putting his foot in his mouth.' With that thought Illu moved to the masked member of Aetherion.

"This is Ganymede; I guess you can say he's the Beta of Aetherion without being a Beta. Gany-nii is a bounty hunter so he knows a lot of things about FFW." Illu said introducing the silent teen.

"And that also means I know a small bit about all of you since you're making a name for yourselves, especially you Shadow-san considering the large bounty that's been posted about you." Ganymede said.

"It' the life I live, I hate it but I can't complain. Hopefully we don't have to fight; I would hate to have to hurt on of Illu's friends." Shadow said.

"You don't need to worry about that, besides it would make Illu sad if I were to hunt you down. But in all honesty I'm not interested in the Wings of Creation; in the end it's just a burden that you ended up getting stuck with." Ganymede said.

"That's good to know we won't have to fight" Shadow said shaking the bounty hunter's hand.

Ganymede nodded, "I've been keeping tabs on you all for some time, just to see if having you around Illu is good for her but it turns out it was a good thing she met you guys."

"Nani?! Chocobo you had Ganymede STALK me?!" Illu yelled at the two boys who wouldn't meet her angry gaze.

"…Technically Ganymede followed you on his own" Aeon said still not looked at his enraged sister.

"That is true, I did follow you out of my own decision; it was my choice not Leader's" Ganymede said meeting Illu's gaze. "Besides how else we I supposed to find out where you were after the…incident and I ended up learning some interesting things."

"What do you know?" Illu asked in a worried tone. 'There's no telling what Gany managed to find out and if he knows about…'

Ganymede whispered to Illu so that only she could hear him. "More than you think…like how you have a crush on your leader."

'NOOOO!' Illu thought, "I don't know what you're talking about Gany-nii." She said hoping that he was joking.

"Yes you do, and honestly I find it cute" Ganymede said to Illu's horror. "Don't worry, I didn't tell Aeon…you don't want him chasing after the boy do you?" By now Ganymede was snickering at the beet red Illu who was a second away from fainting; she then turned to the others.

"Um let's keep going," Illu looked to the next two and saw the familiar sight of Saphir hugging Zephyrus's arm. "The girl clinging him is Saphir Heart and the one whose arm is turning blue is Zephyrus; Zephyrus is someone who can match you in magic Ravena-chan."

"Oh really, is he the one that taught you how to use magic nya?" Ravena asked in interest.

Illu shook her head, "No but Zephy-niisan taught me something else but he's the best at using magic and helps Gany-nii when it comes to tracking. Now Saphir-chan, she may be a bit giggly but she's a good person. She became part of Aetherion after meeting Zephy-nii."

"And that's a day I'll never forget!" Saphir said. Zephyrus though tried to get him to loosen her grip on his arm before he had to lose it.

"Can I please have my arm back…also Shadow could I ask you a question?" Zephyrus asked after getting Saphir to loosen her grip.

"Sure what is it?" Shadow asked.

"You know about the mark that was one Illu's forehead right, you were the one to redo the mark after the tournament right?" Zephyrus asked the scythe user. "That thing is called the Mark of Saturn and its special mark Illu has that helps with her power."

"Really, I never really understood what that mark was for, I honestly thought it was something like Saphir-chan's markings" Illu said honestly; by now Nyoka was keeping an eye on Saphir but caught what Zephyrus had said.

'Does that mark have something to do with her transformation?' The snake thought to herself.

"It took the rest of Aetherion and me to make that mark yet it took you only seconds to make it again, did you know what you did?" Zephyrus asked.

"Not really, I think my body was on autopilot at the time…I just remember what the mark looked like and replicated it best I could; I only have some knowledge of seals but not enough to be an expert like you are." Shadow answered.

"I really deal with runes but seals are almost the same." Zephyrus said. "Well at least you did a good job replicating it but I'll have to examine it later if that's all right Illu-chan?"

"If it will help sure, I wouldn't want to have any problems." Illu answered the silver haired boy; the usually shy girl now walked over next to the last member of Aetherion. "And right here is my true Oniisan in all but blood; his name is Aeon of Ragnarok."

"Aeon or Ragna would be just fine…just as long as…"

"Or you can call him Chocobo like I do!" Illu quickly added causing the older boy to drop to the ground. Seeing her brother's look Illu just gave him another innocent smile, "I like that name better Chocobo."

"Well I prefer you not to call me that, not even an hour here and you have one of your friends using almost the exact same nickname!" Aeon sighed in frustration before getting on with the conversation. "Regardless Illu there is a reason we came to see you, this isn't just a mindless visit."

"Figured out that much; Zephyrus you said that the Mark of Saturn helps with Illu's powers what exactly do you mean?" Shadow asked. "Illu's been her usual self after she woke up from her fight."

"Well it works more specifically on Illu-chan's hybrid form, I'm sure you all have seen it some time or another." Zephyrus said.

"Yeah Illu's big bird form, what about it?" Bella asked.

"It's more than that Bella-chan" Illu said as she focused on her brothers. "But what about my hybrid form Zephy-nii I mean I know I don't have the second transformation like all of you guys but that's expected right?"

"That's where you're wrong Illu" Aeon said speaking for Zephyrus; he then focused on the rest of Kurotsubasa. "Are you sure you want everyone here listening when we tell you?" He asked; even though they were Illu's friends doesn't mean he trusted them immediately plus this was a matter concerning only his little sister.

"I'm sure you can tell them Chocobo it shouldn't be…"

"Go ahead and talk in the garden, you'll have some privacy there if you use the whisper command to keep it private." Shadow said to Illu's surprise.

"Are you sure Shadow-kun?" Illu asked. One of Aeon's brows rose at the use of friendly honorifics though behind him a few members of Aetherion were silently snickering. "It really isn't much of a problem."

"It's probably for the best Illu, we are a team but it's best to keep some of our own secrets plus this looks this is a family matter anyway." Shadow then showed them the door that led to the garden. "There's the backdoor, take all the time you need."

"We will, come on Illu this is important" Aeon said as he and Aetherion walked over to the door. Illu gave Kurotsubasa one more glance before following the group out into the backyard; before any of Kurotsubasa made the attempt to eavesdrop Shadow pulled them back.

"Don't any of you go trying to eavesdrop on them; this is about Illu's personal life so leave it alone." Shadow said sternly.

"Come on Shads aren't you interested in the least; it's not every day another guild pops up." Bella said. "Isn't it a good time to try and gather some info, especially if it's about Illu?"

"Just drop it Bella, we're probably don't have to battle them anyway so just leave it be." Shadow then left to go upstairs. The rest of Kurotsubasa then saw the mischievous look on Ravena's face.

"You got a plan don't you kitty?" Bella asked.

"You what Shads said about trying to eavesdrop right?" DB asked.

"Well Shadow-kyun said that we couldn't eavesdrop but I think he forgot about one very important someone." Ravena said as she held up her secret weapon. "You know what to do right?"

"Punnya!"

**(Scene Change)**

"I was wondering where you would be keeping those plants I sent you but it seems you found the perfect garden to keep them all in." Malachite said seeing Illu's garden which covered half of the backyard. "Who grows the other half?"

"Thanks Mal-nii" Illu smiled at the compliment as she tended two plants in particular. "Some of the other herbs and flowers go into Ravena's magic ingredients and others to Bella's supplies but it's mostly Shadow-kun's; he had the garden set up way before I was here."

"Wow to think he's was that silent fighter type like Gany here but he's got a hell of a green thumb. You may want to snatch the guy up while you can Illu-chan" Sol smiled.

"N-n no it's not like that!" Illu kept on insisting with the atomic blush covering her face.

"For once hothead could be right, it would be best if you stake your claim." Ganymede added to the girl's ire. Illu seemed to shrink in embarrassment, much to Mukurowl and the silent Nyoka's confusion; the girl then noticed Punnya was nearby and brought her in her arms.

"You won't tease me right Punnya-chan?" Illu asked hopefully to the manju.

"Punnya!" Punnya meowed. That seemed to satisfy Illu but her two pets that could understand Punnya both sweatdropped.

Saphir raised a brow at the manju, "Hey is that a beast manju? I didn't notice in the base but they're so cool…ugh is it ok for her to listen in on the conversation?" The wolf girl asked the rest of the group.

"We'll worry about it later" Aeon brashly stated. The leader of Aetherion then gave Illu a serious expression. "Illu, what we are here for is about the Mark and your hybrid power…and also why you may have been blacking out."

"But you guys told me before that the blackouts were a side effect of me pushing my hybrid form's limits? How could there be more, did any of you have problems when you first transformed?" The girl asked.

"We've all had our mishaps when transforming but yours was completely different; Illu remember what we told you about the hybrid class? How you first must achieve and master hybrid form before going into a full transformation?" Zephyrus asked her.

"Yes and I only go my hybrid form" Illu answered him.

Zephyrus shook his head. "That's not true…see the day we went with you to help you with your first transformation…" The Aetherion stopped and looked to Aeon silently telling him that he had the floor.

Aeon stepped up and finished for the silver haired hybrid. "That day…you completely skipped all the steps and transformed into your full form. Illu you went on a rampage attacking us as if you were another person."

Illu couldn't believe what she was hearing and neither could the three pets around her. "Chocobo…what are you saying? I don't have a full form I'm only a hybrid!" Seeing the serious looks on most of Aetherion's faces she knew there must be some truth to his statement but her mind didn't want to believe it."

"It's true, you attacked us Illu-chan I'm sure if you check deep into the log of your visor you'll find the footage or record somewhere. You even pulled out a violin and it somehow gave you control over our senses." Sol said without using his goofy persona.

'I kept on getting messages asking how I got a violin to do that…I didn't know what those messages were about I thought they were spam.' Illu thought. "Choco…Aeon-niisan; if that's true then how comes I have a hybrid form and can't go any higher? I can't seem to find evidence of what you say so how can I believe you."

A popup message on her screen caught the girl's attention since it was from…Ganymede. Illu opened her menu to access it only to watch the one part of the Eclipse Tournament she did not have…her fight against Suijin and Fuijin.

"I would have sent you the one of your first transformation but I believe this will work just as well." Ganymede said. "The seal on your forehead was created by me; it holds back that…thing you turned into after you transformed."

"Ganymede and I keep tabs on the seal hoping that it would last and it would never break, but when you went on your own and joined Kurotsubasa it ended up breaking." Zephyrus walked up to Illu and placed a hand on her forehead right on top of the seal. "Sorry Illu-chan but I need to make sure the seal is still working as it should."

Illu said nothing but nodded her head letting the magic user continue. Zephyrus kept on searching for any irregularities in the seal. Punnya remained quiet in her place listening to the whole conversation.

'Everything looks well and intake, I'm surprised someone was able to copy a Ganymede original…what about" Zephyrus' train of thought stopped when he noticed something odd. The silver haired teen then took his hand off the seal and looked to the others.

"It's holding, if I didn't know any better I would say the seal never broke." Illu sighed a breath of relief hearing Zephyrus's words.

Aeon nodded his head. "Good, then we can now all head to the Akaishi Mountains."

"Akaishi Mountains, wait we…do you need me for something Chocobo?" Illu wondered why he needed her back at the guild's true headquarters; they were only here to check on her and the seal and both were fine so why the extra hassle. The next thing her brother said soon changed her world forever.

"Because from now on…I want you back with Aetherion full time."

**TBC…**

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><p><strong> Trust me where I say as I was writing there were worse parts to just put a cliffhanger; this will get you all excited for the second half of this chapter. So read and review so that we can have more of this and give me some criticism too since I don't want to get worse or rusty with my writing.<strong>

** As for the YouTube poll since I still working with my recording stuff I'm just going to ask if you want all our musical themes and everything put on the YouTube page I made for the story or do it yourselves and then send it to me to place on the channel. It will be something FFW related that will be out and I'll deal with all the copyright and everything so we don't get sued. Just a yes or no is all I need. Until next time everyone!**

**-Shadowlight0982 out.**

**Translations:**

**1. ****"I love you Zephy-sama!"**

**2. ****"Her friends are…interesting better watch out for Kurotsubasa's leader, Leader-sama."**

**3. ****"I hate it when he gets like this"**

**4. ****"Aw what a cute snake; it's like a chibi-orochi it's so cute!"**

**5. ****"What, you mean nii-san and the others are at the base now! Oh Kami what am I going to do?!"**

**6.** **"You didn't have to bash my skull against the wall; that really hurt you know."**

**7.** **"I'm sorry but I wouldn't have too if I didn't think you would embarrass me brother."**


	24. Chapter 20: Aetherion Part 2

** Hope you all didn't have to wait too long but here's the next part of what I can say is a successful chapter. I was kind of worried of my writing skills as I was writing both but from the reviews I got I don't need to stop writing anytime soon. To those who are just skeptic and think I'm just taking all of this from a series or something else the plot was all made by me using themes that you'll probably see everywhere.**

** I'm doing announcements here since I don't have much to say only that if I have any polls it will be up in DeviantArt and I'm going to try and have another chapter done by tomorrow; which is also my birthday so if there are any late updates then that's probably the reason. I'll take care of reviews in the next chapter as well because I don't want to keep any of you guys waiting. So…ON WITH THE SHOW!**

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><p>"FFW"-Speech<p>

'FFW'-Thought

'_FFW'-Flashback_

"FFW"-Attacks

Disclaimer: I do not own any reference to any anime/game/show/book, etc. that appears in this story. I own the original plot (at least I hope its original) and my own characters and OC's. All other characters and references belong to their original creators.

Beta'd by: Ravena Felidae

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><p><strong>Ch. 20: Aetherion<strong>

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><p>"I want you back with Aetherion full time."<p>

Illu's eyes widened after she heard her brother utter those words; they echoed about in her mind as she tried to think of an explanation to what was going on. She now knew that this wasn't just a simple visit or a request; Aeon wanted her to come back with Aetherion back to the Asian Server permanently.

"Aeon…you don't mean that do you? You mean for l-like a short time right?" She asked with a small plead in her voice.

The rest of Aetherion was silent and turned away to avoid Illu's pleading gaze. The only one to look her in the eyes was Aeon and they showed her the seriousness of the conversation. "No Illu, after we heard the news around FFW and saw the videos of the Eclipse Tournament I decided that it's too dangerous for you to be out here." The leader of Aetherion said.

"But at the Tournament everything turned out ok; the people from Chaos were defeated and my friends were able to rescue from what the stories say. We were able to take care of it!" Illu said as she tried to reason with her brother.

"But **you** weren't able to handle it; you lost your soul during that fight because you lost control of your powers and almost came close to dying if your friend hadn't helped you. The same friend that was probably the reason that whole event occurred." Aeon argued with the girl. He heard the emotions in her voice; he knew how much she wanted to stay with her friends but after what happened then…now this is more about her safety than she wants.

Illu stood wide eyed as she just heard her brother basically say her friends were the reason she almost died. Before Aeon could go further Zephyrus decided to intervene. "Ok I think that was a little harsh Aeon…but he's right. Illu, the Mark of Saturn is very important and if it breaks again you may go on another rampage; it may have been patched up but who knows what the consequences of using your full demon form are?

Ganymede also voiced his thoughts. "What Leader-sama is saying is that while we need to monitor your seal and make sure it's doing its job; we want take you away from those who risk you bodily harm by tampering with it."

"But can't you do that here? Gany-nii, you're an expert on seals and runes and you made the mark, you also have Zephy-nii whose magic helped you make the seal right, so why do we all have to leave to the Asian Server when you even have an extra base in the forest around Tokyo City?!" Illu asked them desperately.

"Because back in our Server we can better protect you; this is about your safety Illu. Remember when we heard about all those the coma patients; how they ended up like that because something happened to them while playing this game? Well now something like that almost happened to you and I won't let that happen again!" Aeon's ranting became yelling as he recalled the Tournament. "You already have your co…"

"Don't mention you dare mention that!" Illu yelled; even though they were in private she didn't want Aeon to talk about her condition; Punnya cringed at the harsh tone that came out the usually sweet girl's mouth. "And nothing like that happened; Shadow was able to save me before anything bad could have happened!"

"Yeah even though he wasted most of that fight losing control of himself too; I don't know if you watched those videos closely but he also knocked Mukurowl out of the way who was trying to calm him down, but he kept on after the bastard he was fighting!" Aeon said. "The only reason I didn't barge in here and try to kill him is because he straightened out and rescued you before it was too late!"

Ganymede decided enough was enough and got in-between the two yelling siblings. "Calm down both of you; the worse may have almost happened but it didn't. Illu was saved before anything drastic happened that's all that matters."

"Yeah like Ganymede said; we were all worried when we saw that fight but in the end everything was able to work itself out." Sol said as he tried to mediate between Aeon and Illu before things got more out of control.

"What Aeon is trying to say Illu-chan is that we were worried about your safety. You are right about the seal but that's not the only threat you have to worry about. Powerful people are coming after Kurotsubasa…and you by association." Malachite said to help try and relieve the tension hanging in the air.

"We just don't want anything to happen to our Imouto-chan, I've been in this Server longer than you have and I know the type of guys that lurk around. I didn't even hear about the Red Savages taking root just by our base until I had already left." Saphir said. "Red Savages, Chaos, all of that, we just want to keep them away from you Illu."

"B-but…" Illu stuttered out, her emotions clouding her mind.

Aeon sighed, "This isn't up for debate Illu and besides before you joined these guys you were a member of Aetherion first; that means as your Guild leader you don't have a choice but to follow my order." The sword wielder said looking firmly at Illu. "You're coming back with us Kohaku; so that **we** can protect you."

Aeon's tone and choice of words made something click inside of Illu's mind. Having been in a moment like this before she thought back to the day she met Kurotsubasa…Shadow's voice played in her head.

"_Everyone has choices, sometimes the choices are good and others are bad. However, everyone has to live with the choices they make. Just make sure your choice is something you can live with."_

"…choice…" Illu murmured out with her bangs hiding her eyes and, in turn, her emotions from view of Aetherion. 'The choices I make have to be something I want to live with. This is my life, my choice; it's not for my brother to decide!'

"Huh, did you say something Illu-chan?" Saphir asked as she heard Illu's whispers with her sensitive ears. "Look what Aeon did was unfair to use his status like that but he's…"

"I don't have a choice…" Illu repeated with the other hybrid said before glaring at him with glowing red eyes. "I don't have a choice at all, because you're deciding my choices for me!"

"Don't give me that Illu; I'm trying to do what's best for you!" Aeon yelled back at the girl, his eyes also glowing bright blue and his pupils becoming slits.

"By what, by keeping me inside that mountain base, keeping me outside of this Server where you think all the dangers are?!" Illu kept on yelling unaware of the faint aura that was glowing around her body. "You're treating me like this is still Kyoto, you even used that name!"

Aeon would had tried to calm her down if he wasn't just as angry as she was; meeting her glare with his own now reptilian like eyes. He was about to retort but for some reason he couldn't open his jaw; the rest of Aetherion was also paralyzed by the force Illu was unintentionally admitting. Zephyrus kept his eyes on Illu but then saw a faint silhouette in the aura; a figure.

'That looked just like…' The Aetherion thought as he remembered the clear image that he saw when he was checking inside of Illu's seal. 'That isn't good!'

The Dragoon of Aetherion then fought through whatever force Illu placed on him to continue their argument. "Whether this is Kyoto or here doesn't matter; you're my sister and I'll keep you away from all those psychopaths that are running around all over the place; like those Red Savages who captured you!"

"Do you know who you sound like right now Aeon? You sound just like that bastard Ripper that wanted to keep me locked up! He was the Red Savage leader as well!" Aeon then froze solid; not only did Illu stop referring to him as 'niisan' or her pet nickname, but was now she was comparing him to the one that had once held her captive.

"I'm not that meek little girl anymore! Once I put on the Yume no Kiri I stop being weak-hearted Kohaku! Here in FFW, I am Illusionist Owl! I can take care of myself now Aeon but if you can't see that….!" A gust of wind kicked up making Aetherion shield their eyes; Illu had summoned the wind and fused with Mukurowl to take off flying in her hybrid form.

"If you can't see that Aeon…then you're not my Niisan anymore!" The hybrid girl shot and then took off leaving behind the shocked faces of Aetherion and a stunned manju that was now watching her leave. Aeon began to glow and was going to transform to try and follow her before she got too far but then a hand landed on his shoulder.

"That will do more harm than good Leader-sama" Once he felt Aeon calm down Ganymede took his hand off the Dragoon's shoulder. "You just told her something that devastated her. Right now it's best for Illu-chan to be alone right now." The masked warrior of Aetherion said.

"What happened to the plan Aeon? You were supposed to use the gentle approach," Malachite reminded the Dragoon.

"Forget the plan; with what's been going on lately in the world Illu has to come back with us now. We can forget about the gentle approach!" Aeon then proceeded to leave out the base by using the backyard gate.

"What are you doing Aeon, I may not know much about girls but I'm pretty sure when a girl gets like that it's best to stay back and let her release some steam." Sol said trying to stop Aeon before he went on a rampage searching for Illu.

"I'm going after my little sister Sol; as long as she's on this Server there are too many threats out there because she's a part of this guild. I'm going to find her before some whack job out there does…do whatever you want but I'm searching for her!" Aeon then left out the back leaving the rest of Aetherion to their thoughts.

Saphir sighed and then turned to the group to get their attention. "What do we do now Zephy-sama? Illu really needs time to think to be alone with her thoughts right now but Aeon's not exactly going to give her enough time to do that." The Okami of Aetherion said in concern.

"I know Saphir-chan; that's why we're going to split up. Some of us are going to go after Aeon to try and cool him down and make him see reason. The rest of us will search for Illu to make sure that she's safe, Aeon is right about those are out there." Zephyrus turned to Ganymede. "Gany do you think you can find Illu?"

"Of course" Ganymede answered the question; he already had experience keeping track of Illu.

"All right, I think it's best for you to go and search for her right now. Saphir and I will join you later. Sol and Malachite will go after Aeon and try to get him to see reason." Zephyrus ordered the rest of the guild; their main priority was Illu but because of the two sibling's spat the mission was starting to become harder. The members of Aetherion nodded and separated to do their jobs; Saphir then noticed Punnya was still in the garden and picked the neko manju up.

"I better take this girl back inside and explain to the others what happened." Saphir said while petting the sad Punnya.

"Nya…." Punnya lowly mewled as she was still depressed over what she had witnessed.

"No we'll both do that…if things get any worse we may have to involve Kurotsubasa in this as well." Zephyrus said. The two walked back through the garden door and tried to decide whether or not to tell Kurotsubasa what had happened during their guild's talk. However what the Magickster of Aetherion didn't know was that Kurotsubasa was going to find out no matter what they told them.

**(Ravena's Room during Aetherion's talk)**

"Hey Kitty are you sure this plan of yours will work? I still think my idea would have still been better and I would have already been done by now." Bella complained with her arms were folded as she watched the catgirl hover in midair in a meditative pose.

"Shads will know what's up if he so much as senses you leaving the base. Besides, I think those Aetherion guys are sharper than they look; you heard about one of them being a famous bounty hunter nya. I doubt you have a good amount of stealthy toons to help you get past them." Ravena then pulled down spell-list in her menu to try and find the perfect spell.

"Hey I got many that are stealthy! But how do you know that your plan will work out better than mine?" Bella asked.

"I know because if there's one thing I know that won't fail me Hy-nya, its magic. Besides since I have Punnya helping me out this will go a lot more smoothly. Now hush! I need to focus," Ravena then took a quick breath and concentrated more on her meditation. The catgirl then began her spell by muttering her spell trigger. _**"Neko… Neko… Nekoko…."**_

Bella decided to obey and stayed silent, watching as the magical girl's eyes began to glow. Soon, Ravena's soul self, a black two tailed cat left her body and phased through the floors and walls of the base. The cat specter then entered Punnya's body just as the manju followed Aetherion out into the garden.

'_Try not to act too suspicious ok Punnya?'_ Ravena said inside the manju's mind. Punnya responded back to Ravena mentally as she continued to tail the other guild. Ravena and Punnya then watched the whole conversation between Illu and Aeon and were silent even into Illu's declaration.

'This is bad and Chokobi isn't doing a good job of explaining things to Illu-tan; though I feel insulted that he feels that way about us like we can't protect our friend.' Ravena said and then spoke to Punnya. 'I'll come and pick you up and then we'll search for Illu-tan ok Punnya.'

Punnya mentally nodded just as she felt Saphir pick her up into her arms. Ravena's soul self exited the manju's body and returned to its proper place. Ravena snapped out of trance with a start and jumped to her feet, startling Bella a bit.

"Whoa Kitty, did you find out something important?" Bella asked seeing the catgirl suddenly spring to her feet.

"No, not really Bella, I'm just going to go pick up Punnya and then tell you what I learned later ok." Before Bella could say anything Ravena flew out of the room leaving the toongirl more confused. Ravena made it downstairs and accidently bumped into Saphir; she apologized as Punnya flew to her.

"Sorry nya, I was kinda in a hurry to find Punnya." Ravena said.

"It's ok, I was just coming in to find you and give her back." Saphir said seeing Punnya with Ravena again. Once the girls were finished chatting Zephyrus cleared his throat and asked Ravena a question.

"Where is Shadow? There is something I need to talk to him about." Zephyrus asked.

"He's either upstairs in his room or in another one nya, but I really need to go so excuse us." Ravena answered his question and then left out the building with Punnya at her side. The two members of Aetherion looked at each other, suspicious of the catgirl.

"You think she's knows what happened Zephy-sama?" Saphir asked.

"Maybe, from all the info Ganymede got on her, she's a magic-user and I was sure I sensed a magical signature around as we talked but I just figured it was that beast manju of hers since it has a pretty strong magic signature." Zephyrus answered. "However; if she does knows that then we have one more person who could try and find where Illu is."

"Things have really gone downhill today; hopefully we can find Illu-chan before things get even worse." Saphir said with her ears drooping down to match her worried expression.

"We'll find her Saphir-chan; but first we may need another pair of eyes for the search." Zephyrus then led them upstairs in order to find the leader of Kurotsubasa.

**(Scene Change)**

"…_Niisan no Baka"_

Illu said as she sat underneath the bridge. After having her argument with Aeon, Illu flew into the town looking for a place where she could gather her thoughts; this brought her to a bridge in a part of Tokyo City. Sitting under the bridge next to the river that ran underneath brought back memories of her times in the Asian Server but the last thing she wanted to think about now was Aetherion or more specifically, her brother.

Mukurowl looked at Illu sadly while Nyoka kept a neutral expression but still felt some empathy with her new mistress. "I know what your brother said was out of hand but don't you think you could have handled that differently Illu-sama?" The serpent asked. Mukurowl hooted at Illu trying to cheer her up.

"Once Aeon gets like that he only hears yelling, beside I don't think he would have listened to anything else I said." Illu said back to the familiar. "I know he has good intentions but to keep me away from my friends here…"

"As with all brothers he has his reasons to be concerned with his sister's wellbeing; from what Orochi-sama told me about your battle it did have an almost horrible outcome." Nyoka said; Mukurowl looked like he was about to reprimand her but a finger from Illu stopped him.

'That's right…from what the others said the Chaos guy stole my soul and I almost died until Shadow-kun saved me. If I were strong enough then maybe Aeon and others wouldn't have to worry about me.' Illu thought sadly. The girl and pets suddenly felt a new presence and turned to see Ravena walking over to her. Punnya was bouncing right behind her owner.

"Ravena-chan?" Illu said in surprise wondering why her friend was there.

"Mind if I sit with you Illu-tan?" Ravena asked; Punnya somehow led both Mukurowl and Nyoka away from the girls so that they could talk in private. Illu nodded and allowed the catgirl to sit next to her.

**(Kurotsubasa Base)**

"So after your talk turned into a fight Illu just took off and ran away?" Shadow asked as he talked with Zephyrus and Saphir. "I know it's not my place to ask but what could you guys be talking about to make Illu freak like that?"

"That's something I can't really tell you, but we do need your help with trying to find her. Do you have any idea where she could be?" Zephyrus asked him.

Shadow sighed and got out of his seat, he had an idea of what their conversation was about though he decided he would confront them about it later…right now he had a friend to find. "Not really, the person you should be asking for that is Ravena and it feels like she's already left."

"That girl from before, yeah she did leave but you don't know any place that Illu-chan would go?" Saphir said in disbelief.

"I never said that, but I wouldn't know where to look if she was frustrated like she is now." Shadow corrected her. "I got a way to search for her though but it will consume a bit of time since I'm not used to doing this…you have the rest looking for Illu right now?"

Zephyrus nodded his head. "Aeon went off on his own but I had Sol and Malachite follow after him. Ganymede is a good tracker and has experience finishing Illu when she runs off so he's off searching on his own." He explained the situation. "You can probably already guess why we went to get you instead of joining the search right away."

"I figured that out. If Illu hasn't already left town then I should be able to find her." Shadow then led them out of the room. "I'll start searching but know once I find Illu we're going to start looking for her too."

"You mean Kurotsubasa, why because she's a part of your guild?" Zephyrus asked.

"Like I need that to be the reason; Illu is our friend, plain and simple." Shadow explained as they now found themselves on the roof of the base.

Saphir looked around curiously. "Why are we on top of the building is this going to help you search for Illu?" The wolfgirl asked wondering why the boy had to relocate the two of them to the roof.

"I'm trying to eliminate as many places as I can and I don't think I need to sweep the base when I know Illu is not there." Shadow answered the girl as he began channeling chakra to his eye. The scythe user pooled as much energy as he could into his Byakugan so that he could do a city-wide sweep of Tokyo City for the missing Illu. A full minute later the veins had become more pronounced on the side of his face as he fully activated his Byakugan.

"**Byakugan!"** Shadow searched every place he could as he scouted every part of the area. Surveying as much land as he could he then found Illu's signature in town by the west entrance. "Found her," Shadow simply said as he turned off his Byakugan.

"Really? It must have been hard considering you only had one Byakugan." Saphir said impressed.

"Not hard…just time consuming and really taxing" Shadow said slightly exhausted from performing the search. "Anyway I found Illu so let's get ready to move." The scythe wielder said as he also sent Illu's location to the rest of Kurotsubasa.

**(With Illu and Ravena)**

"So Chokobi really said all that?" Ravena asked after Illu explained what had happened.

Originally, Illu wouldn't have told her but Ravena was her best friend and the catgirl told her that she was there spiritually listening to the whole conversation. "I can understand where he's coming from but he could have tried a better approach."

Illu nodded to her comment as she tossed another pebble into the river. "It's just the way Chocobo does it. I can understand him wanting to protect me but he acts like I can't protect myself on my own; one of the reasons I left on my own was to improve myself…but I guess it wasn't enough for Chocobo."

"Come on Illu-tan, I'm not saying he's right but he's just a bit…" A look from Illu caused Ravena to change her wording. "Ok maybe he is _**very **_overprotective but that's how older brothers are. They have to protect their little sisters from harm, that's just their mentality."

"_Watashi ha shitte iruga, watashi ha yaburu tsumorinoyouni, akre to watashi no hokano kyoudai ha watashi wo chiryou shinai demoraitai..._** (1)**" Illu then remembered this was Ravena she was talking to and changed back to English. "Sorry Ravena-chan, sometimes I switch back to Japanese when I get frustrated." She quickly explained.

"_Watashi ha Illu-tan wo shitte_ **(2)**" Ravena said smiling at Illu's shocked expression; instead of embarrassing Illu further she decided to get to the point. "_Ne Illu-tan, aatashi wa anedakara anata wa, atashi wa mattaku Aeon wa kanjite iru ka ni kanrendzukeru koto ga dekimasu. Kare wa chōdo kare no imōto ga anzendearitai, sore ga subeteda._** (3)**"

Illu sighed as she nodded at the truth behind Ravena's words. Her brother was trying to protect her, that she know was true but she also knew she didn't want to go back to the Asian Server just because of one incident. "Ravena I told you about how I met Shadow-kun and the others right?"

Ravena nodded. "Yeah you told me that story before; about the Red Savages and all of that. What's that got to do with this Illu-tan, got Shads on the mind?" The girl smirked.

"I-it's nothing like that!" Illu tried to dissuade her friend. "But I never told you about my time before that; before even the Red Savages and everything."

Ravena nodded her head and waited for her friend to continue, curious to hear the hybrid girl's story.

"You see Aeon and the others were the ones to introduce me to FFW; they taught me about the world and how powers worked. So when I first made my account they helped me get used to the game and made me a part of Aetherion to get experience."

"So how long ago was that, if it was before Kurotsubasa was made that would mean you've been in the guild system longer than any of us have." Ravena said impressed with the girl's achievement. '_At least longer than the others….'_she added mentally.

"I don't know, I haven't asked Shadow-kyun but yeah." Illu blushed at the praise but continued with the story. "The Asian Server is filled with battle hungry groups which made most of the areas there battle grounds. Aetherion had battles almost weekly, though Aeon and the others kept me at support and healing because of my lack of experience. One day Aetherion was set to do a long map expedition around the United Server so they made a base in Tokyo City's forest; I was able to persuade Chocobo to leave me behind to watch the base and he agreed since he was also leaving Saphir-chan behind as well. A week of guard duty and switching shifts with Saphir; I left her a note for the others and then I left."

"Wow Illu-tan had a rebellious streak then, so you left the base to have some adventures of your own?" Ravena asked.

What was the point of having a world of limitless possibilities if you never had the chance to enjoy them; everyone in FFW will admit to wandering around and experiencing the game before they found a community to settle down and begin a trade or start further training to see what they were good at. The catgirl then smiled knowing the feeling all to well. "Well was it worth it?"

"Of course, I got to see so many things even if it was a different culture and Server! I even popped back to the Asian Server to do some events Chocobo wouldn't let me enter and fight my own battles." Illu said happily. "I would occasionally check on the base here when Saphir had to leave though I ended running into the Red Savages during a run to the base." Illu then stared at her reflection in the water.

"Still; and this is just looking on the bright side, if it wasn't for those goons you would have never met Shadow-kyun and Kurotsubasa nya." Ravena said being optimistic. "Do you ever regret making the choice to run Illu-tan?"

"Never, I had so much fun exploring on my own and like you said I even got to make my own friends. I just hate being treated like I'm fragile; I had to deal with that enough in the real world. That's why I started playing FFW…" Illu saw Ravena's confused look and sighed. "Never mind Ravena-chan."

"Well I'm sure if Chokobi sees how great a fighter you are he might not be so protective nya." Ravena offered.

"How would I do that? I lost both my fights in the tournament and I don't think we can find some strong opponents that I can handle." Illu tossed another stone in the water watching her reflection flicker on the surface. 'Wait!' Illu thought as she remembered what she received that morning.

"I'm sure we can find someone to do a mock fight with you. Grimmy if we find him and can convince him to hurry, maybe Rosie if we can have Shadow-kyun convince her." Ravena said listing options not noticing that Illu was pulling out a letter. Said girl was reading over the letter with a more determined look.

'I didn't know what I was feeling before when I read the letter but now I do. This is my chance to show Aeon-nii no…not just Aeon, everyone! I can show them that I'm not helpless on my own.' Illu thought as she clutched the letter in her hand. She then saw movement in the water and was shocked to see Orochi's image appear on the water.

'How did Orochi…'

"**Just speak within you mind child; this is just an intervention so that we can speak privately." **The serpent demon said as he spoke with Illu. **"Do you now know your intentions for keeping the letter now or do you require more time?"** Orochi asked talking about the conversation they had moments before.

Illu mentally nodded her head to the summons. 'I understand what you were saying before. The reason I kept the challenge letter…it was so I could fight Wolf again; so that I can prove to my brother that I'm not the same girl he remembers.

"**That's not what I was speaking about."**

"Huh" Illu looked confusedly at the summons.

"**Are you truly fighting only for your brother's sake or for your own sake?"** One of the heads asked her.

'My own sake?' Illu tried to ponder what the serpent was saying; fighting for her own sake. "My own sake, I don't know what you mean. If its revenge then no, I'm sure I'm not having any thoughts like that."

"**Yes you aren't mad at how you lost, but more at how that boy made you feel."** Another head spoke.

"How he made me feel" Illu thought about how she woke up after her fight with Wolf and again after the Final Battle of the Eclipse Tournament. What had Illu felt, she felt happy that Kurotsubasa won the tournament and that everyone got out safe; what else was there to think. Orochi mostly watched as the gears spun in Illu's head until the hybrid felt a small emotion she had felt if only for a moment.

"I was…disappointed to have only come close and then losing; I knew I could have beaten Wolf that day. I thought I had gained some strength during my time away from Aetherion but there was barely any difference." Illu said sadly.

"**Pride…it's something that all creatures have but sometimes don't want to admit. You felt that the results of that battle showed you that you hadn't improved even a small bit but you're wrong."** Orochi said to Illu's surprise. **"Why do we fall? So that we may get up and rise back up again. You've learned a lot about yourself and your abilities as you traveled around had you not?"**

"Of course and I'm still training now!" Illu said. "But no matter what I do there is still going to be someone that will treat me like I'm glass. The only ones who never done that were my friends in Kurotsubasa!"

"**Why do you think that is, why your friends seem to have more faith in you than your brothers seemed to?"** Another head asked.

"I don't know" Illu said wondering the same thing.

"**Because unlike your brother who is focusing on one battle your friends have seen you fight multiple battles; they acknowledge your skills as a fighter because they have seen them first hand."** One of the heads answered.

"**If you cannot convince your simple-minded brother then you must ****show**** him."** Another head said. **"That's where we come in."**

"We?" Illu asked.

"**You were right that you were a slim moment from victory that day; even though you summoned us you were still beaten."** Orochi said depressing Illu a bit. "**However; back then you didn't have the powers that come with being our summoner."** Two of the heads seem to float off the waters and slithered closer to Illu. **"We cannot just give you all of the powers right away but we can grant you two to help get you started."**

The first snake to reach Illu greeted her with a fanged smile. **"As you learn how to use all eight of our gifts you will also learn all eight of our names. I'm first…my name is Ichiya."** The serpent head introduced himself. The next snake nodded his head agreeing with the other before introducing himself. **"And my name is Kagutsuchi…now it's time for you to go heal your wounded pride. Find that boy, challenge him and win…and then you will see how much stronger you have become."**

"Hai, I won't let any of you down…Ichiya-san, Kagutsuchi-san I'll be sure to use your gifts wisely." Illu said as she bowed to all of the eight heads that Orochi possessed. The head that was Ichiya hissed out a laugh.

"**The gifts are just that, only gifts, use them for whatever you may need. I hope you enjoy them."** Kagutsuchi chose to ignore the other snake's laughter to speak with Illu. **"You can access our gifts by using your familiar Nyoka; I'm sure as time goes on you will learn the rest of our names and earn our gifts."**

"I can't thank you enough" Illu smiled to all the heads. "I know what I need to do now; I'm not going to lie to myself. When I lost to Wolf I thought that I somehow got weaker, that I couldn't keep up with the rest of my friends. Then Chocobo and the others came telling me how they will protect me from the evil in this Server…it felt like they thought I was too weak to stand on my own." Illu gave the serpent a determined look. "I'll show them all how much I've grown; I won't ever call myself weak again!"

"**Now that's the same will and determination you showed us on the day we met."** One of the nameless heads said. **"You are quickly becoming the best summoner we ever had in a long time."**

"**Fun and games aside this meeting is over, do your best hatchling."** Orochi's image began to fade and vanish from the river. Illu blinked and opened her eyes to see Ravena looking at her strangely.

"Hey Illu-tan are you all right? You zoned out for a minute as we were talking." Ravena asked her also noticing the girl had a piece of paper clutched in her hands. "What's that nya, a letter?"

"Something more than that Ravena-chan" Illu then handed Ravena the letter. "Take that to Shadow-kun; I won't need it anymore since I got it memorized." The usually shy girl then picked up Nyoka and allowed her to wrap around her wrist again.

'I felt that you had a meeting with Orochi-sama, is that true?' Nyoka asked Illu mentally.

Illu nodded her head to the snake. 'Yes I spoke with Orochi and learned some of their names; Ichiya and Kagutsuchi even unlocked two of the gifts for me to use and even said you were the key to using them.' Illu told the small snake.

Nyoka nodded her head believing her new mistress's words. 'That is correct but we will speak about that later…you have a schedule to keep am I right Illu-sama?" The snake said looking at the girl's determined eyes.

'I do' Illu said back to her. Ravena by now had finished reading the letter and her tails were up in attention.

"Nya what is this and it's addressed to Shadow-kyun too! Illu-tan what were you doing with this nya?" Ravena asked wondering how the girl got a message that was for Shadow in the first place.

"Grim-san gave it to me to take to Shadow-kun, I was just holding onto it and never got the chance to give it to him with Chocobo and the others showing up in surprise…Ravena-chan, Punnya-chan could you take that to Shadow for me?" Illu asked as she got Mukurowl to perch on her shoulder.

"What are you up to Illu-tan?" Ravena said in confusion as Illu just left her the letter. The catgirl and manju pair watched as Mukurowl grew in size and Illu hopped on his back to take off into the air. Ravena saw Illu had the same look she would make every time she was in a fight.

"I can't tell you that or you would try to stop me Ravena-chan, this is something I have to do!" Mukurowl then began flying away taking Illu and Nyoka with him. "Bye Ravena…and tell Gany-nii I said bye as well!"

"Nya-nya, what do you mean by that?!" Ravena yelled in confusion. Her ears then twitched at the sound of movement and she and Punnya saw something begin to rise out of the water. Ravena and Punnya were tense because they saw a dark blue figure leap out but in a flash of light, it turned out to be Ganymede.

"She's gotten better, normally she would never have sensed me…guess she has improved since her time with us." Ganymede said as his clothes and mask magically dried. "Congratulations on finding Illu but do you know where she is going now?"

Ravena held up the letter again. "I may have an idea to where she's heading to now nya; but we need to gather everyone and try to stop her." The nekomata took off flying with Punnya right behind her. Ganymede had no choice but to follow Ravena but he signaled the rest of Aetherion to gather at Kurotsubasa so that they could all gather to where Illu was now.

**(Tokyo City Outskirts)**

Wolf yawned for the tenth time today as he lied on a large tree branch bored from waiting for his target to arrive. He had given Grim a letter of challenge to give to Shadow trying to convince the scythe wielder into a duel and hopefully have him wager the Wings of Creation in their battle. Wolf was sure he plan was perfect but since it has been hours since he gave the letter to Grim two things must have happened: Shadow refused the challenge or Grim thought it was too troublesome to give Shadow the letter to begin with.

"All of this time planning this battle out and the guest of honor is tardy; I'm in a blind spot for the Byakugan so I can see him before he could even see me but that means nothing if he doesn't show up." Wolf said to himself as he closed his eyes thinking he might as well get some sleep if Shadow wasn't showing up.

'Seriously really just blow me off? Seeing as he's Rose's teacher I wouldn't put it pass him to be the source of her rude attitude as well. I know Grim had to have given him the letter because getting him to do that cost me about 500 munny.' The almost unconscious Wolf thought before he heard the crunching of grass. The thief righted himself to get ready to jump out the tree. 'Finally, wait…'

Illu landed into the forest and made her way to an empty forest area that she knew was wear a fight would probably take place. The girl took a large breath before yelling out to the hidden player. "Wolfey, I know you're around here somewhere come out now!" It a surprisingly loud and rude tone from the usually shy and calm Illu. The hybrid girl waited for a response knowing that somewhere in this field was her opponent.

'With that yelling she's doing she's going to attract attention to this place. Grim really thought it was too troublesome to go directly to Shadow so he gave the letter to one of his friends to give to him. Oh well too late to complain now; she know so I might have to get her out of the way before more company shows up.' Wolf jumped out of his hiding place in a high treetop.

He hit the ground with enough force to make a small crater underneath his feet and loud enough to startling Illu.

"What are you doing here birdie?" Wolf asked even though he already guessed the reason for the Hybrid's arrival. He watched as Illu pulled out her two knives and got into a fighting stance.

"I know you're planning on fighting Shadow today but there's been a change of plans. You're going to be fighting me now Wolf" Illu said. "You want the Wings of Creation don't you?" The girl asked trying to guess the thief's motive for battle.

Wolf chuckled at the obvious answer as he looked humorously at the girl. "Of course… do you know how much munny I can make off that little trinket it if I sell it off to the right people? Or maybe I should keep it for myself and then I'll be set for life." Wolf smirked at the girl. "Now it's my turn to ask questions right? Why are you here; did Shadow decide to send his girlfriend to fight instead of him…I feel offended."

Illu blushed at the girlfriend comment but shook her head and tried not to look so flustered. "I'm n-not his girlfriend…and the reason I'm here is because I read your challenge letter. You aren't the type to ask for a fight by paper, you go to them head-on."

"Taking lessons from your bounty hunting boyfriend huh?" Wolf snickered again seeing the blush rise on Illu's face. "You're right, Illu was it, and the letter was just so I had enough time to prepare. I would use my earthbending to feel when Shadow was coming and then 'meet' him to discuss the rules of our battle."

"Rules?" Illu asked suspicious of what Wolf meant by meet. While she was getting flustered by Wolf's comments she never let up her stance as she was ready for whatever tricks the thief may have.

"What's the point of fighting if it's not going to be interesting; from my bio at the Eclipse Tournament you know I'm a thief but you don't know how I work." Wolf's smirk grew in size. "I'm known in some circles as the legend-breaker; I find those highly skilled players and bet with our rarest items…I'm the one who knock those guys off their high horses."

"And you also take their rare items as well to sell them off to the highest bidder; you're just like those guys that you steal from." Illu stared at the thief with her weapons raised.

"Well I wouldn't say I'm as arrogant as some of the ones I fought…trust me once we all reach a certain level we think we're all legends. I'm just the one to introduce all of them back to reality." Wolf began to pace around. "So why don't you fly off Illu, you don't have anything of interest that I want so get out why you can and send your boyfriend here."

This time Illu didn't get flustered as she got irritated that Wolf was basically waving her off not saying she was worth interest. "You don't know anything that I have; I have things that are so rare and hard to find it can get a lot of munny if you know who to sell it to."

"What are you getting at, got something to bargain?" Wolf asked.

Illu held both her knives in one hand as she reached into her pouch to pull out a scroll. She raised her hand to show the scroll to Wolf. "Something like this; good summons are always in high demand especially those that are special from the normal ones."

A brow raised on Wolf's face. "I'm listening."

"What are you doing Illu-sama; you can't possibly be using Orochi-sama's scroll for a mere bet are you? I won't allow that" Nyoka whispered to Illu almost tempted to swallow the scroll whole to keep it safe.

"This is the only way to bid him into fighting Nyoka…besides I have no intentions of losing this scroll or this fight." Illu said back to the snake before turning her attention to Wolf. "This scroll has a legendary summon inside; the Yamata no Orochi."

"Yamata no Orochi, you mean the eight headed snake from the legend. Scrolls like that are in high demand and I can make a decent profit out of it." Wolf thought aloud and then faced Illu. "So what do you want me to offer?"

"Nothing, I win and you leave and don't bother Kurotsubasa again or try to get the Wings of Creation." Illu said trying to goad the thief into the fight; she knew she was taking a risk by betting the scroll but she had nothing else to use as bait to lure Wolf in.

"Wow really, all this to not go after Shadow…or maybe you just want a rematch from our fight at the Eclipse Tournament. Why bother with a pointless challenge if you know the end result will turn out the same?" Wolf smirked.

"Then you would remember last time it was a close battle, if you didn't have your golem's durability and protection you would had fell and it would have been a tie." This time it was Illu's turn to smirk as she took a page from Bella and Ravena's book. "Or are you scared?"

Wolf looked at her with a surprised and irked look. "Scared?"

"Are you scared Wolf-san, if you are so sure it will turn out like our last fight you have nothing to worry about…but then you seem to want me to simply back down." Illu wasn't used to provoking her opponents but this may be the push she needed. "Why don't you prove it, but I'll let you know now that if you think this battle will be the same it's you who needs a wakeup call from reality."

'I never knew Illu-sama could be like that, she could go from being a sweet girl to a hardened fighter so quickly.' Nyoka looked to Mukurowl hoping for an answer but she saw the owl was just as surprised as she was. 'Maybe this is the first time we see this side of Illu-sama."

"Why you…what makes you think I have to accept your challenge? I could just keep you captive and then use you as a hostage to make Shadow give me the Wings!" Wolf yelled as he got into an earthbending stance.

"That would save you a fight wouldn't it, you have a fight where you have nothing to lose but you try to avoid it." Illu tucked her scroll back in and replaced it with her knives; she pointed the small twin blades at Wolf the poison dripping menacingly from the tip. "If you can beat me then continue on with your plan but if I win all of that ends right here" She glared with her glowing red eyes.

"Pretty gutsy betting with a guy who can have the earth swallow you whole, you're really lucky I don't enjoy beating on women otherwise you would be buried." Wolf then pulled out his bats and aimed them at Illu. "If I win I take your scroll and have an extra weight to hang over Shadow's head but if by some miracle you win then I won't go after Shadow anymore; how do you know I'll keep my word?" Wolf asked her.

"Even you have to have some honor otherwise no one would trust you; do I have your honor as a thief?" Illu asked him right back.

"A thief has no honor."

"But if he has no honor then what does he have?"

At that response Wolf let out a laugh as he began twirling the bats in his hands. "Well well well, it looks like you're in touch with thief dealings. I would ask who you learned that from but we do have a chapter to finish. There is no honor among thieves but a man must keep his word."

"So you'll do it?" Illu asked.

Wolf smiled as the aluminum from the bats kept up his arms giving them a thick layer of metal. The creeping metal stopped at his arms and he swung his bat to a nearby tree turning it to splinters. "You got a deal Illu…you win then I'm gone if I win then you become a part of my grand scheme and I get a summon scroll to sell."

"So will you accept?" Illu asked again.

"Sure, let's do this" Wolf said as he got into his own fighting stance.

"Illu-sama are you sure this is the right action to make, I know you needed bait to lure in that scoundrel but using Orochi-sama's scroll as if it were a mere trinket?" Nyoka asked. Mukurowl seemed to agree as he was giving off worried hoots but Illu gave the two a confident look.

"I know we can win but I need both of you in order to do it, please fight with me in this battle Nyoka-chan." Illu said. Nyoka looked surprised that Illu seemed to trust her and used a familiar honorific with her name the snake tried to hide its embarrassed look as she looked away from Illu. "I am your familiar Illu-sama that is reason enough for me to help you."

"That's good but I want you to fight beside me as my friend as well." Illu said causing the snake to blush even more. The hybrid then turned to Mukurowl, "I'm going to need your help as well Muku-chan, let's give this battle our all." She smiled hearing Mukurowl's hoot as he took off into the air to give her more support.

"Done talking to your animals because I think it's about time we start." Wolf said.

"You're right…" Illu said as she readied herself.

Wolf chuckled again, "I always wanted to say this…let's rock baby!" The thief said pointing his bats at her signifying the start of the battle. The two glared at each other before one of them made the starting move.

**(Play: Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 Sakura's Good Fight)**

"Let's see how much stronger you got since last time!" The thief initiated the battle by running towards Illu with his bat held high. Illu chose to back up remembering what the aluminum bat did to the tree with Wolf's new strength. Illu avoided the sing and went to strike Wolf. The poison expert tried to cut into Wolf's back hoping to quickly poison him only for her knife to bounce off the newly grown metal armor.

"You didn't think I would let you end this fight so easily did you?" Wolf tried to swing at Illu again only for the girl to quickly get distance from the thief. Wolf took the time to grow the layer of metal all over his body fully absorbing the aluminum in his bat. "I was hoping not to fully use this but with those knives of yours I can't take any chances can I?"

"Right you're one of those things Bella knows about; you're an osmosian." Illu said as she saw the thief had finished absorbing as much metal as she needed. Now that he had a full layer of armor it would be even harder for her poison to make contact with him unless he either smelled or ingested it. Illu didn't let her worries show as she just slipped back into her stance. 'This fight just got a whole lot harder.'

"I've learned some new tricks after the tournament; I had to step up my game since you came really close to beating me last time you know that." Wolf smirked and then stomped the ground causing a chunk of earth to shoot up. The thief then sent them towards Illu using his bats playing his sadistic version of baseball. Illu had to sidestep and duck underneath the flying rocks,

"Illu-sama if you could get in close I may have something that could help you." The familiar said after Illu narrowly dodged another piece of earth that was sent flying at her. Illu wondered what Nyoka had in mind but decided to trust her as she weaved through the earth barrage to get as close to Wolf as she could.

Wolf saw Illu was closing the gap and smiled at her mistake; he stomped again but instead of rocks coming up the earth around Illu instantly sunk causing the girl to trip and fall towards the metal clad thief.

"Rookie mistake Illu, but I guess this battle's over!" Just as Wolf raised his bat something flew from Illu onto his hand causing him to feel a burning sensation. Illu was able to make it to her feet as she watched Wolf shake off what she believed was acid.

"How did that happen, I can't use acid unless I'm in my hybrid form." Illu wondered out loud as she now saw that Wolf's right hand was raw red and missing the metal layer. Thinking she may had accidently spilled poison she was about to check her pouch before Nyoka got her attention.

"That would be my doing Illu-sama; it's a corrosive poison that I have been able to create in my fangs." Nyoka said.

"So you did that Nyoka-chan, that's something interesting considering your other powers." Illu looked at her knives and then got back into position. "Thank you Nyoka, now I have a way to get through his armor and directly poison him. Now we just have to plan this right now that he knows." Illu gave the two pets mental commands and then used her speed to close the distance between her and Wolf.

"I'm starting to get a little annoyed that you're using old tricks when I told you I had some new tricks…I'm getting a bit disappointed in you Illu!" Wolf tried to swing at Illu only for the bat to phase through Illu's body and have it disappear into mist. The thief looked around confused before seeing another Illu; he sent a wave of earth only for it to be another illusion.

"You've gotten stronger Wolf…but so have I!"

Wolf then crossed his arms to block Illu's knives; he figured he had her trapped now only for the metal that was blocking the knives were now melting leaving his clothes and flesh that began to burn from the poison. The Earthbender shook the earth around them making Illu back away; he then lowered his armor to survey the damage to his arms. "Acid mixed with poison, and you somehow got a batch of acid that could melt through my armor if I didn't know any better I say you prepared for this battle in advance."

Illu shook her head, "I can't take any credit for the acid but you didn't think you could fight me forever without being poisoned did you?" She then noticed the dirtied blood dripping from Wolf's arms. "The poison won't kill you but it will leave you paralyzed and make your body shutdown if not treated soon, give up now Wolf."

"Well you may have not prepared for me but I definitely prepared for you" Illu wondered what the thief was talking about until she saw him reach into his clothes and pull out a small vial of gold liquid. Wolf then began to drink the fluid and Illu saw his skin brighten up and the wounds she gave him start to heal. "I had a small feeling after our first fight that we would meet again; I guess I was right."

"That can't be what I think it is…how could you possibly have Megalixer when they are so hard to get?!" Illu yelled in disbelief seeing the healing item. It was nearly impossible to find a shop that sells that type of elixir and even harder to find in chest in dungeons. Wolf finished healing his wounds and showed her that he had at least five more bottles.

"You would be surprised what people are willing to trade to get something they want; I got this set off of an old mage who didn't know what he had…I took the pleasure of taking it off his hands by trading him some gold sand." Wolf then hid the vials again. "I say it was a fair trade since these Megalixers go for thousands or even millions to the right buyers. These even have a bonus effect of canceling out status ailments for a time so your poisons are now useless."

"I have more than just my poisons" Illu said as she sheathed her knives and then summoned her glaive. "So you can only heal like that only five more times or less since you don't want to waste your profit; what will you do then?"

"By then I would have gotten serious but I'll do you a small favor since you're literally letting me walk scot-free. I'll let you have one of these Megalixers to have if by some fluke you do win." Wolf taunted her.

"It won't be a fluke and let me show you why! O swift wind that dashes through the heavens...**Vernier!**" Illu called out the spell that helped increase her already high speed movement. The hybrid's body glow a pale purple as a magic seal appeared under her feet. Illu then ran leaving a small trail of light behind her as she advanced towards Wolf.

"Your speed isn't going to be enough to help you now!" Wolf yelled as he had spikes of earth jet out of the ground. As Illu ran to the first one she used her new speed to dodge it. She passed by a few more before slicing one with her glaive to use it as a stand to get airborne. The hybrid took off the blade of the glaive leaving the chain and a large weight.

"**Silver Starburst!"** Illu yelled sending the chain forward to wrap around Wolf. She saw Wolf occupied with the chain she then began to channel energy into the blade in her hand; Wolf had a stone spire shoot out to stop the blade and then turned back to Illu. He grabbed her chain absorbing the steel of the weapon; before he could gloat he saw Illu holding what looked like a glowing crescent.

"I've learned some new tricks of my own; no matter what kind of armor you have I'll just tear right through it until there's nothing left!" Illu then threw the crescent blade in the air; the blade began to multiply filling the sky with more shining blades. "Here's something new that I made after training for so long…**Crescent Storm!"**

Wolf's eyes widened and he blocked as best he could as the steel rained down on him; he could hear the gashes appear on the metal but soon it wouldn't last as the metal was being sliced and chipped off and soon there would be nothing left. Seeing that he was in a desperate situation he used some of the earth around him to create a shield to take the brunt of the attack. Illu landed on the ground breathing hard as she saw the thousand blades disappear but still leaving slashes on the earth and Wolf's shield.

Wolf returned his shield to the earth and removed the metal armor seeing that it was useless as some of his clothes were also cut leaving some cuts and holes in his clothes. "So you also came up with some new tricks; to think you could have killed me with that move if you were serious enough to." The thief then interwove his fingers together making a unique handseal that Illu recognized immediately. "Let me show you the real reason why I chose this as the battlefield."

"**Mokuton!"**

The earth rumbles as roots began growing out of the ground and thrash around like living vines, even splinters form the once destroyed trees now became roots and trees that were now animated. Illu returned her glaive to normal and called Mukurowl to take her to the air in his larger form to get away from the hazardous earth.

'That's why he picked the forest, why he seemed so certain he could beat Shadow-kyun…with his earthbending and Mokuton Wolf can literally control the terrain of this field. A person who never fought against him before would be walking into an ambush.' Illu thought as she somehow saw Wolf behind the large amount of trees and vines.

The thief had taken another Megalixer to recover from the damage dealt by the Crescent Storm. Wolf stuck his bats into the ground so that he focused soly on the forest that he now controls. "This is where the fight truly begins!"

**(Scene Change)**

Shadow, Zephyrus, and Saphir were running through Tokyo City trying to find the other members of Aetherion. The three were originally following Shadow to the last place his Byakugan traced Illu's signature only for him to see that the girl had left. Shadow had to scan again to find a large amount of energy pooling around Tokyo City's West entrance.

"You think all that energy has something to do with Illu don't you?" Zephyrus asked the scythe user. Shadow nodded his head as he focused more on running to the entrance than answering their questions. Shadow saw the world waver for a second and then he heard a voice inside his head.

"_Shadow-kyun, can you hear me?"_

"_Ravena how did you…?"_

"_Don't forget Telepathy is within my range of Azarethian powers Shads. Anyway, I was with Illu-tan by the bridge until she suddenly took off and left me behind. She left me a letter that was addressed to you."_

"_A letter…what was on it?"_

"_It's a challenge letter asking to meet with you in the woods at the West Entrance. I'm sure I saw Illu-tan flying that direction, what should I do nya?"_

Shadow pondered a bit of what to do before an idea formed in his mind. _'You're closer to the base than I am; get Bella, DB, and Key then head over to the West Entrance and start looking for Illu. I think the fight may have already started.'_

"_And what about you?"_

"_I'll be there soon with the rest of Aetherion; I want you guys to go ahead and then we'll meet you there._

"_Roger that."_

Shadow somehow felt the connection sever and then stopped running; already he could Aeon with Sol and Malachite still looking for Illu. Zephyrus and Saphir stopped right behind them and soon saw their friends. "Guys we got a lead to where Illu-chan is!"

"Where is she?!" Aeon demanded wanting to see his sister. Before a word could be said Ganymede appeared in a brief haze of mist. After the masked warrior appeared he pointed towards the West Entrance. "Illu's that direction…but from the pressure I'm sensing there seems to be a battle taking place in that direction as well."

"So you mean Illu's caught inside another battle?! Dammit!" Aeon picked up his sword and ran towards the entrance. The rest of Aetherion followed with Shadow bringing up the rear keeping his thoughts to himself.

'Illu wouldn't do something like this without reason there has to be a reason why she would seek out someone aiming for me…there's more to this than meets the eye.' Shadow said keeping his Byakugan active so that he could keep an eye on the battle. He soon saw that Kurotsubasa had gathered and was running in the same direction. 'Looks like everyone is almost here' Shadow thought.

The two groups then eventually made it to each other and they both started to try and find Illu. It didn't take them long to hear the sounds of battle that soon led them to the clearing where the sound was coming from. As they got close Shadow then heard the words Aeon was saying.

"I can't believe I let her get out of my sight and now she's involved in something else; I should have never taken that job or left her with no supervision to watch the base here." Aeon grumbled to himself trying to find someone or something to blame for the situation.

"If you haven't talked to Illu the way you did maybe she wouldn't have ran away from you to begin with." Shadow said getting the Aetherion's attention. Aeon then turned to Shadow angry at what he just said;

"What?! Are you saying this is my fault, if there is anyone to blame here is you!" Aeon said outraged. "All these people doing whatever it take to get the Wings of Creation from you how long would it take them to attack those around you; you are basically a target for anyone craving power."

"You don't even know the whole story and all you are doing now is tossing the blame around. While you do that you are leaving yourself blind to the truth." Shadow said. "You want to protect your sister but all you really want to do is basically lock her in a glass cage away from danger." Shadow told him.

"I'll have a better chance than you have at protecting her. Could you keep her safe from people like Chaos if they came after her?" Aeon asked him.

"Yes…and even if I can't I know that Illu can take care of herself; everyone in Kurotsubasa feels that way. If I didn't think Illu was strong enough to handle the dangers that come with being part of this guild I would have never let her join." Shadow said to the Dragoon. "But she can, if you stop looking at her like an older brother you would see she' capable of protecting herself."

Before a glaring contest could start between the two leaders Bella decided to pull the two apart using Lodestar to attract them by their weapons. The shapeshifter changed back to remind them why they were here. "Hey we don't need another rumble on our way to find Owl girl; save it for the guy she's fighting and that's if there is enough after she's done with him."

"Bella's right we have to keep moving in order to get to her. I can feel all the plants in the area and right now some of them are being controlled and acting on their own. Do any of you know someone that can control plants?" Malachite asked Kurotsubasa.

"I have an idea but we'll only know once we get to the battlefield." Key said. The groups then returned to their search for the missing Illu; explosions shaking the ground cause a few of them to think grim thoughts as they followed the sounds of destruction.

**(Play Fairy Tail ost: I Wish)**

Mukurowl flew past another root and soared high out of reach of the twisted forest. Illu helped by slicing anything that came near him with her glaive as they were now defensive in this battle. Before the roots could regrow and attack again Nyoka would use her acid to melt the remains so that they had no chances of regenerating. The owl was able to get the three away from immediate danger and looked down at their opponent.

"It takes a lot of energy to grow trees anywhere with chakra so I prefer battlefields that already has trees provided for me. Here in a forest…with my Mokuton ability I am unstoppable. Wolf gloated. "You should have escaped while you had the chance; now I have to start getting serious."

'As long as he's using Mokuton it's going to hard to get close to him; if I try an ranged attack he'll use Mokuton o block but if I try to go in close range I'll be trapped.' Illu tried to think of a solution to her problem.

Nyoka looked up from her wrist to speak with Illu. "If the battle continues like this then we shall lose; surely there is a way to get past his defenses." The snake said trying to aid the girl in thought. "I don't have nearly enough acid to take down so many trees."

'Acid, wait that's it?!' Illu then looked down to Nyoka. "Nyoka I have a plan of you can trust me." The snake looked up at her confused but decided to nod trusting that the girl's plan will succeed. Nyoka then leapt off Illu's wrist and off back down to earth as Mukurowl and Illu combined with each other in a flash of light. Illu then flew down in her hybrid form towards Wolf.

"Clever trick but I've already seen your hybrid form so that won't work!" Wolf said as he set more trees to bind his flying target.

Illu then fired a barrage of acid to take care of the trees, melting them before they could even reach the hybrid girl. Seeing that he couldn't stop her attack he made another wall of earth only to watch it shatter.

"What?!" Before Wolf could do anything Illu was already there with her talons poised to strike; he could only absorb as much earth as he could to try and soften the blow only to be sent flying by Illu. The thief's crash is what alerted the two guilds to the area as they saw Illu's battle.

"Whoa if I didn't see it myself I would think that was Owlgirl fighting!" Bella said impressed at the girl's performance leading up to her attack on Wolf. "Remind me not to take it easy on Illu anymore guys!"

"Nya of course Illu-tan is that strong she's been training hard ever since we came back; though I'm sure she still has a lot of new things to show us." Ravena said smiling as she watched her friend begin to dominate the battle.

Punnya agreed nodding her head as they continued to watch the fight. As Kurotsubasa looked on in praise Aetherion looked with shocked expressions on all of their faces (minus Ganymede because of the mask). Their little sister who they watched and protected for a long time was fighting in ways they have never seen her do before.

"That's Illu-chan whoa, looks like your fighting skills are genetic huh Aeon?" Sol said as his shocked face instantly turned into a giant grin. "To think that this was the same girl back home in Kyoto; I think we may have underestimated her a bit."

"We all have to leave the nest and go off on our own sometime, I'm just glad Illu was able to keep her kind nature…though this battle does look personal." Malachite said wondering who she was battling. "Hey isn't that the guy she fought in the tournament against?"

"Wolfey141" Shadow answered for Aetherion.

"Who's that again nya?" Ravena asked.

Shadow decided to ignore the question and continue. "He's a thief that we met back at the tournament and was a placeholder for Rose's team; and from the letter Ravena showed me he was the one that set up this challenge originally for me but it looks like Illu decided to intervene."

"So this really is tied to you…just as I said before. I'm putting a stop to this fight!" Aeon looked like he was about to rush into the battle only to feel a large force pound down on his body making it hard for him to move. Shadow walked over next to him still keeping him in the gravity field.

"Why don't you take a second to watch…Illu's doing just find on her own and I never heard her call out for help." Shadow said using gravity to keep the Dragoon from moving.

"What you're not concerned at all for her are you?!" Aeon asked. The others of Aetherion looked like they wanted to intervene but decided it was best to avoid an unnecessary battle between the two guilds. Aeon kept on struggling to move only to feel the gravity slightly increase around his body.

"I didn't say I wasn't concerned but as far as I can see this doesn't involve you right now." Before Aeon could object to that Shadow cuts him by saying, "That letter Wolf sent was addressed to me yes but it was Illu who decided to go and fight…not because of me but of her own decision and this is right now a Kurotsubasa matter not Aetherion." Shadow then released Aeon from his hold and then stood before him with his scythe rose. "With that being said if you want to interfere you have to go through me."

"So you rather something bad end up happening because of this fight?" Aeon asked with a bit of anger in his voice. He then placed a hand on the handle of his sword ready to fight Shadow if necessary.

"Nothing bad will happen…because unlike you I trust Illu to win this fight." The stare down between the two leaders continued. Though Shadow still kept his eyes on Aeon he still was able to see the match with his Byakugan. "You may still see her as a fresh newbie but we don't, so just watch and see how much Illu has grown without you noticing."

Seeing that Shadow had no intention of letting him through he almost pondered on the idea of fighting Shadow to get past him. The Dragoon took his hand off his sword and crossed his arms as he glared at Shadow still. "Fine but if she's in any trouble then I step in no matter what you do." Shadow said nothing and moved out the way to give Aeon a better view of the fight.

"You won't need to step in…because the battle will be coming to an end soon." Shadow said.

**(With Illu)**

Illu took a quick breath as she transformed back landed in the litter of destroyed oak. Nyoka burrowed out the earth and back into Illu's arms. "When you said that you would be able to control the earth I had my doubts but thanks Nyoka-chan…if not for you I would have never gotten a clear shot."

"I have to admit that I wasn't sure how well that would work on another earth user but from the results of this battle it worked better than we could hop…though I would reconsider still pulling your punches when attack; he is your enemy Illu-sama." Nyoka said sternly lecturing the girl.

"It's a reflex, besides I just want to beat him not kill him Nyoka." Illu said. Mukurowl then landed on her shoulder but then noticed some movement. The three then turned to see Wolf standing up holding his third empty vial of Megalixer; the front of the thief's clothes had tears where Illu's talons nailed him.

"Three strikes…now it's time for me to really get serious" Wolf said as the earth began to rumble all around the field. "I won't be able to go on with my plan…but you did give me a pretty good battle up until now. I hope you have enough energy to still deal with this Illu because if not it will be like the tournament all over again!" Wolf said as the earth began to form around him.

"What does he mean by that?" Nyoka asked confused on what he means.

"Wolf controls the earth for another reason besides earthbending; he can make a large golem with it that he animates using his other power…I don't know if I still have enough energy to summon Orochi. I think this is it." Illu answered her feeling the rumbling bedrock. "If I were fast enough I could be able to counter but even with Vernier I won't reach him in time."

"Then what if your natural speed was enough for you to reach?" Nyoka asked causing Illu to look confused. "Don't tell me you forgot already Illu-sama, you still have the abilities Orochi-sama gave you or more specifically Ichiya-sama and Kagutsuchi-sama."

"My natural speed; even with Vernier casted on me I was only fast for a split moment and that won't give me nearly enough time to strike a winning blow. And I have no idea what the gifts are so how do I know they will work?" Illu asked the familiar.

"I am the key for you to access those gifts so I am the one to know what those gifts can do. Ichiya-sama's gift will greatly increase you speed and will even give you the power you need to end this battle…now we've talked to much we need to finish him now!" Nyoka said seeing large rocks beginning to peek out of the earth. "Get your knives out Illu-sama and I'll do the rest."

"Ok Nyoka-chan, I'm counting on you" Illu took out her knives again and braced herself for whatever the snake had planned. She watched as Nyoka shined a bright light and transformed into what she knew was a Garment Grid with two of its spaces filled with gems. One of the gems glowed as well along with Illu's clothes that started to turned into ribbons.

"Wait what are you doing, hold on Nyoka!" Illu tried to stop her familiar out of embarrassment. It was too late as her original clothes became bright ribbons and were replaced instantly with another outfit. Wolf noticed the bright light but decided to concentrate more on making his golem since for some reason it was hard to form large enough tock.

'Whatever she had planned won't matter…I just need to keep my shields up and make the golem and then the fight will be over.' Wolf thought as he tried to finish his technique using the remaining foliage as a shield for his protection. He saw the light faded and thought it was an attempt to heal until he felt something get past his defenses.

**(Play Mana Khemia: Hey)**

A gash appeared across his shoulder which left him speechless before he even felt the pain. A burst of pain later and now Wolf the fight was now clutching his injured arm wondering how so many cuts appeared on it. In a second he saw the roots he used as a shield was cut to pieces and in a blur Illu was standing on one of his boulders though she was in a different outfit which confused him.

Illu had on a blue bandana over her long hair keeping it out her eyes and her red scarf had shortened to show her face and was now a reddish orange with two streams trailing behind her. Her modest coat, tube top and skirt were replaced with a yellow string bikini with an olive green mini-skirt on top the bottoms. She had two pouches at her waist and ruffle sleeves over each of her arms resembling armguards. Her poisoned dagger now had a more violet color reflecting her poison.

After the adrenaline rush wore off from the burst of power that came with the transformation Illu felt a small breeze where she normally wouldn't. The shy girl looked down at her outfit with a blush and then used her hands went try and cover her chest and pull down her shorter skirt. "Why am I dressed like this?!" She yelled out in embarrassment.

The familiar of Orochi sweatdropped at the girl's actions. "Stop being embarrassed Illu-sama! It's just so that you can use skills the clothes provide. Besides it's not like anyone is around to see you dressed this way cares." Nyoka said.

"Illu?"

Illu's heart sank as she heard a voice and her blush increased tenfold covering her whole body. Both Aetherion and Kurotsubasa were staring at her with mixed expressions about her new wardrobe. Most of the boys were blushing and looking away from the once modestly dressed girl while the girls tried to give her more comforting looks…or at least Saphir was. Ravena and Bella were both cheering her on enthusiastically.

"Right on Illu-tan go on and beat whoever that is nya and nice choice of outfit too!" Ravena said giving the girl two thumbs up. Bella and Punnya joined in on the cheers embarrassing Illu more that they were encouraging her to wear such an outfit.

'Everyone's here, Aetherion and…even…" Illu turned to see Aeon who had a look of disbelief at that his sister was in such a revealing outfit. Her gaze then turned to Shadow who met her gaze and then looked away with a large blush on his face. 'Even Shadow-kun is here watching!' Illu's mind was then filled with a large amount of laughter.

"**What's the point of being a fast if you can't move comfortable enough to battle"** The girl heard Ichiya's voice through her connection with Nyoka.** "The outfit you have on now is my Thief Outfit which is designed to be loose and help you with mobility; your knives have also been powered up as well since they a more acceptable thief weapon." **Ichiya explained after he got a hold on his laughter.

"Ichiya-sama must the outfit be so…perverted; surely you see that the girl almost had a panic attack when he friends saw her in such a state, especially the one with the scythe." Nyoka said further increasing Illu's embarrassment.

"**So, I'm sure he enjoyed the outfit as much as you have!"** Ichiya laughed again.

'Does the outfit really have to be so revealing?' Illu asked the serpent after forcing her blushing down somehow. 'I don't want to wear something so…so…skimpy.' Illu said after choosing the right word for the clothes.

"**If you knew what some of the other female thieves in your world do you would know that I gave you the most modest outfit that I could" **Ichiya said though Illu didn't see it Nyoka easily saw through her master's lie. **"And I suggest you focus on your opponent as he's about to attack you again." **Ichiya warned the girl.

That snapped Illu out of her thoughts as she returned her focus to the fight and decided to ignore her state of dress for now. By the time she had finished her conversation with Ichiya Wolf had already broke out of his confusing and got back into his horse stance. "I don't know what kind of plan you have fighting in a bikini but don't think that's enough to start me-e…" Wolf's eyes widened as his body then lost all mobility.

Illu looked down at her solid purple blades; while her knives were no longer dripping poison she somehow knew they still had her poison properties. Before the girl could contemplate what had happened Nyoka got her attention. "You can think about that later Illu-sama, it's time for the final blow!" The snake said. Illu nodded her head and got ready, "You're right…Muku-chan!"

All those watching watched as Mukurowl grew in size and flew to Illu so that she could jump on his back. Illu closed her eyes and tried to focus more on her new powers and a brief vision appeared in her head…a new attack. Illu opened her eyes and jumped off Mukurowl's back. Illu threw her knives into the air and then formed a seal with her hands causing them to levitate around her in the air and a large magic seal to appear in front of her.

Kurotsubasa and Aetherion looked on in awe at the new attack that none of them had ever seen. Wolf was desperately trying to break through his paralyzes hoping to get to another bottle of Megalixer but couldn't move his body an inch. 'What the hell, none of poisons did this before during the fight!' He yelled in his mind.

"This is where the fight ends Wolf! We came close in the tournament and since then I worked hard to make sure nothing like that can happen again…get ready for my newest technique!" The knives passed through the seal and then began to multiply into the thousands.

"**Rain of Pain!"**

In a flash the knives began to fall from the sky and down on to the frozen Wolf. He tried to mentally bend the earth to try and make a shield but he could do nothing as the knives tore into him. Surprisingly none of them hit anything that would cause instant death but Wolf fell to the ground with a few knives embedded in his body and blood rushing out of his new wounds. Mukurowl then caught Illu out of the air landed back on the ground. She walked over to check on Wolf and while he wasn't dead he was now unconscious; her outfit glowed blue before returning back to her original outfit (much to her relief).

"I won?" Illu asked herself seeing that Wolf was no longer moving. Before the victory could really sink into her head the girl was suddenly hoisted up by Ravena and Bella who were giving her words of praise.

"Congrats Illu, we knew you could do it!" Bella said as she held the girl off the ground. "We never had any doubts about you for a second but I really wish we could have seen the whole fight!"

"I agree with Hy-nya, but that was spectacular Illu-tan; that fight was amazing nya…especially with that wardrobe change during the end. That was a nice touch, in fact; you have to teach me how to do that!" Ravena smiled at her friend's victory.

"But Rave-chan I don't ever want to do that again it's embarrassing just like the other outfit!" Illu blushed hoping that the other forms given to her by Orochi weren't as revealing as the Thief Outfit was.

"Oh really but it worked so well in a fight…oh I get it" Ravena gave her a sly catlike grin. "Shy little Illu-tan doesn't want a certain someone to see her in a bikini~!"

"Ravena!" Illu yelled.

"Or maybe you just want only that someone to see that outfit; I didn't know you could be that way Illu-tan. You're surprising me more every day." Ravena continued to tease the girl. As the Kurotsubasa girls continued their own chat Shadow and Aeon were having their own discussion.

Aeon let out a breath and then turned to the aftermath of the battle. Seeing the ruined field and the fallen Wolf he then looked to Illu who now had Saphir joining in on teasing the shy girl. "So…she really didn't need any more help after all." The Dragoon thought aloud.

"Would you rather have someone interfere in a fight that was personal to you…no and neither did Illu. I had a hard time not seeing Illu as just another shy female player but after what we went through I saw her in a new light." Shadow said as he placed his scythe back on his back. "I can get where you're coming from but sometimes you have to stop thinking of her as a sister and as another player sometimes.

"I doubt you would really know unless Illu told you more about herself. Even if I'm not K-..**Illu's** brother by blood I've always been around to protect her and help her out; I guess it was hard to take in that she can handle her own life now…or at least her virtual one." Aeon said.

"All she needed was a chance; a chance to show you how much stronger she got without you. If you keep a bird in its cage for far too long it won't be able to grow its wings and fly; Illu trains harder than any of us in Kurotsubasa and as you saw she can take care of herself." Shadow said. "You need to let her become her own person and not be in your shadow anymore."

"Are you speaking from experience?" Aeon asked the scythe user. Shadow sighed as he answered the Aetherion. "I have three siblings and I'm the oldest of them; I think I know what it's like to worry about them…but I also know when to let them walk on their own and make their own mistakes." Shadow explained to him. "Besides I don't think I'm the right person you should be talking to about this."

"Then who?" Aeon then saw Shadow pointing to Ravena as they were still throwing Illu high into the air much to her fright. "Rave's wiser than you think she is…I suggest you give her a chat about this instead of me."

The Dragoon of Aetherion nodded his head but before he left he had one final thing to say to Shadow. "Just so you know…I don't think I fully trust Illu's safety in your hands just yet." Aeon said to the leader of Kurotsubasa

"That's not really your choice to call, whether I have your blessing or not I'll still watch out for her….she is my friend and a part of my guild as well." Shadow said back to the leader of Aetherion.

Aeon felt that Shadow wasn't going to back down from him and let an impressed smile graze his face. "Yeah I know that but this a matter of honor; I can't just trust my sister's life to just any random player." Aeon said and then walked over to join the celebration. "Know that I'll be testing you sometime in the future."

Shadow scoffed at the teen's response that but remained silent as he went to join the others. He thought nothing of Aeon's words as Shadow knew he would have to worry about that test at a later date.

**(Time Skip)**

"Really, do you guys have to leave now?" Illu said sadly as all of Aetherion had to leave. She had just repaired her relationship with her brother and even apologized to the others for worrying them not once but twice now. The girl was hoping to spend more time with her brothers but now they said that they had to return back to their base.

"Sorry Illu-chan, but we do have stuff we have to do and we have to prepare our bases and everything else. The Guild Wars are coming up soon and Aetherion has to be ready to tear through the competition." Sol said.

"Speaking of competition, I'll be happy to start a flame battle with you anytime with you Lizard-Boy." DB said offering a hand that Sol shook.

"You too, !" replied Sol with equal friendliness as everyone could see the figurative flames burning around them and decided to ignore the two.

"We will be sure to visit from time to time since we're deciding to move most of our operations to this Server. And don't you be afraid to visit us at any time Illu-chan; you're still one of us." Zephyrus said while patting the girl's back.

"I know Zephy-nii…and I wish you luck" Illu smiled.

"Luck, luck with what?" Zephyrus said with question marks floating around his head.

"Oh I heard Saphir-chan talk about how you two were going to be buying a place of your own soon; how you're going to marry and have pups of your own…" Illu then pulled up her fingers to count. "How many did she say she wanted? five…te" Before the girl could finished she felt and heard a strong whoosh of air as she saw Zephyrus had taken off leaving behind a dust cloud causing her to giggle.

Saphir looked at Illu with betrayal. "Illu-chan I told you not to tell him that I was waiting for the right moment!" The wolf girl complained to Illu's amusement.

"I'm sorry Saphir-chan but I couldn't resist…but if you're fast enough I'm sure you can catch Zephy-nii if you tried." Illu said and then felt the wolf girl hug her quickly knowing that she had to hurry to catch the fleeing Aetherion.

"Right thanks Illu-chan…and congrats on winning your fight; you really have gotten better. I know you have Orochi and all that but I hope that doesn't change the fact that we're almost sisters." Saphir said smiling at the girl; seeing Illu agree with her the girl quickly took off like a bullet towards her Zephy-sama.

"_**ZEPHY-SAMAAAA~! WAIT FOR ME~!"**_ the girl could be heard calling leaving a trail of floating pink hearts in her wake.

"…At least she didn't say anything about the outfit…." Illu then received new mail and opened it only to find that it was from Saphir. The girl quickly read the note only to have a blush appear on her face. 'I really hope I don't have to wear something like that again.' The girl then felt a pat on her back and saw Malachite smiling at her.

The Sentinel of Aetherion gave Illu his own hug before he said his goodbyes. "Keep taking care of your garden Illu-chan and if you need any more plants you know who to call." Malachite said.

"I know Mal-nii and thanks again, I hope you find that 'flower' you always talk about. You tell Saku-chan and Bo-kun that I said hello." Illu said. Malachite laughed at the girl's joke but it also reminded him that he would have to face Saku soon. Illu laughed a bit at her friend's predicament. "Don't worry I'm sure if you explain it the right way she'll understand and if not Bo-kun will help you out."

Malachite nodded with a small storm cloud raining over his head. "I hope you're right Illu-chan but Saku can't stay mad at me forever." The gardener then turned around to leave. "Make sure to stay safe Illu-chan; we don't need to have Aeon dragging us all back here ok." Seeing Illu nod her head Malachite smiled and then left the base.

After Malachite left Ganymede walked up to Illu. "Try not to look for trouble anymore Illu; we don't need Leader-sama having another fit." The masked warrior said patting Illu good naturedly on the head.

"I know Gany-nii and that's the last time I promise…but can you please stop stalking me? I think I only got lucky last time I caught you." The laugh she heard from Ganymede didn't really fill her with hope.

"Think of it as part of your training but don't worry; when it comes to your crush I only followed you during half of your outings. I think I still have a picture of him carrying you." Ganymede said chuckling to himself seeing Illu's face glow red. Ganymede walked out the door before Illu could say anything else; the girl sighed but her attention was now on the last Aetherion to leave.

"Going to say goodbye Chocobo?" Illu asked referring to Aeon by her petname for him. The boy sighed knowing he wasn't going to get Illu to change that nickname but at least she wasn't mad at him anymore.

"No this is an "until next time"; we're going to be using our base in Tokyo City so that we'll be close. You may have stood up against that guy but I'm still not a hundred percent sure I want you out here alone." Before Illu could say anything Aeon then finished by saying this. "But now that I realize it you won't be out here alone; you have your friends here to look out for you and you can obviously fight."

"Being around you guys for a while I had to learn how to fight some time" The two siblings had a moment of silence before they gave each other a short hug. "I'll see you next time then…Aeon-niisan." Illu smiled.

"See is it really so hard to just use that as my name?!"

"It's not hard but I prefer to use Chocobo instead."

Aeon huffed not wanting to continue their play fight as he switched back into protective brother mode. "Right just remember not to get into trouble and promise me you won't wear that outfit ever again." The brother said to the sister's embarrassment.

"Chocobo! It wasn't my choice to wear that!" Illu yelled.

"Well I don't need my sister gaining anymore fanboys; I already have one boy that I'll probably have to deal with in the future." Aeon said. "Whether we're in Kyoto or hear I don't need my little sister dating in any world." The two siblings then started to glare at each other before they laughed.

Aeon smiled and then gave Illu a small hug. "Stay safe Illu" After the hug Aeon turned and left out the door. Illu returned the hug and waved goodbye to her brother and Aetherion as they left out into the market district.

"I have to say Illu, your brother really is something; not just him but the rest of your Aetherion friends too." DB said.

"Well they may be eccentric but then again so are we; and while Chocobo may be embarrassing sometimes he's still a good brother." Illu smiled. "And they said they would stay close so now I can work with both guilds, hopefully I won't get into any trouble with the Admin."

"I'm sure was can have Cast give you a pardon since she technically owes us Illu-tan though I still can't believe what Chokobi said. Check up on us huh, more likely he's going to check to make sure innocent little Illu-tan is still innocent." Ravena smirked at Illu's worried expression.

"That's right, who knew Owlgirl had such a revealing outfit in her arsenal. Maybe I have you talk with some of my toons about fashion Illu since they have almost the same idea you have: show as much as possible." Bella teased her as well.

"But it's not like that!" Illu yelled waving her arms as she began to chase the laughing girls who proceeded to run away from the blushing hybrid. As the girls, more or less, played with each other the boys were having their own discussions.

"Well there is a possibility that won't have to worry about Aetherion; maybe we can cross them off on our opponent's list." Key said.

"Maybe, maybe not…who knows what to expect from Aetherion we may have to battle them in the future and that could be fun. Key, we don't need to worry about the opponents we know but of the opponents we don't know." Shadow said. "Not to mention we have more to worry about than just guilds out there."

"You're talking about Chaos and those nameless guys from the tournament…plus we also have _you-know-who_ to look out for." DB said not wanting to mention Whisk while Ravena was still in the room and in a good mood. "I don't think we're in for an easy year."

"When do we ever have it easy? We will know everything after the Guild Wars Kickstart Event." The boys then saw the girls were done fighting with each other and joined the conversation; all of them sweatdropped to see Illu trying to catch her breath and Ravena/Bella had small amount of cuts on their clothes.

The hybrid girl caught her breath. "Well since this day has been long we're all going to log out right? Before we do I want to ask you all something." Illu said.

"Sure what is it Illu?" Shadow asked.

"Well an update to FFW says that it's going to improve their chatrooms; they'll even allow the use of webcams. I was thinking maybe as we chat we can learn more about each other and then see how we all really look." Illu suggested.

"Sounds cool though we'll have to worry about a certain someone not participating" Bella said with a few fingers pointing to Shadow.

"Ha-ha, we'll all know once the updates come out. For now I'll think I will enjoy the sense of anonymous between us. Since we don't have anything else to do today I'm going to log out," Shadow said as he left out the base. The others followed his example and left out the base to go and log out after this long day. Illu was about to log out before she received a new message from an unknown sender, the girl opened it only to see a Megalixer be added to her inventory.

Illu took the glass vial out to observe the gold fluid that was sitting inside it. 'I guess there is some honor amongst thieves.' Illu put the vial away before hitting the log out button in her menu and leaving FFW.

**TBC…**

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><p><strong> And that ends this two part chapter…from all the reviews it gotten I can gladly say that you all enjoyed them both. The next chapter will be up fairly soon as I want it to be up by this week if not then it will be soon. Glad to see that you guys are still on board with this idea as we kick off a new part of the story; keep on reviewing and reading while I keep working on future chapters. Now I'm off to enjoy the rest of today as birthdays only come once a year.<strong>

**-Shadowlight0982 out.**

**Translations:**

**1. "I-I know but I wish he and my other brothers wouldn't treat me like I'm going to break..."**

**2. "I know Illu-tan"**

**3. "Hey Illu-tan, because I'm an older sister, I can totally relate to how Aeon feels. He just wants his little sister to be safe, that's all."**


	25. Chapter 21 : Night Rain

**Hello everyone, I know some of you may be surprised with a new chapter already but this is really to tie things over until we get to the serious parts. If not for a certain special event this would have happened way later but the chapter needed to be done and since it revolved around my birth why not, this makes it the second birthday to be aired (props to BloodxForxMyxRose for being the first birthday celebrated by us)! So everyone enjoy this one while I get to working on other projects, don't worry once we get back up you're all in for a wild ride so stay tuned.**

** Quick side note, if anyone knows how to make a tv tropes page it would be awesome if we had one for our story right, if not then I guess that responsibility will go to me. Just a small thought to be added, well before I get into a rant…ON WITH THE SHOW!**

**(Announcements and Reviews not up for the sake of beginning the story)**

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><p><strong>*Beta'd by our Favorite Neko: Ravena Felidae*<strong>

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><p><strong>Ch. 21: Night Rain<strong>

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><p>Things had gotten quiet after meeting Illu's family and other guild Aetherion. When the guild left it gave Kurotsubasa the time they needed to begin preparations of their own. With the Guild Wars still on the horizon most activity had been done all around the areas of the game; Kurotsubasa still kept its doors open accepting the usual odd jobs and dealing with local problems though today the guild was closed as they were busy planning for a special event.<p>

Inside the two-story café, Ravena watched as Bella was still hanging a banner from the ceiling. "Nya, we don't have much time Hy-Nya, when will you and your boys be done?" The Nekomata asked after watching the Hyna Squad's slow progress.

"Hey I can only go so fast Kitty, besides me and my men got everything covered!" Bella said as she, Yammy (Bleach) and Franky (One Piece) were still trying to hang the large banner perfectly. With the lights, Upgrade (Ben10) was working with the electronics and Naruto (Naruto) with Upchuck (Ben10) were busy cleaning the base and taking care of the other chores.

"We can only do so much, why don't you lend a tail and help us out with your magic?" The toon girl asked.

"You know I have to make sure everything's going smoothly, I have to make sure we even have enough time to do all of this!" Ravena explained and made a clipboard appear so that she could check some things off. "So far so good, I'm surprised we even have this much time nya."

"Are you even sure he'll show, you know Shads isn't exactly the most predictable kind of guy." Bella said as she and the others finished the banner.

"Oh I know, I messaged him on the chat asking when he'll be on and he said later in the day. He should be here around the time the Weather Shift happens…Banner, check nya!" Ravena crossed off the clipboard. "So far so good."

"Speaking of good, what are you and Punnya hiding upstairs anyway?" Bella asked the catgirl.

"You'll find out later, why were you trying to sneak into my room anyway Bella?" Ravena asked the toon girl.

"Because I was curious, you both came in such a blur yesterday that I didn't even get a good look but I know it was big." Bella recalled. "Come on; just tell me what it is you know I can keep a secret."

"Not offense but since everything you know gets transferred to all your men and some of them aren't really the most trustworthy, you're just gonna have to live the suspense" Ravena said. "And like I said you'll find out later, for now just know that it's a…present." She said to keep as much information as she could away from the devious toon user.

'_Good thing Punnya has the room rigged with booby traps that are Bella-proof nya.'_ Ravena thought to herself as she went to the next order of business. "How's your visuals looking Ani-Key, any sign of him?"

"No he hasn't logged in yet. Are you sure having this surprise is a good idea Ravena?" The Beta asked taking his eyes off the hologram screen; Key had been giving the job of alerting the others when Shadow had arrived though he still had some doubts in the catgirl's plan.

"Trust me Ani-Key, Shads is a big softy, he won't be able to resist once he learns of all the work we all put into this. Besides as his friends it's our right to do this." Ravena smiled. "So keep an eye on that screen and holler if you see him nya!"

The Beta sighed. "Whatever you say Rave…hopefully he won't be too worked up today." Key muttered the last part to himself as he went back to his assigned post. _'Best to just sit back and watch the events play out.'_

Ravena then looked back to her clipboard. "Ok DB-Chan is still out collecting all of the other things that we need; all we're missing right now is…" The Nekomata's eyes then shifted to the kitchen door, Ravena walked up to the door and knocked on it softly. "How's everything going Illu-tan?"

"Everything's going fine, most of the things I bought on the way here to save time but I still need to get the most important thing!' Ravena heard Illu speak from behind the door. The catgirl nodded and opened the door to see the many cookies, cupcakes and other sweets litter the cooking table, she was just in time to see Illu finish closing the oven and smirked when Illu's eyes met hers.

"Wow that's pretty adventurous of you Illu-tan, you could just buy it at any of the stores you were at but instead decided to make it yourself." Ravena's smile grew a bit more seeing Illu's blush increase.

Illu began poking her fingers together. "It's just, I-I wanted it to be a l-little more special so I decided to make it…I have the spare time since I bought everything else and…" Mukurowl and Nyoka then came to the stuttering girl's rescue by escorting the smiling catgirl out of the kitchen.

"We don't need Illu-sama blushing like that when we need her to focus; now don't you have some other things to manage?" Nyoka increased her size to help usher the smirking girl out of the kitchen, Mukurowl was there to make sure Nyoka didn't do anything to harmful to Illu's friends.

"Wow you really are a prude snake aren't you nya, fine, Illu-tan are you sure you'll have it ready?" Ravena asked wanting to double check before she was forced out of the room entirely.

Illu nodded. "All I need is to wait for it to finish baking and then decorate it and it should be done, the rest of the sweets would have been set up if I wasn't afraid of Bella-chan getting into the sweets before the events start." The hybrid girl explained as she pointed to the tiny barrier she had set up around the food. "I should be finished soon, how is everyone else doing?"

"Ani-Key is still keeping watch, Hy-Nya and her men are just about done with the decorations and DB-chan is still somewhere trying to get the rest of the things we need," Ravena informed her friend. "At the rate this goes we just need to have the gifts set up and we'll be good to go."

Illu smiled and agreed before a thought came to her mind. "Hey Ravena-chan, what are you giving Shadow-kun? Is it that thing you have hidden behind your door so that Bella-chan can't get to it?"

"Maybe nya, you'll find out as soon as he gets here though I am wondering what you got the Boss man Illu-tan?" Ravena asked in curiosity.

That question caused the shy girl's face to light up red. "I-it's a surprise like y-yours is; everyone will know once S-Shadow-kun finds out." Illu stuttered as she tried to hide her blushing face under her scarf. By that time Nyoka had tossed Ravena out of the kitchen saying things like her Mistress must continue her work before she gets frozen in Hinata-mode. Ravena brushed off the imaginary dust off her clothes.

"That snake really is bossy, hopefully Illu-tan can rein her in soon I'm already tired of how blunt she could be nya." Ravena then called on her clipboard again and checked a few things off. "Ok since DB-chan is still gone there is just one more thing to check on."

The Nekomata's wings grew to help her fly past the working members of the Hyna Squad, Ravena made it to her door and was about to knock on it when she suddenly stopped and pulled something out of her hair. "Trying to sneak a ride nya?" She asked the small alien in her hand.

"**Uh…take me to your leader?"** Grey Matter (Ben10) asked innocently.

"Nope, now take a flight and tell General Flat-Top to _**stay out of my room nya**_!" she said throwing the alien up before she used her shadow magic to form a bat and knocked the small alien into the distance. Ravena checked one more time for any more Hyna Squad members and once the coast was clear she gave a secret knock on the door. The door then unlocked and allowed the catgirl to slip inside and lock it again.

The Nekomata let out a breath of relief, "Yeesh, You would think Bella would have given up by now but she's persistent nya; good thing I Bella-proofed my room." After talking to herself she then walked over to her bed where her favorite manju was waiting. "Hey Punnya, how's guard duty coming along?"

"Punnya" The manju meowed as her body and tails were curled around a small item. The item was egg shaped and it was predominantly black with a dark blue layer over it with silver flecks sparkling across the surface. To a stranger it would seem like Punnya was wrapped around a piece of the night sky.

"Yeah I know it's boring but you still have fun keeping Hy-Nya out right?" Ravena asked as she petted Punnya. The pink ball of fur mewled against her hand snuggling up to her fellow neko; Ravena had fun playing with Punnya but stopped when her hand met the item. Her hand traced up its warm, smooth surface and stopped at a silver crescent moon image on the item.

"Hey Punnya you remember how we found this right?" Ravena asked her pet.

"Punnya nya" The Neko Manju mewled positively; both nekos remember how they came across the small but special item.

_(Flashback)_

Cheshire's Path, the series of underground tunnels that run under Tokyo City and some areas further out of the small city. While the Dungeon Area has its own share of traps and monsters it does have good amount of chests and items if one knew where to look or knew where they were going. While you have your generic items, Cheshire's Path likes to surprise travelers with interesting rare items from time to time, something that only a person who knew the huge labyrinth in and out could take advantage of.

However; there was one person who could navigate the Dungeon's twists and turns with ease…in fact she was the one who gave the area its name.

"Ah Cheshire's Path, where a Kitty can do all of her shopping for free!" Ravena smiled as she was carrying a bag over her shoulder that was halfway full with an assortment of munny, treasure, and items. "What do you say Punnya, one more raid and then we'll call it quits?" Ravena asked.

"Pun!" Punnya agreed as she flew alongside her friend/owner. Something then caught the Neko Manju's eyes and she flew up a bit ahead of Ravena in order to get a closer look. Ravena looked on in confusion seeing Punnya fly on ahead of her.

"Punnya, did you see something?" Ravena asked and then gained speed to keep up with Punnya and try to find out what could have caught the Manju's attention. The two Nekos then saw monsters, a pack of dirty brown rats with garbage littering their fur, sniffing around and scavenging through a chest.

"Ugh, Sewer Rats, I really hate these things; but they're a good sign if you're looking for treasure but that's only if you can get to the chest before them nya." Ravena whispered as to not draw attention to the two. Punnya silently meowed to her owner and pointed with her tail to an item that the rats have yet to touch.

"Punnya, nya nya, Punnya Punnya!" The Neko explained while using her tail to silently direct Ravena's eyes to the item.

"What, what do you mean an egg?" Ravena followed the Neko Manju's tail and saw the item that Punnya was pointing to. "Yeah I see it so…wait you're right, that's not just any egg." Ravena then saw how close the Sewer Rats were getting to it and hissed softly. "I'm going to let them go anywhere near it nya."

"Punnya" Punnya agreed already having an idea what Ravena's plan was.

One of the Sewer Rats noticed the peculiar egg and opened its jaws to take a bite only for it to be blasted away by a bright pink blast of energy. This alerted the other rats but were then grabbed by claws of dark energy and where thrown across the ground right next to their singed friend.

"Beat it or get Beaten!" Ravena snarled with the Punnya Cannon already aimed at them. The rats quickly ran away sensing the Killer Intent the girl was pouring out. Once they were gone Ravena sighed and allowed Punnya to change back to her original shape. "It's a good thing we were here."

"Punnya?" Punnya asked as she observed the egg more closely.

"I don't know why something like that would be here, it should be in a place where a herd would live not a dark and eerie Dungeon nya…wait what's this?" Ravena pulled out a cloth and began to clean the egg off and eyed the symbol she discovered. "That reminds me of Shadow-kyun's emblem nya."

"Punnya" Punnya handed it to Ravena using her tail so that they could take the egg out of the Dungeon. The catgirl held the egg close and carefully inspected it for any damage but found that it was safe and intact. "I was could give this to Terri to help find a home for it but I know exactly who this little one should go to." Ravena said.

"Punnya?" Punnya tilted her whole body in confusion.

"Don't worry you'll find out Punnya, now we just have to get this back to the base without the others finding out about it…" Ravena then stopped to think of a plan.

_(Flashback end)_

It took a lot of planning on her part but she was able to sneak the egg past the rest of Kurotsubasa and into her room where she and Punnya worked to keep it warm and cared for. While the others were curious, Bella especially, they soon gave up on asking and just left the Nekos to their own devices (plus Ravena had traps set up so that a certain cartoon couldn't sneak into her room). The reason for the catgirl's interest in the egg is what because she knew all about this particular type of egg: a Beast-Manju egg.

The Beast-Manjus are the mascots for FFW and creatures that could be found all around the game world if one took a moment to look, though they are known to shy away from players. Ravena knew everything there is to know about the special creatures, not just because Punnya was one, but for other reasons as well. One thing that the catgirl knew was that when Manju breed they leave behind eggs, just like the one Punnya was curled around.

"I still find it hard to believe that something like this was just lying in Cheshire's Path. Unless there are a new species of manju around, which I really doubt, something happened to have it stuck down there." Ravena took a moment to think.

"Punnya!" The Neko Manju snapped the girl out of her thoughts reminding her why she came into her bedroom.

"Right thanks Punnya, just wanted to check back on the egg before I go back to work. Keep that thing warm and safe; trust me it'll be time soon." Ravena smiled and then left her room leaving Punnya to resume guard duty. Locking the door behind her she then walked back downstairs to see that DB had arrived and had set some cups, plates, and drinks on a table in the café. "You're back nya!"

"Yep, sorry it took too long but some of the stores were way crowded so I have to leave and then go to other stores." DB said as he sat down. "Then I had to double check to make sure I had everything on the list, though I don't know why you didn't write it down I still brought the strong stuff." The vampire said referring to some of the bottles on the table.

"I didn't put alcohol on the list because I don't think Shadow-kyun would want to get drunk…. or anyone else for that matter." Ravena sweat-dropped at the vampire's comment.

"Please, this will help build your tolerance level and besides the feeling barely even transfers through the visors and he really needs to loosen up." DB replied as he filled his own cup with one of his favorite drinks. "How far is the plan coming?" DB asked before taking a drink.

Ravena sighed but pulled out her clipboard again and checked another thing off. "Well now that you're back we are almost done, just need to organize everything, have Illu finish with the cake, and stack gifts before…"

"You might want to speed that up Rave because Shads just logged in." Key said after receiving a message. "One of my friends at the Reception Center just told me that Shadow's online." The Beta pulled up his virtual screen and showed her the video of Shadow arriving in the building and heading for the exit.

"Snap, we're no where near done! We have to stall him somehow!" Ravena flailed her arms about in worry.

"How? We still have to prepare the things here…" Key then looked to Bella. "Hey Bell, how much power does your Omnitrix still have?"

"After all the things I'm doing today not much, I can't even use the other functions and as soon as my men go back I time out." Bella said knowing how low on energy she was since she was working her Omnitrix hard lately. "Got another plan Kitty?"

"No…Wait!" Ravena then opened up her friends list and pulled out a card from the list. "I think I know the perfect person to stall Shadow-kyun for a while nya!" The catgirl said confidently holding the card as if it were godsend.

"Who are you going to have help out, I know Shadow will take it easy because it's raining but what are you planning Rave?" Key asked her.

"Just phoning in a favor nya" The catgirl smiled but then registered something the Beta said. "What do you mean by raining?"

"There's a Weather Shift happening soon and it's going to be a storm" Key informed her. "When it starts raining Shadow just likes to walk and take his time, for why I don't know." Key said.

"Nya, well hopefully I can still call in that favor" Ravena then contacted her friend now aware of the soft patter of rain that her sensitive ears picked up.

**(Scene Change)**

"It's raining here too, perfect" Shadow sighed seeing the downpour happening, soaking the entire town in rain. The leader of Kurotsubasa pulled his hood over his head and walked out of the Reception Center after receiving the usual greetings from the receptionists. He soon entered the area now feeling the weight of the rain.

"Might as well take my time, we're not doing much anyway to my knowledge" Shadow thought out loud as he began his slow walk to the base taking in the sight of the rain. 'Rain…it always brings back memories.'

"Why is it that every time it rains you're always walking around with that depressing aura?"

Shadow turned to the side and saw that now he wasn't alone walking the almost empty streets. "Oh, hey Rose what business do you have? I thought you were still away taking on another bounty hunting job." He asked his former student.

"I just got back, I needed to turn in the guy to the collection office and I just got my bounty back. I could sense you a mile away with that depressed mood of yours…" Rose explained holding an umbrella to shield her and Mazareth from the rain. "If you had your scythe out I would think you were death itself."

"I'm not interested in that, too much work…"Shadow said to her joke. "Besides I'm not depressed, I'm just nostalgic there is a difference" Shadow gave her his excuse.

"At least you got out of the habit of wearing your hood all the time except when it was raining, that really got on my nerves when we were traveling together." The redhead said with irritation evident in her tone. Mazareth was silent though staying as close to Rose as possible so that he would barely get wet.

Shadow then smirked, "If I remember correctly, the reason you got mad with me wearing my hood all the time was because you got tired of 'not seeing sensei's cute face' whenever you pleased." His smirk upgraded to a grin seeing Rose's face now matched her hair.

"W-what, what are you talking about?" Rose said in embarrassment.

"You like to talk in your sleep, sorry if you're only learning this now" Shadow then proceeded to walk ahead leaving a stunned Rose. The Bounty Huntress then steadied herself and ran to catch back up with him with Mazareth at her side.

"That's not funny, what other things have you heard?!" Rose asked (define: ordered) him to tell her.

"I think I should keep that to myself, who knows when I could use some good blackmail but not much…at least not as much as I think you grew out of." Shadow said to her, keeping as vague as possible.

Rose was about to argue with him but sighed knowing that was about as much as she was going to get from the secretive boy. "Fine, keep your stupid blackmail see if I care! I got plenty to use against you!" The girl fired back.

"Somehow I doubt that…now why did you really come over to talk? You know I'm heading to the base and that's almost your least favorite place to be." Shadow stopped to have a conversation with the girl, he knew something was up but decided to let it slide this time.

The slightly pink faced girl decided to clear her throat and calm herself down. "Like you seriously don't know why I wanted to talk with you! You know what day this is!" The girl then pulled something out of her inventory and a wrapped box appeared in her hand.

"Didn't we celebrate your birthday already?" Shadow asked causing the girl to nearly face-fault except Mazareth caught her so that she wouldn't end up wet.

"No you idiot, don't act stupid, this is for your birthday!" Rose yelled after righting herself. The red-haired Bounty Hunter then threw the box angrily at Shadow only to see the boy slow the item down using gravity. He then had the box land softly in his hand. "Only you could be this dense!"

"There's being dense and there's playing dense; I was just playing dense Rose" Shadow said as he inspected the box slightly before placing it into his inventory. "Anyway, thanks for the gift I appreciate it." He then began to walk back on his path.

'He was playing, then does that mean all those other times he was just messing with me?!' The girl thought angrily but steeled her thoughts and tried not to let any more frustration show. Rose then noticed that Shadow did not open his gift. "What gives, why didn't you open it?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise, besides you didn't open the gift I gave you automatically did you?" Shadow asked curiously.

"No I didn't" Rose sighed knowing what the boy was saying. "Well just know that finding it wasn't simple; it cost me a lot of munny and I expect to have a favor in return." The Bloody Rose said adamantly.

"Really a favor, no equal value or payment?" Shadow asked.

"You're right, it should be five favors because of what I went through to get it, I'll call them in when I want to." Rose then received a messaged and a tickmark appeared on her head when she read it. "Of all the…"

"Who's it from, some Bounty Hunter friend you know?"

"No, all of them are easier to kill…I got to go take care of something then log out. See you later sometime." Rose then walked off.

Shadow saw Mazareth was staring at him and he petted the tiger's head softly. "I know; I don't get her deal either but keeps taking care of her ok."

Getting a modest croon from the tiger Mazareth then took off to join Rose under the umbrella. Shadow continued on his way not seeing that all Rose did was walk into an alley so that she could finish her conversation. "Yeah I got you enough time; he's heading there right now though." Rose said.

"_That's great Rosie; I knew I could count on you!"_

"What have I told you about calling me that?!"

"_It's either Rosie or Maid Fetish nya!"_

"…" At that Rose ended the conversation and had to take slow calm breaths to avoid exploding in anger. "Urgh, sometimes that Boobcat just irritates me!" As Rose ranted, Mazareth just kept silent letting her get her frustrations out as they continued onward to their home and out of the rain.

**(Kurotsubasa Base)**

"Are you sure that that was safe Bella-chan?" Illu asked seeing the now finished cake. To help speed up the cake's baking time Bella used a few of her men (lead by Clockwork (Ben10)) to manipulate time around the confection. The rest of the chores were finished with Naruto's shadow clones and electronics fully fixed by MCP. Illu was now looking at the finished cake, which was a two-layer cake with dark blue and black frosting.

"I'm sure, though now I need to wait before doing anything crazy for a while" Bella held up her wrist to show the red light now displayed on the Omnitrix where the neon green light once was. The Hyna Squad leader had used up most of her powers helping to finish preparations. "Still we got done and with plenty of time to spare."

"I don't know how you did it Rave, but it worked." Key congratulated her.

"I can't take all the credit nya, still now that we got everything we need all we really have to do is…" The catgirl was then cut off by the toongirl.

"Hide everyone!"

Before a word could be said Bella grabbed them all and took them into different hiding places. They couldn't protest because they knew not much could stop Bella once she got excited; Ravena and Illu both used a bit of magic and illusion to keep them and everything else hidden at least from Shadow's Byakugan. All of Kurotsubasa was silent as they heard the door open and heard Shadow walk inside and took off his wet jacket.

"Of all the times to have a Weather Shift; hopefully the others haven't…"

"Surprise!"

Just as he was about to make it to the stairs a bright light came on and Shadow found himself covered in confetti. He stared blankly at the rest of Kurotsubasa as he took the streamers and confetti off of him. "Seriously guys, is this what you've been doing all day?" He asked.

"Why not? It's not every day we get to celebrate your birthday Shads especially with how you act about it." Bella said placing a party hat on the teen's head.

"That's because I don't want people to make such a big deal about it" Shadow tried to take the hat off, only to find out that Bella had added something extra to it to have it stay firmly to his head. He tried to take it off by forced only for the hat to begin stretching. "What the hell Bella?!"

"Come on, stop being all cold for once it's a party cheer up!" Bella said wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

Shadow's response to that was grabbing Bella by the face and slamming her into the floor. Dark energy began to cover the hat and evaporated it separating him from the toongirl's party trick. As Bella pulled herself up Illu decided to try and calm the situation.

"Bella-chan you don't need to be so direct; and Shadow-kun we all worked hard to have this all planned for you." Illu tried to explain.

"Yeah so drink up and stop acting so down." DB said placing a cup in the teen's hand and filling it with one of the bottles on the table.

Shadow checked his drink to make sure it's not alcoholic and was surprised to find out it wasn't so he took a sip. "Fine, you guys obviously planned this whole thing out and it must have taken you all day…I guess just this once I can just chill and enjoy it." He sighed.

"See I knew you were a big softy!" Ravena hugged the scythe wielder causing him to blush because of her assets pressing against him.

"Rave I told you not to do that!"

"Do what?" she asked cluelessly.

Before anything could escalate Key separated the two and moved the party to one of the tables. Deciding to just accept their efforts Kurotsubasa decided to enjoy the snacks and sweets that were laid out for all of them to enjoy. Shadow took a piece of cake and tried it and enjoyed how it tasted. "I can tell that almost all of these are store bought except for this cake, who made it?" Shadow asked curiously.

"U-um I made it, though I got Bella-chan to help me out in the end so that I would have enough time to finish." Illu said with a blush.

"It's good, and to think I was the only one in the guild with any kind of cooking skills." Shadow said while eating another piece of cake.

"Hey I can cook too!" Bella objected loudly.

"Said the girl who was actually able to burn water."

"It's hard to cook as Heatblast!"

Shadow just shook his head and turned back to Illu. "Well this is a delicious cake Illu, thanks." He thanked the shy girl who was now softly blushing; after an hour of treats and talking they decided it was time to give out gifts.

"All right first is mine, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one Shads!" Bella said as she gave the boy a large gift. Shadow looked at the box confusedly before looking at Bella.

"This isn't another gag gift is it…or another project you have that's going to explode right?" Shadow asked as he was a bit nervous of the gift; the toongirl's heart is always in the right place but sometimes her gifts were sometimes more harmful than useful.

"Come on just open it, I guarantee you'll love it!" Bella continued to smile waiting for Shadow to open her gift.

Shadow then shrugged and decided to worry about any damages he may get later He opened the gift and was surprised to see it was skill book with a few other attachments to it, with all of them being from a familiar series. "You got me a Move tutor, what for you only gave me one move for it."

"Well the move I gave you works well with what you have and it will be a great fix up incase Owlgirl and Kitty aren't there to heal you." Bella explained. "You've played Pokémon right?"

"Of course I have, still thanks for worry about my safety since you decided to give me a healing move. Thanks Bell" Shadow said putting the Move Tutor away in his dimensional zipper to use later. A ticket was then placed in Shadow's hand and he saw it was DB that gave him the ticket. "This isn't for what I think it's for is it?"

"It is, I was able to call in a few favors and was able to get that ticket for you. This will help as soon as we get the van fixed up, maybe replace it with a car or use it for yourself; I saw you eyeing some off the cars when we pass by the store." DB smirked.

"Sure, thanks DB" The two knocked their cups against the other. Soon it was Key's turn; he then brought out a small wrapped packet from out of his coat. Shadow took the packet and unwrapped to discover that it was a map. "A map Key, I already have a good bunch of the…hold on is this…?"

"Yep, you probably haven't had much time to be treasure hunting because of recent things so I did you a favor and mapped out some Dungeon sights that no one has beaten yet and possibly new Dungeon locations." Key said with a smirk. "You wouldn't want to get rusty now would you?"

Shadow smiled and shook Key's hand, "Thanks, Key I'll be sure to put this to good use." Shadow tucked the map away in a safe place so that he could use it for later.

After the Beta retook his seat it was now Illu's turn who had a modest sized wrapped present in her arms. The shy girl gave it to Shadow trying hard to keep eye contact, "I know I made the cake but that wasn't really my gift, that's for you Shadow-kun, I hope you like it." Illu said.

Shadow nodded and unwrapped the box to opened the box and saw what the hybrid girl had given it. He pulled out a long black scarf that was soft to the touch. While he thought it was a normal scarf he could already feel something different about the cloth. "Wow a scarf, did you make this too Illu?"

Illu shook her head, "No but I knew a friend that helps make my replacement scarves; while I had it dyed it's made out of Fire Rat's fur just like my scarf making it more durable. From what my friend said she also added something else that was special but I don't know what that is yet."

"You don't?" Shadow asked but knew that he loved her present, he already had part of it loosely wrapped around his neck and while it didn't cover his face it was mostly to feel how comfortable it felt. 'I can see how Illu-chan could get used to this, the scarf is comfortable.'

"No, but each scarf is said to be different for each user so who knows what it could be. Mine was designed to not be affected by acid or corrosive attacks though I still wear different scarfs every once and awhile." Illu explained. "You just need to push your energy into your scarf and you should find out what it can do."

"First a good cake and an awesome gift, you're going to be a lucky man's wife someday Illu" As he said that he didn't notice the large blush that suddenly appeared on the girl's face. Shadow however did notice that there was a face missing from the party. "Hey where is Punnya,? Usually when there are a lot of dumplings she's down here bouncing for them."

"I fed Punnya some of the sweets already but I had her playing guard for your present." Before Shadow could ask what she meant the catgirl used her eyes to discreetly point to Bella and the scythe user understood what she meant. Ravena flew upstairs to grab her gifts leaving the curious minds of Kurotsubasa to ask questions.

"So what do you think she got you Shads?" DB asked.

"Don't know, maybe some magic spells or something like that she has been helping me out with magic for a few days." Shadow gave his guess at the gift. As they discuss the gifts Shadow then felt a familiar weight land on his head. The boy then took Punnya off his head. "There you are Punnya, I was sure you didn't want to miss the best part."

"Punnya!" Punnya meowed in agreement while purring audibly.

"Yeah she was going to eat us out of all the sweets but anyway; here you go Shadow-kyun!" Ravena presented Shadow with the Manju egg that she had been keeping secret for days. While Shadow was confused he accepted the girl's gift anyway. "I just gave you the best present you could ever get, a Beast Manju egg nya" The catgirl smiled.

"Beast Manju? You mean like what Punnya is?" Shadow asked.

"Punnya!" Punnya heard her name be called as she was already indulging herself with some of the sweets on the table along with Mukurowl and Nyoka.

"Not exactly Shads, I think it's better if I told you this first," Ravena then cleared her throat so that she could speak more clearly. "Beast-Manju are kind of like wrapped up birthday presents. They come in many forms and colors but you can never really be sure what you are really gonna get. But once you do, it's the most special thing you can have." The catgirl said with many emotions running through her voice.

"That's beautiful Rave but I think your present's been cracked" Shadow said drawing attention to the small crack on the egg's surface.

"Nya?! What do you mean; there was no crack when Punnya and I took care of it." Ravena said.

*Crack*

That sound got all of Kurotsubasa's attention as the crack began to widen. A few more cracks appeared and soon the top of the egg crumbled away. The whole egg then shined with a white light filling the room, the light was so bright that all the members had to cover their eyes as to not be blinded though they could still hear the sounds of the eggs hatching. Once the light faded Shadow opened his eyes and heard the first sounds of the newborn Manju on his lap.

"_**U-Pyon~!"**_

Shadow and most of Kurotsubasa looked confused, and while Ravena and Punnya were less confused though it was mostly from seeing the newborn hatchling. It was a Manju like Punnya but very different. This Manju was way smaller and younger, with black fur and a crescent shape mark on its forehead. A pair of long soft ears that were way bigger than it's body flopped from the top of its head. It then slowly opened its eyes to reveal them to be a bright blue as it looked up at Shadow for the first time, imprinting on him.

"U-Pyon!" The Manju squeaked again as it cuddled up against Shadow.

"Aw~" The girls of Kurotsubasa said seeing the small creatures reaction to Shadow.

"Well what do you know! You got yourself an Usa-Manju. Isn't she the cutest thing?" Ravena said.

"Ok, first-off, Usa-_**what**_? Secondly, _**she**_? And lastly, I think the problem is that she is too cute…at least for me." Shadow said while taking the young Manju off of him.

"Well my young naïve Shadow-kyun" She patted the boy's head getting an irritated groan. "Beast-Manju refers to the name of the type of animal she and Punnya are but not their species; Punnya's a Neko Manju and you can tell because she has cat features nya. That little ball of preciousness in your arms is an Usa-Manju; Black Holland Lop if I'm not mistaken." Ravena said in lecture mode. "I'm sure you know Usa means rabbit and you can tell why."

"But how can you tell it's a she?" Shadow asked again while noticing the baby Manju was gone. Feeling a small weight on his head he then saw the baby had taken Punnya's usual spot nesting on his head. Due to her small body and coloring she blended in with Shadow's hair while her ears stuck out giving Shadow the illusion of a Bunny-Boy. "Well, that's just great."

"How can you not? She's adorable and playful although I've never seen a newborn get this close with humans before nya," Ravena said while the others were stifling their giggles and snickers from Shadow's new look.

"Maybe it was because when…**she**, hatched she saw Shadow first. Kind of like a Togepi effect." Key suggested after finally composing himself.

"So Shads has a new pet and it also thinks he's her father" Bella smiled and then got in close to look at the baby Manju. "Hey there little one, I'm your Obyran Bella" The toongirl smiled.

The manju however squeaked loudly and took off in a blur, hiding in Shadow's jacket. Shadow felt around and found the baby Manju now hiding in his hood. "I suppose that's a normal reaction, right Rave?"

"Yep though why is she still acting so close with you but Bella scared her off?" Ravena tried to think for a bit, wondering why the manju was acting that way.

"Whatever, Ravena since you know so much about Beast Manju you must know a good place where they will take care of her…" Shadow said.

"You mean like a Daycare nya?" Ravena asked.

Shadow sighed, "No Ravena…you know I can't keep her."

"Nyani, why?" Ravena asked feeling hurt.

"Well she's too cute, like I said before."

"Just because she's cute doesn't mean you have to give her up; besides you can still be yourself and still have her around. It's good of you to show you don't need to have big dragons or deadly wolves to be a cool hero." Ravena smiled. "Besides think of how many will join your fan club now."

"Join my what?" Shadow then ignored that part and focused on the Manju who he was able to free from his clothes only for her to now snuggle on his shoulder, still shy of the others but still wanting to be close to him. "Anyway why can't I have her put up for adoption?"

"Because I think she's imprinted on you already Shads." It was DB who answered the question. "You know how animals imprint in nature, well maybe that baby imprinted on you from birth so I don't think you can get rid of her; she'll just keep coming back."

"And just wait until you two bond, trust me it's the best thing in the world." Ravena smiled.

"Yeah sure…" Shadow then took the baby off his shoulder and placed her on the table; this had the others wondering what their guild leader was doing though a few noticed the look he had on his face but couldn't guess the emotions he was feeling. "I need to be alone for a while, thanks for the party and everything." Using Shadow Step the scythe wielder vanished leaving the guild behind.

"What the heck was that?" Bella asked.

"Do you think maybe the Usa brought some bad memories for Shadow-kun, he had a sort of look in his eyes." Illu said.

"He usually gets that look when it's raining…uh guys Shads isn't the only one that went AWOL. Where's the newborn?" Key asked seeing the space where the Manju sat was now empty.

"Oh no, she's gone!" Bella said.

"Chill Bells, I think I know where they both are or at least a way to find them," Ravena then took Punnya away from her sweets. "Punnya, you think you can help us find Shadow-kyun and the Usa-Manju?"

"Punnya!" Punnya nodded and began to sense around. The Manju then took off and went towards the stairs with the rest of Kurotsubasa following after her.

**(Scene Change)**

On the roof of the Guild building, Shadow was lying in a spot on the roof with a makeshift canopy over a wall so that he wouldn't get wet. He could see that the party had lasted awhile because it was so late he could see hints of the moon behind the storm clouds…ironically a crescent.

Shadow sighed. "It's really been that long…with the Guild Wars coming up there is a chance that we have to face them and that's the last thing I want to think about. Besides with a new member and a baby at that isn't what we need if we want to survive." He then looked at his wrist where the Wings of Creation rested; the scythe wielder was about to say something but something beat him to it.

"U-Pyon!"

Shadow turned and saw on the roof with him was the Usa-Manju who bounced up to him. "So you followed me huh…that's right you don't have a name yet." Shadow then picked the Manju up and placed her on his lap. "So I'm guessing you heard all that I said huh?"

"U-Pyon…." The Manju said with hints of teary eyes.

"Don't look at me like that…. Look you really are cute and all and I never really cared what others think of me walking around with a cute bunny like you" He petted her head and rubbed her ears getting a positive reaction which caused him to smile and then sigh. "The point is; I'm not really the safest guy to be around."

"U-Pyon?" The Manju tilted her head; Shadow somehow understood that she was asking why and showed her the treasure on his wrist. The baby Manju stared at it with her eyes and sort off began to feel it with her ears.

"See this, well there are a lot bad guys out there that are after me to take it away; not to mention there are some out there who could care less about it and want to just fight me or kill me." Shadow tried to explain. "After the last guys we fought I realized I needed to get stronger or the people around me are going to get hurt, and even as my friends get stronger I feel like I'm not." He kept his eyes on the baby Manju and took her silence as a cause to continue. "Like I said, any other time I would more than happy to welcome you but I can't really do what I have to if I have to raise a baby Manju as well."

"U-Pyon, Pyon Pyon U-Pyon!" squeaked The Manju bounced a bit.

Shadow chuckled a bit. "That's right you are about a good five minutes old; you may have your own tricks and Ravena can probably help me raise you and show me all the benefits of having a pet Manju like Punnya but I'm not sure if I can go through all that and do my own training." He then got a bit to the Manju's eye level. "Unless you have something to speed those up."

When he petted her again it seemed to cause a reaction as her bright blue eyes glowed a bit. Shadow noticed that before he noticed something else…the rain drops closest to the two had stopped and seemed to be floating in midair.

"Is this a power that Manju have, time stop?" He then looked around and saw time was moving and regular time. "If not then…" He touched a frozen raindrop to find that it was only hovering. Shadow, in surprise, felt himself be lift up a bit and saw that the small manju was floating as well revealing she was the cause.

"Ok so you aren't just a pretty face." Shadow used gravity to float under his own power and got them both back on to the ground. "Guess you are interesting aren't you?" Shadow smiled. Soon he saw that the girl's left eye had faded a bit to a silvery white and her crescent was more pronounced. "Did you just change, what happened to your eye?"

"U-Pyon~!" The unnamed Manju opened her mouth wide and a small ball of light flew out. The little orb then split into two and dissipated revealing a pair of items.

Shadow saw that they were earrings, more specifically earcuffs, that were silver and gold and also had a crescent shaped blue stone with silver marks that Shadow knew instantly were Lapis Lazuli.

"So I have to wear jewelry now?" Shadow joked. The baby Manju however bounced forward and knocked one of earcuffs over to him with her large ear. Seeing no harm Shadow stared at the gift given to him. "Everyone's giving me presents, even people I don't know" He looked down at the baby. "You want me to put this on don't you?"

"U-Pyon~" The baby nodded, beginning to understand each other. She had already placed the other earcuff on one of her long ears.

Shadow decided to do so and placed it on his left ear and soon felt a power flow through him. 'What is this feeling, it's like I can finally relax…usually I can only feel this way when I'm asleep.' Shadow turned to the manju seeing it's smiling face.

"You knew I was troubled so you came after me huh?"

"U-Pyon!" The Manju then cuddled up to him again wrapping her ears around his neck though this time he didn't object or try to take her off.

The birthday boy sighed but then smiled as he petted the manju. "Well if you are going to stay with me you're going to need a name aren't you?" Shadow said and then looked out to see the rain has decreased in power, becoming a simple shower. Shadow could see part of the sky and some of the stars reminding him more of the manju in his arms. The teen then placed the baby Manju on his head but before he gave her a name they were interrupted.

"Punnya!" Punnya said flying out the door with the rest of Kurotsubasa following after her.

"Now Shads I know what you're thinking but…" Ravena tried to say when she noticed and recognized the new piece of jewelry on Shad's earlobe.

"I doubt you know what I'm thinking, probably not since you're all scaring Amaya over here." Shadow said.

"Amaya?" Illu asked.

Shadow then pointed to the baby bunny who was now shaking in his hood. He took the girl out and petted her fur to calm her down. "Yeah Amaya, that's what I decided to call her."

"Amaya? Illu do you know what that means?" DB asked the Japanese native.

"Amaya, it's Japanese, it means night rain." Illu informed him.

"Night rain huh, couldn't think of anything better?" Key smirked.

"Well it was either that or Upyon." Shadow said. "How do you like Amaya?"

"U-Pyon~" The now named Amaya cuddled against his cheek, as if it was her way of saying yes.

"Cool name Shads, though hopefully she'll warm up to us." Bella said.

"One step at a time Bella…"

"See I know you would love her; it's like you two were meant to meet each other! It's _**Hitsuzen**_ nya!" Ravena cheered.

"I don't know about all of that Rave, but I can say thanks for the awesome present." Shadow said standing up with Amaya now on his shoulder. "Let's get out of this rain, we still have a party to finish after all."

"That's right, everyone back inside I still haven't busted out any party games!" Bella led the group as they all went back inside. The two manju owners walked right by each other with Punnya flying by Ravena and Amaya on Shadow's shoulder.

"I'll be sure to teach you everything I know Shadow-kyun, you are now in charge of a new innocent life. You are now responsible for her nya." Ravena said to lecture him.

"And that's why I almost didn't want to take her…but it's not like I'm not used to being responsible for something, only now it's someone." Shadow petted Amaya again.

"U-Pyon~" Amaya said in happiness.

Ravena noticed the matching ear-cuff and Amaya's new white-eye in surprise. _'I just can't believe it….It usually takes months or years but Amaya's already bonded with Shads within minutes of her birth…'_ she thought as she watched Amaya snuggle even closely to her new 'Master'.

Ravena smiled knowingly as they joined the others back inside to finish the party. _"Then again…__**Hitsuzen **__really does work in mysterious ways…."_

**TBC…**

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><p><strong> Well we now have another member of the Kurotsubasa family, with Amaya now canon to the story we'll see how the Guild Wars play out. Also for the ones I talked with about the comic idea, we can always do a fan comicparody using chibi characters will save time and have a good amount of fun with it. Until next time everyone!**

**-Shadowlight0982 out.**


	26. Summer Filler

** Hello everyone and finally we have an update, even though it may not be what you all were expecting. Yes, this is a filler but a filler for everyone to have fun with as they read and to keep coming back to and laugh as I prepare the next arc to go underway. So many things happened and so many things went into this filler to make it long overdue but I know August is still summer so we still have that going on. So everyone enjoy the Summer Vacation Filler as I get the next chapters worked on.**

* * *

><p>Bella sighed in boredom as she lay still on her bed. Even since meeting Aetherion, all Kurotsubasa has done was focus primarily on preparing for the Guild Wars. While it was nice to know that they had a potential ally for the time ahead each member of the small guild had to work on preparing and growing stronger. While training was a way to keep the random toon girl occupied, doing it for days at a time were beginning to bore her. Looking out the window Bella could see the clear summer day.<p>

"Ugh! Today is so boring, if I end up spending another day in the Training Room or sparing in an area I'm going to explode!" Bella finally said.

"**Hey now, no exploding you got that! There are plenty enough idiots in here that can do that!"** Grey Matter yelled from inside her head.

"Then give me something to do that doesn't involve transforming, hitting, or blasting a target for hours!" Bella complained to her toon friends.

"**Maybe you can get a vacation?"** Spiderman offered.

"A vacation" Bella repeated, interested in the idea.

"**As much as I would like to not admit; heroes, villains, and even those like me do enjoy a day away from causing mischief."** Yami Bakura said agreeing with the Web headed Hero. **"I'm used to hotter climates where I'm from but summer is only for a few months, you should enjoy them while you can."** The grave robber told her.

"**Hold on, there is still one thing that could get in the way of your dream vacation."** Jack Spicer interrupted and pointed to the picture of her friends that were on the nearby dresser, more specifically at Shadow.

Bella then sighed, "That's true, the way this is shaping out we won't be able to even enjoy summer with Shads keeping us on lockdown…wait! Maybe I can convince to give us these last few days off to enjoy the season, not even he could resist a summer of fun!" The toons returned to the back of her head as the girl jumped out her bed. Bella then retied her hair back into its ponytail and went to find the black clad leader of Kurotsubasa.

Inside a spare room in the base Shadow was working on one of the important part of the Guild's equipment: their van. When they arrived at the Eclipse Tournament, the vehicle was reduced to almost nothing due to the actions of Bella and Ravena so he and Key took time out of each day to repair it back to its former glory and it would soon be finished. As Shadow worked off on a table was Amaya sitting in a bed made from Shadow's jacket as he didn't want it getting dirty as he worked.

"Hey Amaya, can you hand me that wrench near you please?" Shadow asked his small assistant as he stood up, finished working on the bottom of the van.

"U-Pyon!" The baby Manju was happy to help as she used her ears to grab the wrench and hopped up to hand it to Shadow. The Acrobatic rabbit was able to hand him the tool and flip jump back to her spot on the work-table.

"Thanks, lots of work went into this thing but now it's just about done." Shadow smiled as he was about to open the door and finish work on the van's interior. Just before he could get to work he heard a bang from the outside door that got his and Amaya's attention.

"U-Pyon?"

"Give it a moment."

Following his prediction, the door to the room slammed opened frightening Amaya, making her hide herself within the jacket as a human sized Bulkhead walked into the room and changed back into Bella.

"You could've knocked you know." Shadow said to the shapeshifter.

"Who has time for that anyway?!" Bella said before walking over to Shadow to plead her case. "Anyways Shads, we have an emergency!"

Shadow hunched a brow. "Oh really, let's hear it then." Amaya popped her small head up seeing that it was only Bella and slowly snuggled out of her hiding place. "This better be a real emergency Bella, I was just about to finish up the repairs." He told her.

"This is a real emergency, we are wasting away training when we can spend it doing something actually fun!" Bella argued.

"Uh-huh…I'm going to begin ignoring you now." Shadow said as he opened the door to the van, Bella saw that he was already trying to push her away so she continued trying to plead her case to him.

"Come on Shads! This is great weather and everything and you're going to have us waste it just for preparing for the competition?!" Bella whined seeing Shadow continue to work on finishing some of the inner workings of the van as he began folding to seats to help move them around. "Summer is a time of excitement; a time when friends meet together and run on the beach splashing each other and throwing sands in others shorts! It's unforgivable that we're going to miss the best season in the year just because of something that might happen!"

Shadow sighed and then gets out of the van so that he could stand and face Bella. "You know Hyna this summer isn't going to be all fun and games. The Guild Wars are really close and there might be hundreds of Guilds setting their sights on us; I know none of this is your definition of fun but there are things that need to be done." He tried to explain it to her.

"We can always finish another day! Summer only comes around for a short while, the only thing not making me snap are a few pranks here and there and even that's getting boring Shads!" Bella said teary eyed.

"By the way, I had to almost waste a day trying to get you out of those charges for what you did to those Guards. Trust me; it won't all be boring once we're up to our necks in battles." Shadow then went back to work.

"I know you can be a workaholic sometimes but think about the rest of us, think of little Amaya!"

"Pyon?" Amaya said questioning as she was then pulled out from her spot and held up in front of Shadow thanks to Bella.

"Keeping Amaya cooped up inside isn't doing the girl any good, she needs to get outside and hop around! Enjoy her childhood; you would starve an innocent girl of fun would you?" Bella pouted with big eyes visible.

Shadow stared dully at Bella's attempt to turn his judgment and just took Amaya out of her hands, much to the confusion of the Manju for how she even got there. "Look you know the rules Bella, when it comes to an argument we always put things up to a vote. I'm willing to let everyone vote to see if we need a vacation." Shadow said.

"Every time we vote, it always ends with me not getting my way it's not fair!" Bella continued to whine. "My men and pets don't count so it usually ends up being a tie most of the time with the guys on your side and the girls on mine."

"Majority rules, you have to move one of us to your side and you're not getting anywhere with me." Shadow said with Amaya now sitting on his head. "You got two more chances and Key is out right now so I suggest finding DB if you really want your Summer Break."

"Come on, Shads! PLEEEEEASE?" The toon then used her power to turn into Beast Boy who in turn changed into a small kitten with large eyes.

"I'm the wrong person to be trying to use the cute tactic Bella. Besides, you have ways to go to beat Amaya….or Punnya," Shadow petting the baby manju on her head causing Amaya to squeak happily.

"U-pyon~!" Amaya said enjoying how Shadow scratched behind her ears gently.

Bella then changed back with a huff. "Fine then, if I have to play it your way then I will!" She said before stomping out of the room. Once the toon girl was gone, Amaya hopped back to her perch looking up at Shadow with a questioning look.

"Yeah I know, but all of this preparing is so nothing bad will happen. I hate not knowing what would happen in the future so I'm a little bit cautious." Shadow said to Amaya as he went over to the work-table and opened a pack of strawberries he had brought in the room with him. He fed one to Amaya who began eating hers as he also took one for himself. "Maybe she's right, but I'm not about to change what I just said." Shadow then finished his quick snack and then looked back to the van and something else.

"Now the van is pretty much done, time to get to work on my personal project." Shadow said grabbing some tools and some spray paint as he began walking to something covered with a large blanket.

**(Scene Change)**

Bella was still storming her way out and stomping down the stairs so loudly that she didn't notice Ravena and Illu until they walked into the front door. Following behind the two girls were their pets Punnya and Mukurowl, along with Nyoka who was now around Illu's neck as opposed to her wrist as she usually is.

"Thanks for helping me train with my Dress-spheres Ravena-chan, but like I told Nyoka-chan I rather not have to use the Thief sphere unless I need to." Illu blushed, thinking back to the skimpy outfit the dress-sphere left on her when she transformed.

"Nonsense Illu-tan, next time you need help don't be afraid to ask. Though, you shouldn't be embarrassed just because your power ends up showing a little skin." Ravena tried to comfort her. "Besides in this case don't the benefits of the Thief skill outweigh the negatives nya?"

"Punnya nya!" Punnya said, agreeing with Ravena. The Neko Manju didn't understand the embarrassment when it came to clothing, even in her Nekomimi form she wanted to wear as few clothes as possible.

"I have to agree with your friends Illu-sama; you shouldn't be embarrassed by your power rather you should be using them to their fullest potential." Nyoka said to her more shy and reserved Mistress. 'Though if that was from Ichiya-sama I don't think she'll like with else Orochi-sama has given her.'

"Those dress-spheres are powerful tools from Orochi-sama and as his summoner you are expected to use them when drawing on his power." Nyoka informed her.

"I know that…but I'm not used to moving around in that thing even if it is for better movement. I don't know how I would even fight in a competition if I feel like I'm wearing nothing but a bathing suit." Illu said.

At the mention of bathing suit a light bulb appeared on Bella's head as she smiled making her way to her fellow female friends. "Owl girl, Kitty; I have something important that I need your help with." Bella said catching their attention.

"What is it Bella-chan?" Illu asked wondering what the girl could need help with.

"It's not another prank is it, Hy-nya?" Ravena also asked.

"Not this time, but save some ideas from when we come back Kitty." Bella said before getting serious. The girl then ran to one of the windows and opened it up to show them the bright and sunny day outside the guild base. "Look outside and tell me what you see." The Toon girl began.

Ravena and Illu exchanged dubious looks but complied.

"Um…good weather-nya?"

"Blue skies?"

"EXACTLY! There is a perfect summer day out there calling our names and yet here we are, _**INDOORS**_!"

"Ano, that's really isn't a crime Bella-chan." Illu said.

"No Illu…it IS a crime!" Bella yelled causing the purple haired girl to sweatdrop. "Come on, what we need right is sun, sand, surf! Not whatever we've been doing this whole time."

Ravena was the first to agree with the girl's plan. "You know while she is spinning this up way more than she needs to nya, we could use a break from training and something like this is exactly what you would need Illu-tan." The catgirl said was a smile on her face.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Illu asked. She felt nervous about the look on Ravena's face; it reminded her of when the nekomata had dressed them back in the maid outfits for the café.

"Your Thief Dress-sphere is basically like you're wearing a bikini right? Well since you're embarrassed about moving around in a bathing suit why not give you practice moving and playing around in a real one nya?" Ravena said voicing her idea. "It doesn't have to be as skimpy as that one; we can always get you a more modest set."

"I don't know Ravena-chan, I just don't think…" Before Illu could finish a small chibi Bella then popped in front of her floating before her eyes.

"Pwease Illu, don't you want to have fun in the water with your friends?" The chibi asked playing to Illu's weakness. The girl had to steady herself and tried desperately not to just scream out kawaii at the top of her lungs.

"W-well when you put it that way, I-I guess having a vacation at the beach wouldn't be hurting anyone. We all deserve one." Illu blushed as she said that, trying not glomp the chibi version of Bella.

Bella then changed back to her original form (much to the shy girl's chagrin). "I have to thank you for showing me that trick Rave." She smiled.

"No problem nya."

"Now that we have 3 votes, we just have to sway one of the boys onto voting for our cause and then the vacation is a go. Shads is an obvious bust and he just told me Key is out somewhere so that leaves us with just DB." Bella informed them. "We just need D to…"

"You just need D to do what?"

Surprising the girls a bit, DB walked out of another room and into the café part of the base where the girls were. He didn't hear the conversation but was only able to catch part of the end when he saw them. "So what kind of project do you need me for this time Bella?"

"Oh no project this time, I was wondering if you would vote with us on going on a vacation for the last few days before the Guild Wars instead of just training the whole time." Bella said sweetly, accompanied by Ravena and Illu.

"Naw, no thanks."

That answer caused Bella's face to hit the floor, Illu and Ravena were also confused thinking that the vampire would be one to agree on a day off. After peeling Bella off the wood DB voiced his reasons why.

"Look, after all the crazy things we've been through if course we deserve a few days of R & R but I think this Guild Wars thing is actually something we can't slack on." DB said. "Some of the other guilds out there are dangerous; I hate to be a voice of reason but it's better that we spend all we can preparing."

DB was about to leave the room before Bella quickly grabbed one of his legs to prevent him from escaping. "Oh come on DB….Pretty please~?! I won't bother you for a week!" pleaded Bella desperately as she began getting dragged across the floor still hanging on to DB's leg.

"I highly doubt that Bell! Now let go!" yelled DB trying to pry Bella off him.

This comical pathetic scene went on for a few seconds when Ravena suddenly folded her arms and clicked her tongue loudly is disappointment. 'Well this got bad really fast…guess it's up to me to pull her out of the fire.'

"**Please tell me your plan is something relatively simple and not some elaborate scheme."** Felis said from within her head. **"Do you even have a way to get that vampire to vote on your side?"** She asked Felidae again.

'I have my ways, just watch.' Ravena then cleared her throat getting the two fighting members attention. "My dear Hy-Nya, I can't believe you of all people are not doing what you do best," Ravena said.

"Which would be...?" asked Bella a little irked.

"Exploiting his Number One weakness of course-nya~!"

"Which is...?" DB asked curiously to which Ravena responded with a grin that instantly gave DB a clue.

"Uh-oh….Now wait Rave don't do anything rash!" DB said starting to get worried.

"You had it coming, Sweetie," said Ravena as she pulled up her menu and then made a call. Illu, Bella and the pets all exchanged looks of confusion while DB was beginning to sweat buckets.

"_Hello?" _a familiar voice could be heard from the other line.

"Hey Oneesama, did I catch you at a bad time nya?" The catgirl asked making sure DB could hear the call as well by turning up her volume.

"_Not at all, I'm right now taking a break at home after finishing a few missions."_ Naenia's voice sounded in the room. _"Is there something you want to ask me?"_

"Just wondering if you would want to join us at the beach for the day nya?" Ravena asked.

"Yeah, like I would fall for a trick like that Ravena." DB scoffed, starting to not believe the call was genuine. "There's no way I'm going to fall for that trick, for all I know you got a clone on the other line emulating her voice Bella."

"I'm all right here DB." Bella said, disproving that statement.

There was a small pause, which seemed like Naenia was taking time to think the idea over_. "Well, that does sounds better than how I was planning to spend the day. Have you planned on which area to go to?"_

"Not yet nya, any suggestions?" Ravena asked.

"_From what my friends have told me Ember Island Resort is the place to be right now. White sand, clear water, not a cloud in the sky and home to a rather lovely inn. It even has open air hot springs."_ Naenia told her.

"Great, that's not too far away, can you meet us there?" Ravena asked starting to get DB's attention again. Seeing the innocent look on both her and Bella's face showed him that this time it wasn't a trick

"_Sure, that place is better with company than alone; I'll finally be able to wear the new two piece I bought just for the season."_ That sentence especially got DB's attention momentarily._ "DB's coming right?"_

At that moment DB finally got free and tried to make a break for it but Bella quickly turned into Hyna-Wolf and tackled the vampire to the ground before dragging him back to the room.

Ravena smiled brightly. "Of _**COURSE**_ he'll be there~! See you there Onee-sama!" Ravena said cheerfully then ended the call and turned to DB who Bella had put in a hold so that he couldn't run any more. Ravena gave DB a sickly sweet smile that obviously poorly masked the slyness she was giving off.

"So you were saying nya?" She asked innocently to the now frozen DB as the girls sat back and watched DB begin his inner conflict to give his answer. In the depths of Ravena's minds, Felis was proudly applauding her other half.

"**Wonderful, I couldn't have done it better myself DeeDee." **Felis said to her other self.

After a while DB spoke up as he looked up with a nervous blush on his face. "Well…we always seem to work things out in the end, how are the Guild Wars any different? Sure you got my vote." He smiled.

"Must we really go through with this?" Illu asked.

Raven then patted the shy girl's back. "Hey don't forget this is also to help build your confidence nya. Why don't we all go and pick out swimsuits at the same time Illu-tan." The catgirl told her the plan as she then looked to Bella and Punnya. "Make sure to tell Shadow-kyun the news Hy-nya, and Punnya…be a dear and go get Amaya-chan too! This is an all-girl's shopping trip nya!"

"Punnya!" The Neko Manju then took off, flying to where Shadow was.

"Right, I'll be back in a flash!" In a flash of light XLR8 was racing up the stairs going to inform the news to Shadow.

With Shadow he was just about finished with rebuilding the van and was now working on another hidden project. He then placed a large blanket over the project and wiped the sweat off his brow. "Well, that's shaping up into something soon."

"Pyon?" Amaya asked, curious about what Shadow just hid under the cover. Her curiosity then vanished with another petting from her owner/father.

"It's supposed to be a surprise, besides I don't even know if the thing is ready yet." Shadow then moved the covered item into the trunk of the finished van. "That should be the best place to keep that for now." After he said that he then heard something crash through behind them, shocking Amaya into jumping on his head and hiding in his hair. "Darn it Bella would it kill you to use the door? You scared Amaya!" Shadow said trying to calm down the scared bunny.

"Sorry, but I was in a bit of a hurry!" Bella then changed back with a grin on her face; following her into the room was Punnya who was hovering next to the toongirl. "I got 4 votes for the beach, looks like we're taking a vacation after all."

"Really, who did you sucker onto your vote?" Shadow asked.

"Actually you'd be surprise on who did the suckering; just make sure to pack some shorts and towels!" Bella said with a smile. "Is the van ready to go or are we walking?"

"Yeah, I was able to finish it after you left. Right now I'm just working on a personal project." Shadow said after calming Amaya down. "So you get your beach vacation, do you know where we're going?"

"Way ahead of you, Ember Island…oh and we need to borrow Amaya." Bella said, Punnya was already ahead of her and with little resistance was able to pull Amaya from Shadow's head. "Sorry, it's just something Kitty wants to do with all of us girls."

"Fine, just try not to corrupt her too much." Shadow sighed after they left; he then opened his menu and sends a message to the absent member of the Guild.

**(With Key)**

"Run that by me again Shads." Key asked getting the video message from Shadow.

"We're going on summer vacation for a few days; Bella was able to get enough votes for it. Probably why I found DB walking around with a blush on his face" Shadow explained. "It's only for two days but it should be enough to end Bella's whining."

"Those days should be enough for us to get there and back and still be prepared." Key then sighed but in a way he did agree with Bella. Everyone needs a vacation and after what they been through they deserved one. "All right then, I'll be on my way." He then ended the message.

"Who was the call from?" Key turned around as Rina walk into the room. The Analyst had asked for his help in some of the work in the Admin base. "You have to go back to Kurotsubasa?" Rina asked.

"Yeah, Bella was able to convince Shadow that we all need a vacation and we'll be heading out soon." Key answered as he gathered his things.

"A little summer break after all the craziness you guys have been through?" Rina asked giving him a teasing grin. "Any clue where you're going?"

"Shads said that the girls already planned it out so probably a good beach or something nearby that we can reach. Maybe farther out if our van is rebuilt." Key answered.

"Oh yeah, I still remember your entrance to the tournament." Rina said with a smile. "Well you go on and have fun."

"That's it, have fun? No plans on having me stay or trying to find out where we're going?" Key asked.

"Please, if I needed to find you I could easily track you down." That sentence made Key instantly sweat-drop. "Just take your time and enjoy some relaxation, and make sure you bring suntan lotion." Rina advised him.

"Ooookay… sure…" Key said nervously and then left the office.

After the Beta had left, Cast then entered the room seeing the smile on her cousin's face. "I know that look anywhere Cuz..."stated Cast bluntly.

"What look dear cousin of mine?" She said innocently.

"The look that says you have something planned."

"I have no idea what you're talking about Cast." Rina said with such innocence causing her cousin to look at her suspiciously. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

Cast still gave her a suspicious look. "That depends."

"How would you like to take a little vacation?"

**(With Kurotsubasa)**

"I have to hand to you Rave, that was a pretty sneaky thing you did with DB," commented Bella as she and girls made their way down the stairs with their stuff.

Ravena simply grinned and waved her tail about. "You'd be surprise at what I'm really capable off~nya!" she said before inwardly adding to herself. 'Plus it's not like you'd give up on the idea….'

"What was that?"

"Nothing~!"

Illu laughed a bit watching the two tease each other. "By the way Rave-chan, I understood why you wanted to bring Punnya with us to the shop but I didn't think Amaya-chan would be able to do the same."

"Yep, Punnya's been teaching her a few tricks though admittedly, I was surprised too that the little girl could use magic. You should've seen Shads face when he found out too." Ravena said as she saw Amaya with Punnya.

"So that's why you asked me to bring you some of my old clothes?" Illu asked.

"Yep and thanks again Illu-tan" Ravena smiled.

"Where did you get the material to make the hood Ravena-chan?" Illu asked.

"You know, I would like to know that too, it looks mighty familiar." Bella also admitted.

Ravena scratched the back of her head and blushed a bit. "Well it involves some asking but it was one of Shadow-kun's old jackets I found Amaya sleeping in. After bringing it to a tailor shop they were able to make it, it made her comfortable and kept her calm."

"So Shadow doesn't know you borrowed it?" Illu asked.

"Eh, well he doesn't know…"

"Doesn't know what?"

The new voice caused them all to jump though it left Shadow confused. Amaya seeing Shadow quickly bounced over to his shoulder and nuzzled against his face. "So are you girls done with your shopping?" He asked curiosity.

"Yep, why did you want an early peek?" Ravena teased him.

Shadow turned his head, hiding the blush on his face while he rubbed Amaya's head. "Just hurry outside so that we can pack up. Where is DB anyway, I know Key is on his way."

"He ran off somewhere, I wonder why?" Ravena said with a knowing look on her face.

"DB should be back soon" Illu answered his question.

"All right then, all we can do is wait then." Shadow said as they all went outside to look at the newly built van. The van was large, or at least looked larger than it did last time and was a sharp cobalt blue with Kurotsubasa's symbol on each side.

"Wow, I'm impressed Dark Knight you and Key really went through all the stops in building this thing." Bella said as she began to circle around the vehicle.

"Yeah we had to make it sure that you two couldn't easily tear this one apart and we got a bunch of cool new features in it. You would be surprised what kind of people I've met that owe me a favor" Shadow said before he paused. "Or five…"

Illu also took a look and opened the back doors and noticed something in a covered bundle in the back along with a few pieces of equipment from the base. "It's almost like a portable base; you got a terminal in here and everything…what's this thing over here?" Illu asked.

"Something I've been tinkering with, maybe I can test it out once we leave." Shadow said.

In a flash of light, Key then appeared next to the van with a small backpack on his back. "Well I got everything taken care of, had to make sure the base was secured after we leave and made sure Rina didn't need me for any last minute things."

"It still took you a while, is that all what happened Ani-Key?" Ravena asked.

Key nervously scratched his head. "I did run into a friend on the way back, seems like she's on her way to the beach as well. She said that she was going to a place called Ember Island Beach." The Beta said.

Bella and Ravena exchanged looks with each other and smirked. They had a pretty good feeling they knew who it was.

"Well now that Ani-Key is back from talking with his girlfriend" Ravena continued to smirk as she made her way to the van. "Let's get this vacation started, I call shotgun nya!" The catgirl then rushed for the passenger seat.

"Hey no fair!" Bella called but it was too late as Ravena was already in the seat with Punnya on her lap. The nekomata waved innocently from her seat causing the toon girl to sigh in defeat."

Illu went over to comfort Bella. "It's ok Bella-chan, the van looks much bigger now and there's more than enough room in the other seats. Did you guys increase the size of it?" She asked the two who worked on it.

"Yep, figured that we might as well make it wider to avoid any more cramp fits; if we had made the van any bigger we would have to upgrade and build an RV." Key told her. "Well let's all get into our seats; Shads are you driving this time?"

"No, not this time, I got a special way of traveling now." Shadow then looked to Ravena. "Hey can you keep an eye on Amaya while we're on the road, I don't think she's ready for the ride I have."

"Sure, but what are you going to do if you're not riding with us?" Ravena asked as Amaya hopped over to her and sat on Punnya's head.

Shadow smirked and then opened the back of the van and then slowly rolled something from out of the van that was under a blanket. He then took off the sheet and to their surprise it was a jet-black motorcycle with crimson red accents; on the wheels was Shadow's symbol outlined in crimson. Bella and Ravena let out a long impressed whistle while Key nodded in approval.

"Wow…how much munny did it cost to buy this?" Illu asked.

"Less than you think, I was able to get this thing in a bargain as I was buying tools and parts for the van. I just had to fix her up and make it look pretty." Shadow said as he pulled off the helmet that was on one of the handle-bars. "I was looking for a reason to test this thing."

"So we all end up riding in a van and you get to ride a motorcycle all the way to the resort, how fair is that?" DB asked.

"It's a test drive, I don't know how well I am on repairing a motorcycle so this is a good time to see if it's ride-able." Shadow said, "Now let's get going don't you have someone waiting for you at the beach?"

"How did you…"

"The walls are thin; I was able to hear how they tricked you into your vote. Plus having an all Seeing Eye helps a bit." Shadow said causing DB to blush a bit.

"Yep what are you waiting for; let's get this show on the road!" Bella said getting into her seat in the van. DB then followed after her; Illu reluctantly went in the van and the Guild then took off towards the beach resort/ Shadow placed the helmet over his head and followed behind them.

**(Ember Island Beach Resort)**

"What did I tell you guys, isn't this place great?!" Bella said with her arms up high as Kurotsubasa made it to their destination. They had made it to the Ember Island Beach Resort, a very popular spot from the amount of other players already out on the beach in their summer wear. Shadow had to hold the girl back before she ran straight towards the beach.

"Hold on Bella, we have to sign in and all that. A place like this must cost a lot of munny just to stay for a night." Shadow said looking at the outside of the registration office. Before any of them moved to try and find if they had enough to stay at the fancy inn out of the building walked Naenia.

"Looks like you guys made it, and here I thought you wouldn't be able to make it on the first day." Naenia chuckled a bit at her own joke. "You did bring everything you would need right?"

"We got everything Onee-sama, though we might have to find another place to stay. This place looks a little bit too expensive for us to afford to stay." Ravena told her. The Guild made a good bit of munny with requests and jobs but not enough to stay in the expensive Inns that Ember Island provided.

"Nonsense, you're a part of my party." Naenia said shocking them. "I already have the rooms reserved and ready for us, all I had to do was wait for you all to show up." The Bounty Huntress informed them with a smile.

"I don't know, doesn't feel right for you to spend munny on us." Shadow said.

"It's fine, I insist" Naenia said walking over to the guild and standing next to DB so that she could whisper to him. "Besides, you can pay me back later DB." She purred softly.

That caused the vampire to blush leaving the rest of them confused as Naenia smiled to them. "All right, go and sign in. By the way, you all need these." She then gave them all a small scroll.

"Sealing scrolls, what do we need these for?" DB asked snapping out of his stupor.

"Ember Island is a vacation spot and also a no conflict zone. Fighting is prohibited in this area, that's why destructive abilities won't work on the resort, also no weapons are to be carried so they have to be sealed and registered." Naenia explained. "Once you put your things away follow me inside." With that she then left the Guild to themselves.

"To pay for all of us to stay with her; Naenia-san is cooler than I thought." Illu said surprised she would go that far for the guild. Meanwhile, Ravena literally had stars in her eyes and a big excited smile on her face as she nodded vigorously while Punnya helped the girl out by sealing her whips and shackles away into the scroll.

"Yep, who knew DB's girlfriend was so cool." Bella said with a smirk.

"Don't even start Hyna!"

As the two argued Shadow was already sealing most of his things in his seal and had placed it in his pocket. After he was finished he then got Illu's attention, "Hey Illu…this may just be my eyes playing with me but isn't that Aetherion over there?"

"Nani?!" Illu then followed Shadow's gaze and then saw that Aetherion was there. "Chocobo~!" called Illu excitedly.

Seeming to hear her shout Aeon also turned from where he was and saw that his sister was happily running towards him.

"Illu, what are you doing here?" The Dragoon of Aetherion asked as Illu gave him a big hug.

"I should be asking that; I thought you guys were still moving things from the mountains in the Asian Server! What are you guys doing on a beach?!" Illu asked wanting to know why they decided to come to the beach on the same day that Kurotsubasa did.

Before Aeon could answer Sol came up with an arm around the man's shoulders. "I guess the same reason you guys had, getting a little break and breather before the Guild Wars start up!" Aetherion's Salamander said with a full grin on his face. "That is why you're here right Illu-chan?"

"S-sort of" Illu admitted. "I never thought you would get Chocobo to take you on vacation or Gany-nii to come to a place where he has to take off his mask."

"Same could be said for your boyfriend Illu; since you got Shadow to come with you here." Ganymede pointed out making the owl girl blush.

"It's not like that!" She yelled to the masked warrior.

"Uh-huh, sure," Was the reply she got.

Out of the registration office Malachite had walked out. "All right, I got us all registered in. We just have to give them all of our weapons and we'll be set." It was then that the blond noticed Illu. "Well, what a sight for sore eyes, I didn't think we've be seeing you until the Guild Wars kicked off Illu-chan, with you hanging out with your new friends."

Illu nodded her head. "We're just here for a mini-vacation, where are Zephy-nii and Saphir-chan I haven't seen them yet?" She asked wondering where the two could've gone.

"That's a good question, they went with me to sign in and then Saphir-chan gave them her and Zephyrus' weapons before she started dragging him somewhere." Malachite said causing Illu to sweatdrop at the wolf girl's behavior.

"Here's another good question, what is Aeon doing now?" Ganymede got their attention he pointed to see Aeon walking over to Kurotsubasa. Illu looked on in fear wondering what her older brother could possibly be doing as she saw him basically stomp his way over to her friend/crush.

(With Kurotsubasa)

Shadow had just only began gathering his stuff when he felt a familiar aura looming over him, prompting the boy to turn to see Aeon giving him the stink-eye.

"Aeon, it's been a while," greeted Shadow casually.

"I see you're in an awfully relaxed mood. Not slacking off are we, Shadow?"

"Right back at'cha," replied Shadow when Aeon suddenly glared at the boy.

"Since we're here, I'm warning ya'… if you try anything funny on Illu I swear to god I will-!"

"Will what, Chocobo?" asked Illu warningly as she suddenly approached from behind making Aeon jump a bit. The look on Illu's face pretty much showed that she suspected what he was going to say.

Aeon quickly forced a grin on his face. "Give him such an enjoyable vacation experience~!" he said in a bright happy tone, obviously lying through his teeth. "We're gonna have such an awesome time here, right Shadow! _Shads~! Pal~! Bro~! Buddy~_!" he squeezed some more through gritted teeth as he quickly put an arm around Shadow's shoulder.

In the meantime Shadow quirked an eyebrow at Aeon like he was crazy while Illu suddenly smiled. "It's nice to see you guys are getting along~" said Illu happily as she went off to get her stuff while Aeon waved goodbye.

As soon as Illu was out of earshot, Aeon gave Shadow the evil-eye once more. "I'm warning you, Shadow…"

"Alright, alright! I get it, she's off limits, happy now?" replied Shadow obviously irritated causing Aeon to narrow his eyes as he began to walk away but not before turning to Shadow one last time.

"I'm watching you…." He warned again before heading to his group.

Shadow simply rolled his eyes as he followed the rest of his guild into the inn.

"Aeon giving you problems again?" Key asked having caught sight of the two leaders' confrontation.

"Yeah but it's not much of a problem, I think he's still on me for the Christmas incident." Shadow said as the guild all gathered in front of the Inn. "Honestly, it's like he thinks I would try and share a bed with her or something while he's here."

"It's just how he feels as an older brother; he just needs time to get used to you." Key smirked.

"Don't talk like we're about to become in-laws or something…speaking of problems how's yours going Key?" Shadow asked.

"Huh?"

"The problem waving at you at the surf…both problems." Shadow said pointing to a sight that left Key frozen in shock. Out in the distance the Beta could see not on, but two girls waving at him with big smiles on their faces.

"_KEY~!"_ both girls called out making Key begin to sweat.

"You have fun with that man." Shadow said as he went with the others.

"Wait you can't just leave me with…YIPE!" Key was then pulled back by two sets of arms.

Shadow waited until Key was dragged away before speaking. "I didn't know the Admin could take breaks, it's a surprise seeing you here Cast and without Leon with you." He said seeing the lone Admin by herself.

"Well I couldn't trust anyone else to run in my stead and Rina really wanted to leave for a vacation but now I can see why." Cast said as they both looked at Key's predicament.

"So she dragged you over here on her vacation plan, guess she can't be trusted to roam on her own." Shadow said,

"On the contrary, Rina is very reliable, but she sometimes needs someone to…stop her from taking things too far." Cast tried to explain. "And here where no violence is allowed she can't cause much damage but I still want to watch over her."

Shadow nodded understanding that reason. "Well you two have fun, you may have to drag her away from Key though." He said.

**(With Key)**

Key's mind was now in a complete mess as he got dragged through the sand and was now the unfortunate victim of "Human Tug-O-War".

"Rina," greeted TPB curtly as she hung on tightly to Key's right arm.

"T," replied Rina in a similar fashion while clinging onto Key's left.

"Ladies…" greeted Key politely forcing a smile on his face, although the twitch in his right was a clear indicator of his discomfort. _'I'm getting major déjà vu here….'_

"So what are you doing here, I thought you would still be doing work at the Admin building Rina and T, I thought you were going out on a few errands for the day before meeting up with some friends?" Key asked, trying to avoid a fight before it broke out and they all get kicked out the resort.

"Oh I finished up all my work and everything else that was on the backburner; everything else I just threw into my subordinates' hands to finish. I needed a well-deserved break." Rina said, her grip not even loosening.

"I finished with my friends when they told me they were on their way to a resort to spend a few days. We decided this place would do, although I never thought I'd see you here." TPB smiled, her grip not loosening either.

'Yeah right! You probably knew he would come here after you got him to tell you. _**Creeper!**_' Rina thought with a hidden glare.

'Knowing her, she probably tracked Key to this area and just decided to drop her work to follow him. _**Stalker!**_' TPB glared as well, causing sparks to fly between the girls.

Key began to feel even more uncomfortable as they each tried to pull him over to their side. Any feeling he had in his arms was now gone thanks to blood circulation the girls had cut off. Salvation finally came in the form of someone quickly snatching the Beta up and taking him away unbeknownst to them until they could no longer feel his presence.

"**Sorry girls, we have to get to our rooms. Have fun with lover boy when we hit the beach." **Bella was able to use Ghostfreak to turn the boy intangible to slip from their grip before Four Arms held him up over their reach. As the groups all went inside the check in they were instantly greeted with a resort worker.

"Welcome to Ember Island Beach Resort, my name is Lo and I'll be showing you the cabins you will be staying in." The black haired, kimono wearing woman said. "The Naenia party and Aetherion parties can both follow me. Another worker will come and show the rest to your rooms." Letting the information set in she took the two guilds away to where the Inn's cabins were.

The two guilds were on the same floor but not in the same rooms. Lo opened the door and showed a large room for Kurotsubasa plus Naenia to enter. "This is your party's room; it's a large style room with large living-room and patio with two large family rooms."

"Two rooms?" DB asked looking to Naenia for an answer.

"One for the girls, one for the boys; it made the most sense for me to buy and they also have cages and places so they allow pets as well. I actually got a good deal on the room." The woman answered.

"Now you all know the primary rules for the area but I'll repeat them for business sake. No violence of any kind will be permitted in this area, deadly weapons, powers, and abilities are all sealed away and shut down." Lo explained. "The island is a place for unforgettable experiences. You don't want them to be off with you being thrown out."

"So we're basically normal here right?" Bella asked wondering if it implied her as well due to her unique genetic structure and the Omnitrix.

"Oh yes, powers such as yours Miss Hyna, such as your Omnitrix, we ask you not to activate during your time here. You can't remove it but you also can't use it." Lo answered.

"Rats!" The girl snapped her fingers.

"The numbers you will need for services are on the coffee table as well as minibars are provided so long as you pay the munny fee. We hope you enjoy your stay." Lo bowed before leaving them to help Aetherion.

Shadow then decided to break the silence. "Since the rooms are separate, I'm going to go pick a bed and then change before trying out these white sands. Later guys," He said as he left to claim a room for the guys.

"What's his hurry you think?" DB asked his fellow male.

"There are probably enough beds, why go and try to snag one first?" Key asked him back.

"Um boys" They both turned to a slightly chuckling Naenia. "When I saw the rooms I knew of you three, so the boy's bedroom only has a single bed and a bunk bed. My guess is he took an early peek and decided to claim it." She explained not even trying to hide the humor she felt and the boy's next reaction almost made her explode in laughter.

"THAT BASTARD!" The two then dashed to try their chance at the single bed.

All the girls were laughing as they went to their room. "Naenia-san, I think they would have found out about it eventually but that was…" Illu struggled to finish as she was continuously laughing.

Naenia just gave the girl a happy smile. "Even so, it was a way to get them to go to their room to unpack and leave us girls to our time."

"Might as well meet them outside then nya!" Ravena said after leaving a sign on the other side of the girls' door. She also still had Amaya with her as she set the Usa-Manju down next to Punnya. "Now we all need to dress for the beach vacation!"

Naenia looked at the little Usa-Manju with interest. "And who is this little cutie?" she asked as she gently held her hand out to Amaya who looked at it as she patted the woman's hand a bit with her ears before smiling and hopping on to it. "I thought you were a cat-person Ravena?"

"I am, but Amaya's not mine, she's Shadow's," explained Ravena as she watched Naenia scratch Amaya behind the ears while the baby Usa-Manju squeaked in delight.

Naenia raised her eyebrows as she began rubbing Amaya's head. "You don't say? A tough guy like him with a sweet little darling like this?" she cooed as Amaya gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and bounced back to Punnya who began grooming the young Manju.

Illu, having finished her laughing fit, found a paper on one of their dressers and began to read them out loud. "Beaches, spas, contests, Luaus, this place has a lot of things! Will we be able to try all of them in just two days?" The hybrid girl wondered.

"Hey you just need to know how to manage your time Illu, now come on let's go change and meet them outside! I got a special something I like to try out on the guys while I'm here!" Bella said as she began digging through her bag throwing other articles about.

"I don't agree with her methods but she does have a point; besides…don't you both have someone you want to impress with your swimsuits?" Naenia asked causing the two girls to blush fiercely.

"N-no, n-no-one in pa-particular!" Illu stammered to say.

"I don't know what you're talking about nya!" Ravena defensively said waving her tails about as she averted her eyes.

Naenia smiled knowingly before her eyes gleamed as she advanced on the two. "Whatever you say…now let's look and see what you two are hiding underneath those coats." She said as she pounced on the two girls to 'help' the two change into their suits.

"KYA!"/"NYA!" both girls squealed while Bella still was sorting through her bag.

**(Beach)**

"Man, I can't believe you took the single bed Shads, that was sneaky." DB complained as he stood with the three in their beach-wear. The vampire was clad in only swim trunks that were black with red trim and displayed flame patterns over them; he also had some swim goggles that were strung around his neck at the moment with his hair tied in the back giving him a spiky ponytail. He also carried a red cooler under his arm.

"Why did we come out here before the girls anyway Shadow?" Key asked curiously as he also stood with them on the beach. The usually cloak wearing Beta now was wearing an open sky blue short-sleeve jacket with a white shirt with a blue cartoon key emblem on the front. He had black trunks as well but with just blue strips on the side, a light blue hairband that pushed his fringe back and unlike the vampire he wore sandals.

"To get a good spot before they were taken." Shadow said pointing to where they set up their chairs and towels causing the two boys to face fault into the sand. "Also to avoid paying for the nosebleeds I know would dirty the room when the girls come out." He also answered; Shadow was dressed in blue drawstring trunks with his symbol on the left side and sandals. Although shirtless, he also had his jacket still on despite the hot weather.

"Wow Shads, I didn't know you were that excited to see the girls in their swimwear." DB smirked as he wrapped an arm around the boy only to receive a punch to the jaw.

"Shut up, I was mostly talking about you. Key has two other girls to worry about and you've got Naenia, don't think I didn't notice the whispering and blush from before." Shadow said with causing DB to stammer.

"And there isn't anyone you're even remotely interested in seeing?" Key asked, blushing on how he was dragged into the topic. "Ravena said something about having a surprise ready for you too right?" The Beta asked.

Shadow simply gave a shrug when suddenly-"Pun-Nyaaaaaaaa~~~~!" a familiar mew called out prompting the boys to turn.

It all happened so fast Shadow barely had time to react. All he recalled was seeing a flash of pink before suddenly finding his face buried into a pair of soft lumps as a pair of arms wrapped around his head and a body tackled him to the ground.

"Found you~ Punnya~!" he heard as the boy began struggling to push the now transformed Beast-Manju off.

Key and DB exchanged looks with each other, unsure whether to laugh or be jealous of Shadow's predicament. Hugging the boy in a rather "over-affectionate" way, Punnya was now in her cat-girl form, clearly oblivious that she was smothering Shadow with her…"Lady Lumps".

"Geffum offu muy!" was Shadow's muffled cry as his face was literally glowing red.

"Un-Nya! Punnya, no!" the boys heard Ravena cry as the said girl suddenly dashed in and peeled her pet of a red-faced Shadow who gratefully took in a huge breath of air.

"I'm so sorry Shads, but Punnya got excited and bolted off before us-nya!" apologized Ravena as she held a chibi Punnya by the scruff of her neck as the pink cat-girl smiled obliviously while her two tails waved about.

"Ravena-chan! Did you get her?" asked Illu as she came up from behind with the other girls.

"Hai~desunya~!"

Now it took a while for the oxygen to get back to Shadow's brain but just as soon as his vision cleared he noticed Key had widened his eyes and was blushing a bit while DB was rendered speechless with his mouth hanging open a bit.

Initially curious, Shadow turned his head and realized that the girls had arrived in their beach-wear.

Bella was wearing an army green sports bra with thin yellow and brown horizontal stripes and camouflage drawstring trunks. She had released her long hair from her ponytail and held back her fringe with a yellow bandanna and wore a pair of black sunglasses. Strapped to her back was a large black and green water gun with a yellow container.

Shadow's eyes popped open particularly when he saw Illu's and Ravena's new appearances.

Ravena had one a bright red one-piece swimsuit that matched that was similar to the shirt she usually wore with her trademark black collar and golden bell. The girl had brushed her hair into to ponytails and tied them with red bands that matched the two red hair-clips that held her fringe up. Under her arm, Ravena held a black surf-board with a red trim and her symbol adorning the front.

Illu stood next to her best friend wearing a one-piece swimsuit as well except it was light-blue and designed differently with dark blue lining. Slung on her left arm was a large dark blue beach bag with white accents and strap while a purple transparent wrap was tied around her waist in a short sarong. A big brown sun-hat with a purple ribbon sat on her head with Mukurowl perching on top.

DB in particular was checking out Naenia's form in her Chinese inspired two-piece swimsuit. It had a white Chinese collar with yellow buttons and purple and yellow trimming while the rest of the outfit was black. Although Naenia was not wearing her usual purple lipstick it did not dampen her stunning beauty one bit, especially with the red hibiscus she wore in her hair by her left ear.

Naenia smiled coyly at the boys. "So, boys. Like you what see?"

Key simply swallowed and nodded slightly and closed DB's open hanging mouth while the vampire blinked a few times. "Uh-huh…." Said DB dumbly much to the girls' amusement.

Shadow was finally able to compose himself as he gave a small cough. "Well…it's not bad…" he mumbled while averting his eyes, poorly covering up the blush on his face. "Hey where's Amaya?" he asked quickly changing the subject.

Ravena smiled proudly. "That's your surprise! Bring her out Punnya!" she called.

Punnya, who wore a simple pink bikini smiled and saluted as she walked over to a nearby tree and brought out a shy looking little bunny-girl who was hiding there. The child appeared to be around 5- 6 years old with shoulder-length blackish-blue hair and matching ears that flopped on either side of her face. The child wore a pink bathing suit with white straps and matching skirt with a red bow on her front and matching colored lines running down the side.

If it weren't for the familiar ear-cuff adorning the girl's right ear and her blue and white heterochromatic eyes, the boys would probably have not recognized the true identity of the child.

"Amaya?" asked the boys unsurely.

The girl smiled as she blushed and nodded her head vigorously before she trotted up to Shadow and twirled about a bit before looking at her "father" expectantly.

"You look great Amaya," complimented Shadow as he smiled and rubbed the child's head lovingly. The small girl smiled, happy to know he liked her outfit. After they had their moment Ravena decided to explain.

"While we were training in magic Punnya decided to try and teach Amaya some tricks of her own. While she may have this form, unfortunately she can't speak because of her age." Ravena explained. "So she's basically mute nya."

"Either way this is some surprise," Shadow said as they all gathered. "Now that all the shocks are out of the way, we are on a beach so let's go out and have fun." He said as they all looked out at the vast sand, surf, and ocean waiting for them.

"Yeah, I got this new toy to try out!" Bella smiled as she took the item she had into her hands.

Key took notice of the gun in the toon girl's hands. "Hey Bella what are you doing with that? No weapons allowed on the beach, you'll get us kicked out." The Beta reminded her.

"Chillax Key it's not a real gun, it's this cool state of the art water gun that I bought while we were all out shopping for bathing suits. I need to have my fun some way since I can't use any of my powers or pranking tools." Bella explained as she rubbed the gun against her face and let a mischievous look grace her face.

"Right, just don't go overboard and end up in trouble." Key sweat-dropped and with that he was suddenly gone in a blur of sand leaving everyone else confused on the boy's disappearance.

"Someone tell me I'm not the only one to see that." DB asked seeing the large dust cloud.

"You're not, but trying to guess what happened would take too much time and it's too much hassle." Naenia answered as she took DB's hand. "Now come on, we don't want to waste anymore sunlight and you promised to give me a hand with something."

"Uh…. sure that's right!" DB said as he allowed Naenia to lead the way to their spot.

Seeing him being led away Shadow just shrugged. "Guess we can go our separate ways now, I'll be here waiting at our spot. I'm not in any hurry to get wet." The leader of Kurotsubasa said.

"So you'll keep an eye on things nya?" Ravena asked.

"Yeah unless someone else is going to be sitting down here with me" Shadow said as he began to set up his beach towel and rest some things down like a large basket and a parasol. "I have everything under control and was able to get this setup whenever everyone gets tired." He then turned to Amaya so that he can pat her head playfully. "And I can't really go far and leave Amaya unsupervised."

"Already being a responsible parent aren't you nya?" Ravena teased him. "Well I'm going to try the water, come on Punnya!" The nekomata said as she began dragging the now human Manju with her by the tails as she struggled to get a grip on the sand by digging her claws.

"Nuuuuuuu~! But I want to stay here-PUN!"

"And cause trouble? No way!"

"SHA-DOOOOOOOOOOOW~…!" wailed Punnya as Ravena dragged her through the sand.

As the remaining three watch as Ravena dragged Punnya away, Illu just took a seat in the chair next to the parasol. "I'll just stay here and keep you company. That way you wouldn't be the only one watching our things." The hybrid said as she took off her hat now that she was in some shade. Mukurowl flew off and landed on one of the arm-rests on the chair as Nyoka took the time to sunbath out on the hot sand.

"Finally, a place for me to warm up after that cold trip to this area" Nyoka said causing Illu to giggle. Seeing that Shadow just shrugged and let Amaya go off to play in the sand; he then lay down on the towel out in the sun after taking off his jacket.

"Fine by me then, the more the merrier." Shadow said as he closed his eyes.

"Well then, I hope you don't mind if we join you as well."

Shadow opened his eyes and Illu turned to see the new arrivals; the sight then made Illu light up in embarrassment. "Chocobo, what are you doing here? Didn't you guys go off to find your room?"

"We did and then we decided to come out here, it was just…coincidence that we saw you both here and we decided to take the free space." Aeon said as he and Ganymede set up their spot to rest on the beach.

Aeon had on sandals and a pair of black trunks with a white dragon design that worked its way across contrasting on the black fabric. The Dragoon of Aetherion was also bare-chested with his hair still tied up in its signature style.

"By coincidence, he means he had me track down where you two were." Ganymede said bluntly causing the Dragoon of Aetherion to facefault as he was opening the parasol they brought. The normally masked member of Aetherion had forgone his mask so his face was visible to show his pale skin, slender face and electric blue eyes. On his head was a brown bucket hat with a blue strip in the center helping to keep him out the sun, out the back ran his surprisingly long turquoise hair that led down his back and tied at the end in a ponytail. Ganymede also had on a large turquoise kimono and brown obi that covered his body along with sandals.

"You're seriously that paranoid?" Shadow asked as Aeon rose himself from out of the sand.

"Well you are out here alone with my little sister in her bathing suit so why wouldn't I be paranoid. Who knows what you or anyone else's intentions are towards her." Aeon said after brushing the sand off his body.

Illu picked up her hat and tried to hide her face with it out of embarrassment. "Chocobo, it's not like that at all. Shadow offered to stay here first and watch our stuff so I decided to keep him company. I didn't feel like swimming at the time."

"Hmm" Aeon said as he then sat down on his towel as Ganymede rested underneath the shade provided by the parasol. "Well keeping an eye on you isn't the only reason I'm here; we also needed to get away from Sol's antics."

"What did Sol-nii do?" Illu asked. As if to answer her question, a blast of water came out of nowhere aimed at Ganymede only for the robed man to dodge causing the spray to hit Aeon and get him wet. The rest of them then looked to where the water came from and saw Sol with a red and yellow water gun.

"Darn it! I missed, even without our powers on this beach you're still good at running and dodging Gany." Sol said seeing he had missed his once sitting target.

"Just give up Sol, there's no way you can hit me with that." Ganymede said while tipping his hat.

"Not a chance, there's no force in this area that can make me give up this mission." Sol said eagerly pumping his gun with a sinister look on his face.

"You wanna bet?"

Everyone then looked to Shadow who was pointing to something behind Sol. The Salamander only had a split second to get out the way of a large torrent of water, Sol then turned to see the insane smile on Bella's face as she was preparing for another burst. "So… you think you can start a water war on my beach without me noticing, now that sounds like a challenge to me!" Bella said, almost done and ready to take another shot.

"You might want to run…" Aeon advised as he dried himself off. "Before I hold you down so that she has an easier target." With that a chibi Sol ran off trying to look for cover as an equally crazy and chibi toon-girl chased after him trying to take aim with her gun.

"Come back here and fight like a man!" Bella yelled.

"Easy for you to say!" Sol yelled, making a horrible mistake and had to dive out the wave of another torrent. As the two of them played hit and run both sides of Kurotsubasa and Aetherion were taking silent bets on who would win.

"Eat this, Flame Boy!" yelled Bella blasting out a fury of water blasts at Sol.

"Gah! Mercy! Mercy!"

"Sorry! Fresh Out!"

**(With Ravena)**

Meanwhile, Ravena stood on the beach with her surf-board planted in the sand to her right while Punnya stood next to her staring at the giant waves rather apprehensively.

Ravena inhaled the sea air as she felt the cool summer sea breeze blowing through her hair. "Ah~! Just look at that awesome surf out there, Punnya~!"

Punnya shuddered as she got hit by a bit of the spray. "Yeah….awesome….."

"Well, well….I thought that tasteless shade of red seemed familiar…" said a new voice from behind that Ravena knew all too well.

"Hi Rosie…." Greeted the girl bluntly as she turned around and looked at her old rogue mate.

Rose gave a little smile in greeting. Like Ravena, Rose wore a one-piece black swimsuit with red lines accenting the sides under her usual sleeveless blue hoodie. Her long hair was also tied up into a side ponytail to the left of her head. Coincidentally, Rose also was holding a surfboard under her arm that she planted in the sand next to Ravena's. It was a dark blue with a crimson flaming border with a picture of crossed daggers decorated the front.

Punnya was looking particularly excited when she spied who was coming up behind her. "MAAAA-ZYYYY~!" she called excitedly as she ran up to her boyfriend and threw her arms around the tiger's neck.

Mazareth growled affectionately as he nuzzled against his girlfriend's face. _"Hey,"_ he rumbled as Punnya planted kisses on his nose.

"Ugh, get a room you two!" scoffed Rose as she rolled her eyes to Ravena. "So if you're here I guess that means, _**he's**_ here too."

"And the rest of the guild," confirmed Ravena. "So what gives, Rosie? I'm pretty sure you're not the vacation type."

Suddenly Rose blushed and immediately frowned looking incredibly flustered. "D-don't be ridiculous! I'm just here to train that's all!"

Ravena appeared unconvinced. "Uh-huh….whatever you say…" she replied when she felt a hand rub her hears causing the girl to purr and smile. "I know that hand~nya!"

"Looking good Rave~!" greeted a certain pony-tailed, white haired boy. Grim was shirtless wearing a pair of Akatsuki printed trunks and had a red bandanna tied around his head.

"Grim!" said Ravena happily as she turned around and playfully punched the guy in the arm.

"I see Rose found you," he noted glancing over to the red haired girl who rolled her eyes again. "When she heard that Shadow was coming over here she practically drag-"

"SHUT IT GRIM!" snapped Rose whose face had completely gone red.

"Speaking of shadows, where's PG-nya?"

Grim answered by simply tugging on a chain he apparently had been holding. Ravena then looked down sweat-dropped when she saw said shade was tied up in chains and was also constricted by two black inner-tubes. He was dressed exactly like Grim but with a black bandanna, but unlike Grim, Doppelman had a look that could turn milk sour.

"Don't ask," said Grim.

"Wasn't gonna….." Replied Ravena, raising her eyebrows.

"Hey! If isn't Ravena!" a new voice exclaimed at a distance.

"Rave-chan~!" called another voice cheerfully, this time female prompting the group to turn.

DP in particular suddenly lit up again with hearts in his eyes as he saw the blond beauty coming their way.

Ravena smiled and waved at the familiar face. "Zephyrus! Saphir!" she called back as the two members of Aetherion walked over to them.

Zephyrus was wearing his trademark yellow scarf along with a tan colored shirt bearing a yellow hurricane and brownish gray boxers. His goggles could be seen on his head, glinting in the sunlight while he held his skyboard under his arm.

Hanging on to his arm was the lovely wolf demon Saphir who wore a stunning tan-colored bikini showed off her cleavage, obviously to match Zephyrus with a decorative medallion and matching bandages around her ankles.

"Rose, Grim, meet Zephyrus and Saphir-Heart. They're from a guild called Aetherion, located in the Asian Server. They're Illu's….very close friends-nya" introduced Ravena to the bounty hunters.

"Hi~!" said Saphir perkily.

"Zephy, Saphi, these are my friends, BloodXForXMyXRose and Mister Grim," she introduced the bounty hunters in turn. "And that drooling little Grim look-alike is Doppelman, a Shade…"

"_Watch out for that one, he's a slippery fellow,"_ Ravena whispered that last bit to the two Aetherions as Grim smacked DP on the head.

"Behave yourself," Grim said warningly.

"_**But Grim….fish gotta swim…."**_ Whined DP before a warning look from Rose caused him to shrink back in fear.

Zephyrus happened to spy the two surf-boards by the girls and smiled. "Hey, you girls were planning to surf too?"

"My…what gave it away…?" Muttered Rose sarcastically. "Too? I don't see your surf-board."

"Its right here!" said the wind-user as he pressed a button on his board, causing it to glow and instantly transform into a long white surf-board. "So how bout' it girls? A little contest with the Surf-Master? First one to wipe out buys shaved ice!" he challenged as he pulled

Rose and Ravena exchanged looks with each other and smirked. "You're on!" they both said as Rose removed her hoodie and tossed it onto Grim's face while Zephyrus took off his scarf and shirt, much to the utter delight of Saphir who took the clothes eagerly as a wagging tail appeared behind her.

The two girls quickly grabbed their boards and got ready while Zephyrus donned his goggles and took his place right next to the girls. "Saphir?" called the wind user.

"HAI~!" answered the wolf girl excitedly as she raised her hand. "On your marks! Get, Set! SURF!" she piped prompting the trio to dash into the ocean and begin paddling on their boards. "Good Luck, Zephy-sama~!"

"Show him how it's done Girls!" cheered Grim while DP whistled in encouragement.

It didn't take long for the trio to encounter a gigantic wave as they flipped their boards around and began riding it like pros.

"NYA! ALRIGHT!" cheered Ravena as she and Rose surfed the wave tube.

"WHOO!" whooped Rose as well, obviously enjoying herself while Zephyrus rode the top of the wave.

Meanwhile amidst all the excitement, no one had noticed Mazareth and Punnya had decided to wander off on a date. As the surfers made their way back to shore they notice the lack of audience due to the pets disappearance.

"Of all things, those two must have run off somewhere again!" Rose said noticing that Mazareth wasn't there. The raving bounty huntress took her jacket back from Grim as she tried to look around for the tiger and manju if need be.

"Relax Rosie, Let the two sweethearts have a little 'Alone' time. I'm sure that those two wouldn't go out to cause any trouble." Ravena said knowing that they have to reappear at some point. "Still…I didn't know you had skills on a board." The catgirl complimented her.

"I can say the same thing about you as well," Zephyrus said getting their attention as he stood by Saphir, who had hearts in her eyes while her tail wagged happily at Zephyrus's wet shirtless appearance. "I don't usually have much competition to go by, it's nice to see someone who can keep up; even though it's not the air." As the three of them continued on talking about their boards and their tricks, Saphir was able to point out something in the far distance.

"Hey what is that, it looks like…a stage?" Saphir said redirecting them all to the stage setup and curtains close to the boardwalk on the beach. "What's something like that doing here?"

Grim took an eye at the stage and began to explain. "That's for the Ember Island Beauty Contest event they're having today, girls sign up and try to earn the title. They get a special item and the title of Ember Empress during their time here."

"How do you know so much about that?" Rose asked.

"I had some missions where I would have to run 'Pervert Patrol' for the Inn's hot-springs and I heard about it while I was working. It's a tradition they do the beginning of every summer, a way to get more tourists to come here." Grim explained. After that was said, Saphir had sparkles in her eyes while Ravena and Rose looked indifferent.

"Do you have any idea what the item is?" Saphir asked.

"It changes every year, though most of the time it's one of the rare gems that can only be found in this area." Grim answered. "The only way to get one is to win anyway, there's no other way to find these gems."

That was all Saphir needed to hear as she then wrap her arm around Zephyrus and proceeded to drag him towards the stage and the gathering crowd. "Come on Zephy-sama, be sure to root for me so that I can win and take the prize home!" The wolf girl said already having visions of jewels and gems in mind.

"Wait, why do I need to go?!" Zephyrus asked as he tried in vain to squeeze out of her grip as she dragged him off through the sand.

After the two were gone Grim decided to ask to the girls. "So are you two also going to enter?"

"I think I'll pass on this on Grimmy." Ravena answered, not interested in the contest.

"As much as it surprises me, I'm with the cat on this one. If I win it would just end up being a mere trinket that I'll just sell it for a pretty penny or trade it with someone." Rose said, not caring a bit about the contest.

"Well, well, it seems you two have a lot of sense to know when you'll be beaten. You made the right choice staying out of the contest, especially you kitten…" said person approached the group.

The three of them turned to witness their guest but then they were shocked to see who it was. The woman that approached had long dark purple hair and malevolent purple eyes. She had fair skin and wore a pink ribbon in her hair and a black two-piece swimsuit with pink trims and decorations inspired from a sailor fuku.

Ravena narrowed her eyes and gave out a not so silent hiss as she remembered who the girl was. "Sakura… what is someone like you doing here?"

Sakura smiled coyly, hoping to rile the nekomata's fur. "I came to see what all the talk about this area was about. I got to say, sand, water, a few waves…it doesn't take much for you people to relieve your boredom." The girl said. "As for my personal reasons; it's to enter that contest and leave with the gem. Also to claim my rightful title as Ember Empress."

"And how do you know it is a gem?" Grim asked as he also kept Doppelman away from the evil player.

"A little researching and surveillance, and the gem for this year's winner is said to increase one's magical abilities. A treasure like that can only belong in my hands." Sakura said. "So you'd best to stay out of a fight you can't win."

"You said the same thing at the Eclipse Tournament," Ravena reminded with a smirk as she placed her hands on her hips. "Now who was it that won that match again?" taunted the cat girl causing Sakura to scoff and glare at the catgirl.

"That battle was one thing, but if I have to show you your place then it's only fitting that it should be in a contest of beauty!" Sakura said flipping her long hair as the two proceeded to glare at each other with static flying about.

"Well, while you two bicker, I'm going to sign up!" That comment caused the two girls to stare at Rose who was walking off while Grim and DP look at the girl in confusion.

Before anyone could ask Rose stopped to explain her reasons. "What? I still have a score to settle with you Boobcat, so I'm not going to let this hag beat you before I do. Besides, better me than that Bringer of Destruction bitch walking off with that gem." Rose explained.

The three girls then narrowed their eyes as they stood in a triple face-off. It could the boys' eyes playing tricks on them, but they could have sworn they saw a snarling cat, a growling tiger and a spitting cobra poised to strike where Ravena, Rose and Sakura once stood. Trick or not, Grim knew the best thing to do was to not get caught in a cat-fight crossfire as he took one giant step back.

Doppelman however, was not so wise as he unwittingly got closer to the group.

"Butt out, little girl! Let the real women fight," snarled Sakura as she took a step forward, unaware that she had stepped on Doppelman's head, forcing it into the sand.

"Oh please, like a grandma like you has a chance of winning?" retorted Rose as she took a step on DP as well who's silent screams of pain were only heard by Grim who already was beginning to pray for the shade.

"You're right, the only one with a chance of winning is me-nya!" declared Ravena with smirk as she also stomped on DP who by now was already one with the sand.

"As if!" snapped the other two as the trio resumed their face-off as they angrily stomped DP harder into the ground making Grim wince from his spot.

"THE BATTLE BEGINS NOW!" declared all three girls as they did one final stomp and smashed DP into a small crater before they all made a dash to the stage.

Grim watched the girls disappear into the distance before he walked over to the hole where a white flag could be seen waving. The boy slowly looked into the hole before recoiling in horror.

"YEEE!" he grimaced in disgust at the damage, which for our readers' sake we shall not described so as to spare you from nightmares and to keep your last meal down.

**(Scene Change)**

"I can't believe Sakura dragged me all the way out here; all this place has is sand, sand, some water, and then more sand! This place is boring!" The bundle of destruction, Raiden, raved on as he was stuck wandering the beach after his 'partner' ended up ditching him for some old rivalry. The small boy was wearing a pair of electric blue trunks with small yellow thunderbolts decorating them along with the orange water wings he wore on his arms.

"Just great…Sakura's most likely gone off to start fights and the rookie went and ditched me…I should've stayed back home." As he continued to walk in boredom he suddenly spied a large pile of sand stacked up, half of it being converted into some kind of building.

"Who built this?" Raiden asked aloud, tilting his head slightly. As he kept looking around the sand building in process Raiden stumbled and fell on his face. A shadow was suddenly cast over the boy as he felt someone poke him.

"Hey quit it!" snapped Raiden suddenly sitting up when he found himself staring face to face with a pair of huge surprised sparkly pair of blue and white eyes. The owner of the eyes was a young bunny-girl with large black bunny ears, who had porcelain skin and naturally pink cheeks. Before the boy could realize it, his heart had begun to race as color flooded to his cheeks.

While the boy stayed frozen and flustered, Amaya tilted her head a little in confusion before shrugging and returned to her building with a new bucket of water.

After a while, her ears then twitched alerting her to turn and noticed she still had an audience, the bunny-girl tilted her head seeing Raiden standing still. Once Raiden realized she was staring at him he got even more flustered and scratched his head while giving her a crooked smile.

"Oh sorry, I was just walking around and saw your sand castle. Yeah, that's it!" Raiden said with an embarrassed laugh.

Amaya blinked a little in confusion and suddenly walked up to Raiden and handed him a purple bucket. Raiden looked at her confused until she gestured for him to come and play with her before sitting down to play in the sand. Raiden nervously sat down with her and began to awkwardly pat some sand in place. Amaya then looked from the sand to Raiden's blushing face.

"So I-I'm Raiden, what's your name?" The still blushing boy asked.

"…?" Amaya pointed you herself.

Raiden nodded, "Yeah, your name."

Amaya had a sad look on her face as she struggled to answer the question. As she continued to think Raiden thought back to how she didn't speak before; the boy then smiled scratching behind his head awkwardly causing Amaya to look confused.

"I get it…you can't talk." Raiden said bluntly. "Well…I gotta call you something…." He thought out loud when he glanced at Amaya's bunny ears. "How 'bout I call you…Mimi, because of your ears! Will that work?"

(Translation: Mimi means "Ears" in Japanese)

Amaya then looked up at her ears and then giggled a bit before nodding causing Raiden to blush once more and get flustered. In his flustered-ness, Raiden accidently slipped and fell into the sand causing the building to collapse. Amaya gasped and showed a look of disappointment until Raiden quickly got up even more flustered than before.

"Ah! I'm Sorry! I'm Sorry! I didn't mean too!" sputtered Raiden in panic while waving his arms about wildly. 'Aaah…..what's happening to me?!'

Upon seeing the boy's flustered expression and antics, Amaya couldn't help herself as she began laughing in amusement making Raiden all confused.

Suddenly Amaya got up and went over to the boy as she began dusting the sand off him with her hands and ears before patting his head with a reassuring smile as if to say "It's ok".

The color still did not leave the boy's face as he looked at Amaya still confused. "Y-you're not mad?" he asked curiously prompting the girl to frown and suddenly place her hands on his cheeks as she stretched his face into a smile while he squealed a little in pain. With that, Amaya released his cheeks with a satisfied smile as she gestured him to help her rebuild the castle.

"Ok…"said Raiden shyly as he rubbed his cheeks before he sitting down once more and resumed patting sand back into place.

While he did, Raiden stole a glance at Amaya who cheerfully upturned a bucket of sand on top of the mound when she suddenly noticed the boy's eyes on her. Amaya blinked a little before she tilted her and gave him a pure innocent smile causing Raiden's face to suddenly explode in red as he quickly looked down at the sand and fidgeted a bit. Amaya giggled in amusement before returning to her work leaving Raiden sitting there with his face glowing like a red beacon while steam could actually be seen rising out from his hair. After the blond recovered they steadily went to work on rebuilding the large sand castle.

**(Scene Change)**

All across the beach; the beach goers heard the event alarms and banners telling them that the contest was beginning now. As all the vacationers gathered at the stage, the host of the events then began to introduce the event.

"Guys and Gals, welcome to the Annual Ember Empress Contest!" Malachite said exciting the crowd though he did get a surprised look from a few of the onlookers; mostly from Shadow and Illu as they stood with Aeon and Ganymede in the crowd. "These eight beautiful ladies were randomly selected from the entries to show their stuff to you! Yes, you the audience are the judge for this completion as they compete for your approval!"

"Illu, can I ask how one of your brothers is allowed to MC a beauty pageant; especially that one?" Shadow asked in wonder while the rest of the crowd began to feel pumped up by the blonde's words.

"I don't really know, Mal-nii always had ways of finding pay and gaining munny but I had no idea hosting was one of them," Illu said, equally as confused as her friend.

"Malachite may be a flirt sometimes, but he's one of the few that doesn't have women calling for his blood in the next five seconds." Ganymade explained. "As a matter of fact; when we needed the funds to build our headquarters since it was Malachite's idea to create a 'Host Club' from our old spot that brought in the most munny for the project."

"I still have nightmares about that day; I never knew how many fans we had until he came up with that plan." Aeon groaned. "However; he could also be up there to be eye-candy for the women not competing." As he spoke, they saw that Malachite was shirtless, showing his muscled chest, and was only in his bluish-green tropical swim shorts with black drawstrings. Malachite continued to talk sometimes accompanied by sparkles causing both members of Aetherion to groan.

"W-well, Mal-nii was always popular with the women back at home." Illu sweatdropped.

"So, let's get the show started and bring out all the competitors one by one!" Malachite said as the screen at the top of the stage played fanfare as it displayed the image of a golden bell with black wings on it.

"Contestant number 1 lives in the ever popular Tokyo City! Her magic may make you tremble and her claws might scare you but her charm and smile will have you all drop to your feet!"

"Don't tell me…" Shadow said.

"Here she is, Ravena Felidae!" Malachite said as a spotlight came down illuminating the neko for all to see.

Ravena walked forward with a smile on her face as she waved to the crowd. "Minnya! Be sure to cheer for me guys! Nyaaa!" She called out to the crowd with bright eyes and a sparkling smile, instantly hitting the crowd with moe. As she leaned forward and winked, several men instantly passed out with nosebleeds or blushing fiercely at the cute catgirl; even those who were unconscious clapped for her.

"Looks like Ravena-chan is a popular pick." Illu said, clapping for her best friend.

"I'll admit she has charm." Ganymede said.

"She has more than that, seeing how most of the guys are passed out like that…Aeon included." Shadow said with a subtle but visible blush on his face but he still clapped in support for Ravena.

"Niisan-no-baka…." Illu added bluntly as she looked down to see her brother passed out with a blood fountain spurting from his nose.

"He'll come to, just leave him be." Ganymede advised them as the announcer kept going.

"From that cheer looks like you're a fan favorite, but she's just the first of a whole lineup of beauties." Malachite reminded them as Ravena left the stage. "Onto Contestant #2! She may spend her time in the lab but this smart girl sure doesn't lack in beauty; the technical marvel RinaMelody!"

The spotlight then came down on Rina as she gave a modest wave to the crowd as well, though her eyes and attention was towards one person specifically. The Analyst was dressed in a white two-piece set with red suns decorating them similar to the hairpin she wore. "This isn't really my thing, but be gentle with me ok everyone?" Rina said with a smile like that of the sun receiving applause from the crowd.

"So that's what happened to them…." Illu stated.

"They kidnapped Key and needed an excuse to model in front of him; problem is where did they have him prisoner?" Shadow asked.

"If you can call being held by two girls who are attracted to you being held prisoner." Ganymede said.

"They're competitive"

"I see."

"With those lovely words from her, we have to change phase's people. If Rina is the sun, then she is definitely the moon, the Admin who steps down and joins the world of Players. Contestant #3 is Cast49!"

Cast stood on stage slightly blushing from the introduction she received; she stood shyly in the spotlight as she addressed the crowd. The Admin was dressed in a white one piece with blue moons decorating her swimsuit that was clearly to match Rina's with her hair braided. "Um, this really wasn't my thing so please don't judge me so harshly." Cast said bashfully with a slight blush on her cheeks, not really wanting to be on stage. As the people clapped for her Shadow noticed another familiar face in the crowd.

The person wore a white and blue sleeveless hoodie over a white singlet with dark blue shorts with a white line tracing down the sides. With his long hair tied in a loose ponytail and sunglasses shading his eyes, there was no mistaking that particular person as Shadow walked up from behind.

"Shouldn't you be watching over an area or doing some Admin duties Leon?" Shadow asked seeing a man with long white hair jump in surprise that he was so easily spotted.

The once armored Admin Guard regained his composure and coughed a bit before turning around to Shadow.

"Ridiculous as ever, Shadow. It is also the duty of an Admin Guard Captain to watch over his Admin," stated Leon in a matter-of-fact tone as he pushed up his shades.

"Oh I can see you're watching Cast alright…." Said Shadow with a smirk while folding his arms as he watched Leon stumble for a brief moment before regaining his composure and pushing up his glasses once more.

"Well what pray-tell are you doing here; finding a way to cause some trouble I bet?" Leon said as he tried to change the topic quickly.

"Just a change of scenery, we're here on vacation. And besides what harm can we possibly cause without our powers here?" Shadow asked almost sarcastically as it was rhetorically.

"Knowing your group, a lot" Leon answered as their attention was brought back to the announcer.

"That's just a sample of her legendary modesty, but we still have a good plethora of women to show you all!" Malachite said and began to introduce the next one. "Here she is, to some of you she may seem plain but she's as bright as the constellations she carries; she brings a new meaning to 'the girl next door!' Here she comes…TurquoisePeanutButter, TPB everyone!"

TPB was now on stage happy in receiving the cheers from the crowd. The girl had chosen to wear a two-piece purple swimsuit where the top wrapped around her neck right under the key she always wore. Her hair was also tied up using barrettes. As the girl got some cheers, she blew some air kisses from her rose colored lips.

"Thanks for your support everyone!" TPB said as she was waving out to the crowd.

"Guess it's easier to perform on stage if the one you want to impress is tied up somewhere and forced to watch you." Shadow said.

"I hope Key-kun is alright…." Illu said worriedly.

Shadow shrugged, "I'm sure he'll be fine, those two haven't killed him yet." He still looked at the stage in confusion. "Still who else is still up on the stage?"

"Malachite said eight girls signed up and that girl was the fourth so we still have four other girls to go through." Ganymede said.

Malachite then ended the applause as TPB left the stage. "Looks like you guys are all enjoying yourselves but we've only just reached the halfway point! For instance Contestant #5 is a bombshell in her own right, I should know because I'm in a guild with her so good thing my votes don't matter!"

"And speaking of girls, I think I guessed the next one." Aeon sweatdropped.

"Ho….I see your back up already, Baka Ecchi-Niisan…." Stated Illu bluntly as she eyeballed Aeon who flinched in pain as a boulder with "Baka Ecchi-Niisan" inscribed on it fell out of the sky and landed directly on his head.

"She hails from the Server of the Rising Sun though she is just as much a beauty as the rest of world's women. This girl's a wolf on hunt whose fur sparkles like diamonds, everyone hands for Saphir Heart!" Just as Aeon finished introductions, Saphir cheerfully walked to the stage inspiring claps.

"I'm a one Zephy-woman, so please don't hold this against me." Saphir teased with large puppy dog eyes that instantly drew in more blushes and cheers from the crowd.

"That will be tough to be, I think Rave was the only other who ended up with the same amount of cheers…and nosebleeds." Illu said as she clapped for her guild sister.

"I think it's because if you're a specific type of beast avatar you get more points to charm, then again some are just naturally moe like Ravena." Shadow guessed. "Whose next, they must be running out of personalities to show.

"This girl's a fiery redhead with her eyes on the price, trust me this girl knows what she wants and isn't afraid to fight for it!" Malachite said causing Shadow's eyes to widen.

"Wait don't tell me…" Shadow said.

"Here she is, red as roses herself, BloodxForxMyxRose!" At that call, Rose had walked out into the stage. He arms were wrapped in front of her as she tried to avoid looking at the crowd, revealing her face had a light shade of pink.

"B-baka! Who told you to give me an introduction like that?!" Rose yelled, still embarrassed. As her blush increased she also unintentionally gotten a few more claps from the audience who was digging the "Tsundere" quality.

"R-Rose-san is up there too?" Illu said in realization.

Ganymede looked to Illu. "So you two know that girl? All I know about is that she's a bounty hunter from this Server; has she planned an attack on you guys."

"It's a long story; I'll tell you when the crowd stops cheering for the tsundere on stage." Shadow quickly tilted his head to avoid a slipper hitting him; he looked back up at the stage meeting Rose's eyes and smiled as he clapped embarrassing the girl more.

"T-that…" Rose said under her breath as she left the stage to hide her face which now matched her hair.

"Well folks, we get all types on this stage…even Tsundere ones!" Malachite; however, was not as sharp as Rose's other slipper met his head causing him to buckle in pain. "Ouch…got it, only one guy can call you that." Before he faced any retaliation Ravena quickly appeared and held Rose back before she could hurt the announcer and in turn get kicked out.

Rose quickly cast Malachite a threatening look before finally walking off with Ravena. The MC sweat-dropped briefly as he got the message. "Ooookay…moving on to Contestant Number #7! She calls herself the Goddess of Beauty! The Mistress of Magic! The Damsel of Discord! She is Sakura!"

A quick hush falls over the crowd as said person casually paraded on the stage as she looked on the crowd haughtily. "You needn't trouble yourselves with a decision boys for your real Empress already stands before you! OHOHOHO…~!" declared Sakura with a haughty laugh as she flipped her hair.

"So they're here too." Shadow said narrowing his eyes.

"Just lowly criminals taking advantage of this area; unfortunately, thanks to the no conflict zone they cannot even be arrested. I have to make sure to get them as soon as they leave the area." Leon said. As the two contemplated there were numbers in the crowd that were applauding her. "Do any of them even remember the damage they caused?"

"Well I believe that someone else showed up to be the bigger threat." Aeon said as Illu then clutched her chest where her heart would be. "A threat that I still want to rectify, as soon as I find those CHAOS bastards."

"Aeon-niisan," Illu said sadly as they all looked to see Sakura leave the stage. "Still to think someone like Sakura could get some support from this crowd."

"It helps when most of them are hot-blooded guys and the swimsuit she has." Ganymede commented. "It's shame, but that's how it works some guys can't resist a girl in a swimsuit."

"Hear that, eyes away from Illu."

"Chocobo!"

"Says the one who passed out in a nosebleed moments before."

"…Shut up Ganymede….."

"And now for our final contestant…a write in candidate who seems to come from out of nowhere. She may be number 8, but she has nine lives; the beautiful kitten Punnya!" Malachite announced. Shadow and Illu's eyes widened in shock as Punnya walked out to the stage in Nekomimi form instantly getting cheers and wolf-whistles from the crowd.

"That's the same girl who greeted us at your guild's base." Ganymede said, remembering Punnya.

"And she has the same name of your best friend's pet, what are the odds of that? Maybe she's a fan of hers." Aeon said.

"Um…" Illu tried to work out a way to explain only to see Shadow shake his head in exasperation.

"We'll explain later Illu." He said as he awkwardly clapped for Punnya.

The cat-girl stood there on stage and looked to crowd blinking a bit in confusion. She didn't know what was happening but she was enjoying the attention. "Punnya~!" was all it took for Punnya to say followed by a big innocent smile.

Suddenly it was like a switch turned on for everyone, guys and girls, whose eyes suddenly brightened and turned into hearts as Punnya's appeal suddenly struck them like lightning bolts. It wasn't flirty, sexy, or any kind of appeal act. Punnya just possessed a natural, pure, bright innocence that waved on to the crowd with little effort.

"_**Kya...KYA-WAIII…~~~!" **_everybody chorused in unison as Punnya waved before walking off stage.

"Wow….go Punnya…." Was all Shadow could in amazement at the effect Punnya had.

Illu cupped her face as she squealed at Punnya's cuteness when she suddenly heard a thud next to her. Looking down, Illu sweat-dropped once more when she saw that Aeon had passed out again with a red face and a goofy smile while pink hearts and kittens were prancing about in a circle above his head.

"Good grief, Gany-niisan -wait! Are you _**blushing**_?" Illu wanted to call out to her other brother when she noticed that even the very stoic Ganymede had lowered his hat on his head to cover his face. The hat however failed to cover his ears which were glowing a bright pink.

"N-no it's just…the weather must be getting to me; I'm going to go sit back underneath the parasol." Ganymede said leaving to try and cover more of his face leaving Illu to sweatdrop at the reactions her brothers were having towards the Neko Manju.

'Good thing they don't know Punnya-chan is just a Neko-Manju.' The girl thought with a sigh. "Well it looks like Punnya won this one."

"Seeing the crowd I don't see why not, though what she'll do with the prize is a mystery." Shadow said. "I'll help move Aeon back with you to our spot; after that I'm going to go back and look for Amaya."

"Amaya-chan has been off on her own for a while, has Ravena-chan told you how long the transformation will hold for her?" Illu asked.

"Well Amaya-chan isn't like Punnya but Ravena said she does have some good magic potential. If it's anything like when Punnya first changed then it would be sometime over an hour." Shadow said as he grabbed Aeon by his foot and proceeded to drag him across the sand. "Let's go, we'll all meet up soon before heading back to our room."

"Hai" Illu said before following after the two.

Backstage with the other contestants some were happy that Punnya won as Malachite placed a tiara on Punnya's head as well presenting her with the first place prize while others were less than enthusiastic at the thought of losing in the competition.

"I can't believe I lost..…and not even to another person, but to a mangy feline!" Sakura seethed as, in her mind, her victory was taken from her. While she steamed by herself before storming off, the others were busy talking with each other.

"Definitely didn't see that last bit coming but at least Punnya won…." Ravena said seeing Punnya hold up her prize as the crowd cheered for her again for her victory.

"At least it ended up in the right hands, who know what that hag could've done with it." Rose said. "Least this stupid competition is over with."

"Why's that, didn't want a certain someone to see you in your swimsuit?" teased Ravena as she nudged Rose.

"Shut up! I could say the same for you!"

Ravena gave a smirk. "Ara~! Getting defensive aren't we?"

"Shut it, Boob-Cat!" snapped Rose even more embarrassed than before as Mazareth came up to the two of them carrying a very pleased Punnya on his back.

"I had no idea what just happened but Mal-pun just gave me this really pretty tiara and this shiny gem~ Pun! He's so nice~!" exclaimed Punnya, amazingly oblivious that she had just won a contest.

Rose gave Ravena a look while the Nekomata just shrugged in response as Punnya handed her mistress the Gem that was shiny amber with a warm glow.

Ravena sniffed it and looked it over before holding it to the sun briefly. She then let out an impressed whistle.

"Well what do you know? It's a Sala-Amber-nya."

"A Sala-Amber?" echoed Rose and Punnya.

"It's a unique Gem of the Ignis Class! Found only in the Ember Island Volcanoes. It's created when lava mixes with the slime of a Fire Salamander. They can only be harvested once every decade!" exclaimed the excited voice of Saphir who had appeared out of nowhere and staring at the gem with big sparkly eyes. "But look at that glow~! This one has been aged to perfection~!"

"I thought that BoD bitch said the gem was a magic enhancer?" asked Rose in confusion.

"Well she's not totally wrong….The Sala-Amber only enhances Fire-based Magic-nya… not exactly useful for my type of magic but I'm sure it'll go at a high price…"explained Ravena before handing back to Punnya.

"Ooh! Ooh! If you don't need it can I have it?! Can-I-have-it?! Can-I-have-it?! PLEEEEAAAASE?!" begged Saphir excitedly with her tail wagging and the stars in her eyes getting larger and brighter.

Ravena and Punnya exchanged looks with each other before Punnya shrugged. "Sure, I don't mind~pun!" said Punnya as she handed the Gem to Saphir who squealed happily.

"AWHOOOOO! WAN~ WAN ~ WAAAAN-DERFUL~!" cheered as Saphir jumped about happily with gem and ran off leaving the group to sweat-drop.

"I guess she really enjoyed the present nya." Ravena said awkwardly seeing the dust-cloud Saphir left behind. Punnya in the meantime glowed a light pink and reverted back to her original form, fluttering into Ravena's arms.

"And it seems like she isn't the only one who bailed." Rose said seeing that Sakura was nowhere to be seen as well. "I was thinking I could earn some munny bringing Sakura in for some information but it looked like she dipped out the moment our backs were turned."

"It wouldn't have made much a difference." The two then turned to see Rina and Cast walking towards them. "On this area there's no need for Admin authority so there aren't any Guards here and the Admin can't get involved without good reason." Rina explained. "She's out of reach as long as she's in this area."

"And she mustn't be alone either, considering they came in a small group last time." Cast said. "Speaking of crimes, Rina when are you going to let go of the Beta you kidnapped." She said sternly.

"Once I make sure TPB won't get in my…wait she's not here! That Cheater!" Rina then dashed out of backstage leaving the three of them to themselves.

"Sometimes I worry for Ani-Key." Ravena sighed.

Cast then sighed. "I have to go and stop her; it was great seeing you here Ravena." The Admin gave a small bow before walking in the direction her obsessed cousin had ran in. As Punnya hopped out of Ravena's arms to join Mazareth on another date that just left the nekomata with the red head bounty huntress.

"Well now that this adventure is done with and it looks like the tide is letting down; I'm going back to my room." Rose said preparing to leave. Before she took a step she was stop by Ravena placing her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Now hold on Rosie, I can't in all good conscious leave you alone without any more fun. How about you come with me back to our room, Naenia has something fun planned for us tonight. You should join us-nya." Ravena offered.

"Forget it, anywhere you and the rest of that guild goes spells trouble and I rather not be involved in it." Rose said taking the catgirl's hand off her shoulder. The girl was then about to take steps away before what Ravena said caught her attention.

"Oh that's a shame; then you won't be able to meet Shadow-kyun's little girl." That one sentence caused her to freeze in her tracks.

"L-little girl…what are you talking about; last I checked he wasn't married to anyone!" Rose sputtered in shock.

"Well you should still see Amaya-chi; she's so cute and already grown for her age." The more Ravena talked the more she could see steam rise from Rose's face. It wasn't hard to tell what the girl was thinking which prompted Ravena to push further. Ravena slowly turned away from Rose and shrugged. "But if you still don't want to come then…"

"To Hell with that! Show me this kid or whatever!" Rose yelled as she pulled Ravena having force her to lead her back to where Amaya was.

**(Scene Change)**

"And~...done!" Raiden said as he and Amaya finished their new sand castle. The two smiled though Raiden had to hide a blush once Amaya looked at him again. "All we need to do is add a flag and it will be done Mimi." Raiden said.

Amaya nodded and the stood up showing that she was going out to find things they could use for a flag. Once the small girl was gone Raiden automatically felt a presence behind him and turned around with a neutral look on his face. "What do you want rookie, can't you see I'm trying to have fun here?"

"Aren't you a bit young in this form to try and get a girlfriend?" Whiskasfriskas teased the small boy; he was able to catch a sight of Amaya before the small girl ran off. The card was dressed mainly in black trunks with crimson red streaks and images of skull and bones printed across them. "Anyway I'm actually here to pick you up; Sakura was bitching about losing some contest and wanted to leave and naturally she can't leave us behind. We're heading back to our room at the Inn." He informed him.

"Go back yourselves, I'm waiting for someone," said Raiden as he sat down by the sand castle and sat cross-legged while folding his arms in a huff.

"No can do Romeo, Sakura's in a bad mood as it is."

"Like I care what that witch thinks…" grumbled Raiden stubbornly.

Whisk arched an eyebrow at the kid before suddenly getting a sneaky grin. "Fine, be that way. I'll guess I'll just destroy this sand-castle th-"

"Don't you dare!" snarled Raiden threateningly as he stood up got between Whisk and the precious sand-castle. "I won' let you destroy Mimi's hard work!"

Whisk raised his eyebrows when it hit him, causing him to grin. "Oh-ho….I see what's going on here…..You _**like **_her!" the boy teased in glee causing Raiden's face to light up.

"W-w-what?! NO!" sputtered Raiden in protest as he suddenly lowered his gaze when Whisk bent down to look and grinned even more.

"Yeah you do~!"

"Do NOT!"

"You're blushing~!"

"Am NOT!"

"You look like a hot tomato~!"

"It's sun-burn!"

"Uh-huh, and I'm wearing concealer."

"SHUT UP!"

"Hey everybody! Rai-Rai's gotta CRU~USH~!" teased Whisk in a sing-song way making Raiden boil over in anger.

"I will _**KILL YOU**_ ROOKIE!" yelled Raiden as he began chasing Whisk away.

Meanwhile, Amaya had just returned with a purple flag and looked about in confusion for Raiden. She felt a bit sad but shrugged it off as she placed the flag on top and smiled a bit before looking a little sad again. When she heard a whistle.

"Hey Amaya! Time to go!" called Shadow from a distance causing Amaya to glow a light blue and revert to her original shape.

"U-Pyon!" replied Amaya as she hopped back to where Shadow was and bounced on to his shoulder as the group returned back to the Inn.

**(Scene Change)**

"Oh it's you Rose; to be honest I thought you being on that stage was the sun playing tricks on me." Shadow said seeing Ravena walk up with the girl in question, he seemed to be ignoring the look of anger on Rose's face but then again it was a face he was used to seeing directed at him.

"Yeah right, then what about that comment you made back at the stage?!" Rose yelled, still both angered and flustered from the Tsundere comment moments ago.

Shadow shrugged his shoulders. "Just needed to be sure, one thing that can't be copied is your temper." Instead of dodging the thrown sandal this time he caught it and then tossed it back to the red faced Rose.

"Idiot!" Rose said as she put her sandal back on before getting back to the point of her anger. "So what's this I hear about you having a kid, didn't expect you to be one to tie the knot so early on." The girl said, though her tone was still one of frustration.

"Tie the knot, what are you talking about?" Shadow said confused.

"Don't act all ignorant, the feline over here already told me about you having a little girl!" Rose then stepped closer. "So where is she, where's this Amaya I heard about?"

"U-Pyon!" Amaya cried out at the sound of her name being called. Rose then stopped her raving to see the small manju resting on Shadow's shoulder, catching eye of the new person Amaya backed away shyly at first as if trying to hide but still gave Rose a curious and innocent look.

"Huh?" Now it was Rose's turn to be confused; Shadow then looked at the Neko standing next to her who innocently was averting her eyes and whistling. "So you told her about Amaya but didn't consider to also tell her that she's a young manju?"

"She didn't actually give me time to explain nya, Rosie kind of jumped to conclusions and then dragged me here to meet you." Ravena answered with an obvious sly tone in her voice.

Rose quickly caught on and turned to Ravena with her face a bright crimson while jabbing a finger at her. "You! You misled me on purpose!"

"Ara~nya? Did I?" asked Ravena with innocent sparkling eyes while doing a "Goody-Two Shoes" pose.

"Don't act cute with me!"

"No acts here, just all Naturale~nyanyo! But think of it this way, now you can join us on our vacation."

"Like hell I am!" Rose objected.

"Oh come on nya, what fun is there that you can have by yourself?"

"More fun than to have my vacation be spoiled by you all!"

Shadow sweat-dropped at the two girls argument as he saw everyone else begin to walk back to the Inn's entrance. "Well you both look red, but I guess that would be from different reasons." He said seeing DB and Key walk up.

DB's blush then grew. "Yeah, Naenia asked me to rub some lotion on her back and…"

"I think I know where that's going D" Shadow stopped him before he could finish; he then turned his attention to Key. "So what happened to you? It was like you all but disappeared. Cast said that you were being held up somewhere." He said thinking back to Rina and TPB.

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up." Key said. "After I got here they both dragged me all over the beach getting me to spend time with them; though it mostly turned into a tug-a-war match between those two." The Beta said as he massaged his sore arms. "It was one contest after another, the whole beauty pageant was number 3."

"What were the first two?" DB asked.

"Sand sculpting and volleyball." Key answered with a heavy sigh.

"Wish I could help you out with that man, but it seemed like something I shouldn't get involved in." Shadow said.

"And I would help but I enjoy living." DB said not in a hurry to get in-between Key's love triangle. As everyone gathered up Naenia walked up to the group.

"Good so everyone's here, I have something special planned out for us tonight but…" The ice wielding priestess then had a sly smile on her face. "There's something here that all of us girls have to enjoy. You boys are free to join us tonight if you want."

"You're talking about the hot springs here right?" Key asked.

"Right in one, this area is famous for a lot of things and these hot springs are one of them. Not only do they help with relaxation and stress they also have the ability to heal wounds and conditions; they're one of the best hot springs around." Naenia explained.

"Well who wouldn't say no to…" Before DB could finish his answer Shadow pulled him back.

"They're no mixed bathing here DB." Shadow said.

"What really?!" DB said in surprise….and a tad bit disappointed.

"This area used to be, and I quote 'Perv Attraction zone.' To solve those problems they set up the walls and took away mixed bathing." Key explained.

"That's not technically true." Rose said getting their attention. "It's true they got rid of mixed bathing and made the walls to steer away perverts but if you pay the managers in the front, they'll allow a party to have a private mixed bath."

"Really, how did you find out about that Rose-san?" Illu asked.

"It was something Grim said; it was a way for the Inn to not lose as much money as they did when mixed bathing was cut away." Rose answered.

"Well then," Naenia clapped her hands, gaining her focus now. "It will be sunset soon so use the time for whatever, but once the hot spring bathing is done then we'll be ready for what I have planned."

"Great, but first things first…Where's Bella?" asked DB looking about for the toon girl when suddenly as if on cue some victorious haughty laughing could be heard coming their way.

Everyone turned to see Bella come marching in looking victorious as she carried her water gun under one arm while over her left shoulder what appeared to be a wrapped up squirming bundle. "I'm back people~!"

"It took you long enough," said Shadow as he eyed the twitching bundle. "I'm afraid to ask but what's that?"

"My trophy~!" said Bella proudly as she plopped the bundle on the ground to reveal a squirming Sol all tied up to the mouth in wraps.

"Mmm-Mmm! IIII-WUUUU!" wailed the teary-eyed boy muffled to his sister as he wiggled up to Illu like a worm.

'Poor Sol-nii….' Illu thought in her head as she sweat-dropped before she turned to Bella. "Ano…Bella-san…"

Bella sighed a little in disappointment. "Yeah, fine I had my fun…" said the girl as she walked up Sol and gave a loose bandage a sharp tug, sending Sol to go spinning in the air before he fell back down, finally free.

"WAAAAAH~! ILLU-CHWAAAAAAN~! SHE WAS SO MEAN! MAKE THE BIG STINKY MEANIE-PANTS GO AWAY!" wailed a chibi Sol tearfully as he jumped into Illu's arms.

Illu simply sighed and smiled as she hugged him comfortingly and stroked his head. "There, there….it'll be fine dear; you'll be ok sweetie…." She said gently like a mother consoling a child.

"Tch, grow a pair….." scoffed Bella as she rolled her eyes.

"Kya-Kyawaii~…." muttered Ravena softly as she stared mesmerized at chibi Sol.

"I seriously need some normal friends." Shadow sweatdropped at the scene.

"I've been telling you that for a while now, I swear that these guys' brand of crazy is contagious." Rose said with an equal amount of sweatdrop at the back of her head. Shadow sighed as they decided to move the party along.

"Come on we're wasting daylight; Ravena can I trust you to take Amaya with you when you girls go to the springs?" Shadow asked.

"No problem nya!" Ravena said as Amaya bounced over onto the girl's head.

"I better take Sol-nii back too." Illu said still holding the small quivering chibi in her arms. "I'll just find Chocobo's room and drop him off before meeting you guys again." Illu then carried Sol off, hoping that he wasn't traumatized for life.

"I'm going to go get some sleep while I can, Rina and TPB wore me out." Key said as he walked back to the boy's room when the Beta was suddenly stopped by DB.

"Hold on man, we're on vacation and you can't just sleep it away just because a couple of girls dragged you cross the beach." DB said bluntly. "I say before the bathing starts we all should go and have some fun guy time."

"Guy time, are you serious?" Shadow asked.

"Why wouldn't I be, now let's go change so that we can hit the strip. We'll meet you girls later." DB said as he began to lead the way back to their rooms so that they could change. Shadow just shook his head slightly but decided to follow him anyway.

"Well it looks like the boys have their plan, which means it will allow us girls time to enjoy the rest of the Inn's wonders before they get back." Naenia said.

"Inn wonders; what are you talking about?" Bella asked.

"You're talking about the Ember Island Treatment right?" Rose asked.

"Right in one." Naenia answered.

"What's the Ember Island Treatment Nya?" Ravena asked curiously while Amaya tilted her head.

"It's another name for the full spa package that this area is known for; the hot springs are just a part of it." Naenia began to explain. "The package is a five course relaxation and rejuvenation treatment with the hot springs being provided at the end. If the guys want to have their own fun, then so will we."

"Yeah, I don't know about getting a makeover." Bella said sternly.

"It's just a spa treatment Hy-Nya, it's not like they're going to force you into a dress or anything like that." Ravena tried to reassure her. "It's just things like massages, mud baths, and things like that. They're good for the skin and the body nya."

"Well I think my body's perfect the way it is."

"I wouldn't think so Hy-Nya."

"And why so?"

"Just that the staff may have a hard time thinking that you're a girl."

"Hey!"

"Now, now no fighting." Naenia tried to quell the fighting before one could break out between the two.

"Normally I would be against spending anytime near any of you." Rose began with saying. "But since I already booked the treatment for this time, I wouldn't really have any choice if you girls decide to go anyway."

"That's good, because our party's time is booked for now." Naenia said surprising Rose.

"What's booked for now?" Illu asked as she just now heard the woman when she returned from dropping off her brother figure.

"Naenia planned for us to go on a spa treatment." Ravena summed up.

"Spa, but what about the others?" Illu asked.

"DB is dragging the boys out to the town for some reason." Naenia answered though she did had a look on her face that caused the three girls to look at her suspiciously. "In the meantime we might as well pretty ourselves up for when they get back."

"Please don't say pretty." Bella grumbled out in defeat.

**(With the Guys)**

After dressing back in their clothes the three mean of Kurotsubasa were walking through the small town looking at the many attractions. "Hey DB, why did you decide to drag us out here with you; shouldn't your vacation be spending time with your girlfriend?" Shadow asked suspiciously.

"What I can't just hang out with my friends because I want to?" DB was then met with the stern faces of Key and Shadow showing that they weren't buying it; the vampire laughed nervously before clearing his throat. "Anyway I took us out here because I didn't think you guys would be into Spa treatments."

"I really could've used one. I'm still feeling sore." Key said rubbing his shoulder. "Next time just tell us the truth."

"Simple, I planned to leave once we got out here." Shadow said. "I knew DB was lying because usually guy's night out would involve him taking us to a bar when he knows we don't drink."

"Wow, dynamic deduction Sherlock." DB playfully said. "Still, you should at least try drinking once. You and Key need some other ways to lighten up and it's not like the hangover carries out into the Real World."

"Not all of us have your inhuman tolerance." Key said.

"Whatever man, I'll be exploring the sights, see you guys later." Shadow waved goodbye before leaving.

"Guess that just leaves us, huh Key?" DB said.

"Look I know you have something planned but tell me this; will it lead to us being thrown out or probably arrested?" Key asked.

"Nope."

"Then go for, now do you even know what fun there is to do here is? This is the first time either of us have been to this area." Key asked.

"Soon as we find an area map it will have everything marked for us, now let's go we have to be back at the Inn by sunset. Let's not waste this time." DB said leading the way. Key then shrugged and decided to follow the vampire forward.

**(Girls)**

"Nya….Nee-sama….My body….it feels so hot…." Panted Ravena with a flushed look on her face as she appeared to be lying down.

Naenia was sweating too with a red face and panting slightly as well. "Bear with it a little longer… the best part is yet to come…."

Bella slowly ran her fingers through her long hair with a face just as red. "Aaah…my body feels so weird…It feels like I'm melting…."

"M….me too Bella-chan….I just can't describe this feeling…I feel like I'm gonna- …." Panted a flushed face Illu.

"COME ON! Would you girls stop talking already! We're in a freaking sauna! It's supposed to be HOT!" snapped Rose irritably, her face red and sweating as she looked at the other girls who like her were only clad in towels. Amaya was sitting next to Illu in Human form also wrapped up in a towel.

Sure enough all five girls plus Usa-Manju were currently sitting in a sauna room as the second course of their treatment after some quick pedicures.

"Go-gomenasai!" squeaked Illu timidly while Ravena sat up properly on the bench and fanned herself with one of her tails.

"Jeez Rose…. I would tell you to chill out but I don't know if it's possible in here…."sighed Bella wiping sweat from her brow.

"Oh dear…." Sighed Naenia in exasperation.

**(Small time-skip)**

After the sauna, the girls all visibly began to calm down and relax into the following treatments of facials, mud-baths, and most relaxing shiatsu massage until the most anticipated part of the package, hot springs.

"I have to admit, I am feeling pretty good right now!" exclaimed Bella as she and the rest of the girls were walking towards the hot springs. Right now, all the girls were wearing robes and were carrying towels along with other bath items.

"I told you so, Bell-nya~! Right, Amaya?" said Ravena cheerfully as she looked to the rabbit girl who was holding hands with her. Amaya looked up at Ravena and nodded while smiling brightly.

"Well aren't you girls looking fresh," exclaimed a familiar voice suddenly, alerting the group to the speaker who stood guard outside the Women's Bath.

"Grim, it's been a while~" greeted Naenia with a smile.

"Likewise Naenia, Ladies," replied Grim with a nod to the others.

"Placed on Perv Patrol, Grim?" asked Rose bluntly.

Grim shrugged a bit. "Hey, whenever Doppelman's about, I'm always on guard. Right now, he's tied up at the moment, if you get my drift. But just in case, watch out."

"Will do! Come on girls!" exclaimed Bella as she marched into the changing room with Amaya tucked under her arm.

Naenia and Rose both nodded a bit to Grim while Illu respectfully bowed to him as the three followed in after Bella. Ravena was about to go in when she paused a bit before turning back to Grim.

"Hey, Grim?"

"Yeah?"

"When you get off duty… you should join us back at our room, we're be having a small party or something-nya," offered Ravena shyly blushing a little.

Grim averted his eyes a bit as he scratched his cheek. "Um…sure…I'd like that," he replied with a small smile.

Ravena returned the smile before she made her way inside to the open-air bath, playfully tapping Grim's shoulder with her tails as she did so.

**(Inside the springs)**

"Well, it's about time! Done flirting with Grim yet, Boob-Cat?" teased Rose who had already sat inside the hot spring with Bella and Naenia with Illu just ready to enter.

Ravena blushed a little more before frowning a bit as Amaya who had gone back to her original hopped onto her shoulder. "Shut up, Tater-Tots. I just invited him to our room later. That's ok with you right Nee-sama?"

"Of course," replied the woman with a smile as Ravena went to wash herself and Amaya first before the two joined the others in the hot-spring.

"Aaah…..hot-springs are always the best….." sighed Illu in content as she dipped a little further into water.

"You said it Owl-girl…. Right Mr. Quackers?" asked Bella to a rubber duck she had brought with her. Bella squeezed it a few times, to make it squeak in response.

"U-Pyon~….." squeaked Amaya in relaxation as she floated on the surface of the water using her ears as a floating bed.

Naenia, Rose and Ravena all took a deep breath and sighed happily as well before looking up at the evening sky that was slowly changing colors with the sunset. For a while nobody said anything and soaked in the silence when suddenly a rustling was heard coming from a nearby tree. It didn't take much for the girls to figure out what it was.

"May I?" offered Bella.

"Be our guest…" replied Rose not even bothering to open her eyes.

"_**Ducky ATTACK!"**_ yelled Bella suddenly as she flung Mr. Quackers hard at the direction of the sound. A loud squeak followed by a male scream was heard as Doppelman fell out of the tree branch he was on.

**BAM!** Was the loud sound of the impact as the perverted Shade landed face first on to the bath floor. "Ow…right in the kisser…." Groaned Doppelman when suddenly five shadows towered over him.

Doppelman gulped as he looked up to see five very menacing silhouettes with sinister glowing eyes glaring down at him through the thick steam. "Uh-oh…"

At that moment, Grim stood leaning casually against the wall outside the Women's Bath with his arms folded as he whistled a tune while he could hear Doppelman's cries of pain mixed with painful sounds of angry women beating up. Grim waited a little before he began counting down.

"3…2…1…." **CRASH! **Went Doppelman as he came flying out from the Bath entrance and crashed into the opposite wall. Grim clicked his tongue loudly as he looked down at the Shade's bloody, beaten and bruised form.

"Worth…it…." Was all the Shade could squeeze out before passing out.

Elsewhere, DB and Key were walking around carrying unknown crates; at least to the Beta while DB knew full well what they were carrying, they stopped hearing the sound of pain coming from the Inn. "What do you think that was?" DB asked.

"No clue, but if you asked me it sounded like someone got what they deserved." Key said as they continued walking down the road carrying their merchandise.

Elsewhere on the boardwalk Shadow was looking out on the setting sun when he heard the pain filled screams followed by silence. "It's as if one perverted voice suddenly cried out in terror and was suddenly silenced…or however the joke goes." Shadow said as he looked to see the orange of the sky beginning to fade into purple, he was able to capture the sunset along the horizon of the wave.

"Sometimes I hate when Bella's right, but a vacation might be exactly what we need considering what we're going to be facing soon." Shadow spoke to himself, he glanced around seeing the only ones enjoying the Sunset Boardwalk now were just a few couples enjoying their time or small game families and NPC's. He then took another look over at the setting sun before deciding to leave.

"Might as well head back, I wonder what Naenia has planned for us."

**(Scene Change)**

"Why am I not surprised that the scream we heard was Doppelman's?" Key asked as everyone sat in the large living room, whether on the two couches or on separate chairs that was brought into the room. Everyone was seated and the boys listened to the girls' tale of what happened in the hot springs.

"Well we don't know anyone more perverted then that lump of shade over there." Rose angrily said as she was reminded of the incident.

"Nya, actually…"

"Please don't go there, just don't."

"Well I want to know what's with the crates." Shadow asked seeing two large empty crates at the side of the room. "I know they weren't there before and Key told me that he and DB carried them over to this room. So do you know what's inside?"

"I have no clue." Key answered.

"Naenia said it was a surprise for tonight." DB said.

"Still for Naenia-san to plan this entire party out for us; she's done so much I feel as though that it's wrong for us to do this without paying her back." Illu said. "Rose, are you sure our pets will be fine in your room?" She asked a bit worried.

"For the third time, it's all right. I bought a room with a separate area for pets so Mazareth would have an easier time, I don't exactly have travel sized pets such as the rest of you." Rose said. "They'll be fine and the room's secured and locked, I'm the only on with a key." Illu nodded her head in thanks, knowing that Mukurowl and the others were safe for the night.

"I'm sure Mazzy can keep them all safe and fed too nya, so what's this all about?" Ravena asked.

Grim shrugged his shoulders as he kept Doppelman chained up. "Who knows, Naenia's been in the kitchen for some time now and she got here first right so none of you saw what she had in the crates?" The girls then shook their heads as most of them either dropped their pets off or went straight to the room to change.

"If I had my Omnitrix activated I know a hundred different ways to find out!" Bella whined as she once again felt powerless.

"For some reason, I enjoy you when you're without your watch. You're more…I guess controllable would be the word." As Shadow finished, Naenia then called from the kitchen.

"Can some of you give me a hand; I just need to pass these out to everyone!" Hearing the girl called DB was the first to stand up followed by Ravena, they then walked into the kitchen seeing Naenia standing with a tray of drinks on the counter, a glass for each person in the room.

"Nya, Neesama what are these?" Ravena said looking at the light orange beverage for a bit as she took a tray while DB took another.

Naenia had a small on her face that she tried to hide as she waved them off. "Now I don't want to spoil it, just pass those out to everyone. Everyone needs to take a full drink of it before we can start." Ravena looked over and saw that there were two extra bottles visible, she figured the rest were in the fridge cooling as the ones they were carrying had ice in them.

"Come on Rave, we'll know in due time." DB said as he walked out with his tray. Ravena still felt a bit uneasy but followed the vampire out towards the others and they began passing out drinks.

"One for everyone, Naenia said to drink up and finished this first one before we start nya." Ravena said as she placed the tray in the center of the coffee table in the middle as she experimentally sipped her cup.

"Finish our drinks, what kind of rule is that?" Rose stared at her drink as if trying to see if there was something physically wrong with it.

"It looks like one of the drinks you can only get here in the area." Grim said as he began drinking his down with no fear. He then picked up an extra glass left by DB and gave it to Doppelman who happily accepted it.

"**Tastes as normal as I'm used to; now quit being paranoid will you?" **Doppelman shot at the redhead.

"If I were you I'd be more paranoid of when I kill you." Rose said before she downed her drink as well.

"Still, the shade has a death wish trying to peep on all of you." Shadow said as he took light sips of his drink. "The fact that he is a shade is probably why he's still alive, though I bet he was trying spy his eyes on something few are lucky to see."

"Aww was that a compliment Shadow-kyun?" Ravena asked causing Shadow to look away blushing slightly.

"You know what I mean by that, besides I still need to take care of Doppelman for the fact that he peeped on all of you, even Amaya." Shadow said.

"I-It's fine, I'm sure all that we did we paid him back twice-over for you." Illu said a little read in the face from Ravena's teasing as she took a few sips of her drink. "This is really good, DB did you and Key really find this in a shop?" She asked amazed at the taste.

"Yeah, Naenia placed an order early on today and we had to pick it up and carry it. The ones who work here calls it Frenesí de Naranja, all they said is that it's usually reserved for parties and that it's not dangerous." DB said as he drank his down in one.

"Frenesí de Naranja, I'm sure that I've heard of that name before." Key said as he drank from his cup. "The place we went to wasn't really a drinking place so I don't think this is alcohol."

"Of course it's not, do you think Naenia would have us carry beer back to the Inn?" DB joked as he set his empty glass down. A few of the others had finished their drinks just as Naenia walked out the kitchen with another bottle and what seemed to be a cup full of sticks.

"Well it looks like most of you finished your drinks." Naenia said.

"We sure did and boy are these great!" Bella said as she waved her empty cup around. "Are there any more of that lying around?" The toon girl asked.

"Of course, that's why I brought the bottle so that you can refill whenever. There is plenty that are in the fridge cooling now." Naenia said as she set the bottle on top of the tray letting those who wanted a refill to pass it around and fill their cups.

"The drink is good Neesan, but what exactly is it nya?" Ravena said as she smelled the rest of her first cup, she didn't know why but something smelled off. Grim and Key, likewise didn't finish their first cup right away as the others were getting done with their second cup.

"DB said that it's not beer but I'm sure Frenesí de Naranja is from something." Grim tried to think as he handed over a newly filled cup to Doppelman. "I just can't figure at what it is." The mercenary sighed defeated.

"Frenesí de Naranja, that's Orange something…oh, Orange Frenzy is what that translates to." Shadow said though there was a bit of a blush on his cheeks as he tugged a bit on his collar.

"Naenia-san, those sticks….don't we're going to play-" Illu was about to say when Naenia cut her off.

"JA-JA! KING'S GAME BEGINS NOW~!" declared Naenia excitedly much to the surprise of everyone.

"King's Game?" DB said confused.

"We can't have a party without a game, and what better way to kick off a vacation than with the King's Game." Naenia explained as she took a sip of her beverage. "And the drinks are also the perfect way to get everyone in the mood to play."

"The drinks…wait you mean these are alcoholic?!" Grim asked seeing the varying blushes on the others faces that continued to drink the orange liquid.

"Nya, I knew these drinks smelled weird." Ravena said as she quickly set her drink on the table, not wanting to continue. "DB said that it wasn't beer, so what is it? Wine?"

"Correct; Frenesí de Naranja is a strong potent drink that can only be acquired here and can only be consumed in this area. The drink can't be taken out of the area so it isn't that well know; only those who know their wines knows it exists here." Naenia said.

"Still how does Shadow know what the drink is, he isn't a drinker." DB said. "In fact, I think this is the first time I ever seen him drink."

"More like Shadow-kyun knew how the name translates and not what the drink is." Ravena guessed and then looked to Naenia. "Maybe we should wait for everyone to sober up a bit mor…" The catgirl was then interrupted by the loud slamming of a glass on the table; everyone then turned their attention to a slightly red faced Rose.

"Lesh get thish game started already!" Rose yelled out. "Don't think you can try and call thish off thinking we can't handle it cuz I'm young; well I'm playing the King's Game and ain't nobody stopping me! I'm grown too dammit!" The bounty huntress proclaimed.

"Oh God, is she drunk?" Grim asked.

Naenia waved off the response with a smile. "Well if that's not an invitation I don't know what is, so let's get started." She said as she held up a cup with the sticks inside.

"So for those of us who don't know, what is the King's Game nya?" Ravena asked looking slightly nervous. The one who answered her was the cheerful voice of Illu who had now finished her second drink.

"Its eaaaasy~ Ravena-chaaan~ everyone draws a stick, straw, or whatever that have numbers marked on them. One of the sticks, however, is marked red and that makes them King~!" then blushing hybrid then giggled a bit. "The other sticks have numbers on them, the King gets to order the numbers to do whatever they want…but they won't know who is who until they called an order." Illu finished her explanation on the Adult Drinking Game.

"**Woohoo, who would've thought the shy girl, would know so much about adult games."** Doppelman said, causing Grim to sweatdrop as he saw his shadow was possibly under the drink's influence as well.

"Looks like the lot of them are drunk." Grim concluded.

"Wonder how Chokobi would feel knowing that Illu-tan is drunk right now nya?" Ravena's ears then twitched hearing the sound of sniffling; the nekomata then turned sights to Bella who had tears streaming down her face. "Bella, are you ok?" She asked concerned for her friend.

"N-no I'm…" Bella stuttered out, with the tears becoming small waterfalls. "I'm just happy to have such good friends, waaaaaaaaah!" The girl continued to cry.

"Ok…now this isn't normal." DB said.

"All the better reason to play the game, everyone pick your poison!" Naenia offered the cup in the center for all of them to reach and pull out. As everyone now had a stick in their hands Naenia then asked the important question. "Ok, so who's the King?"

Doppelman then broke his bonds and then held up his stick in the air triumphantly as the end was marked red. **"Lady Luck is with me tonight, I'm the King baby! Now to give my first order as your magnificent king" **The shadow said, obviously happy with his role. Grim grumbled as he hoped this night wouldn't turn into one that they would regret.

"Great, we're already doomed since Doppelman's in charge." Grim said.

"**As your royal highness, I hereby order…Number #1, to plant a big wet one on the King tonight!"** Doppelman said to a few of the Sober ones shock.

"Oh my, such a daring and bold order indeed" Naenia said in surprise.

"**Does that mean the Ice Goddess is my Number #1?"** Doppelman asked. Excitedly before DB could say anything Naenia calmed him down by showing the number on the straw that read #4.

"Sorry, but I'm already taken." Naenia smiled.

"**Pity my princess would be in another castle, so what about the rest of you?"** Looking around the room Ravena and DB showed their sticks showing they weren't the ones chosen; Illu was laughing at the King's puns but the stick in her hand read #2. Doppelman looked in worry that his 'Princess' might be a 'Prince' but Grim, Key, and Shadow all showed sticks with different numbers. **"Well it's good that I won't be kissing any guys, but this isn't right, where's my Princess?!"** The shade whined wondering who the mysterious holder of the winning stick is (or in his eyes, the winning stick).

"Uh…" Everyone then saw Bella holding the stick marked with the number one across the side. "Yeah the number is me." The toon girl said, seeming to have recovered slightly from the tears she was producing moments ago.

"Well the King's words are absolute." Naenia said.

"YEAH KISS HIM, KISS HIM!" Rose and Illu cheered on in unison as they both were now definitely hammered as the few sober ones saw that the girls had somehow refilled their glasses a third time.

"This might get out of hand nya." Ravena said.

"Oh I wouldn't say so my dear." Key said, catching Ravena's attention as she noticed that he also had the telltale drunk blush across his face. "An order like that was much to light, the one called should have performed a much more daring feat." The catgirl noticed that the Beta was fiddling with his shirt as if trying to remove it while he leaned in closer to the girl.

"And what would be more daring than a kiss?" Ravena asked swallowing nervously.

"I'm glad you asked, the one order could perform a service to the King. Maybe a full seven minutes in heaven in the King's Courtroom." Key said, with a lecherous grin on his face. "Or maybe not even the Courtroom; there are two rooms with plenty of beds with vacancies in them now."

'I really hope Key doesn't end up becoming King nya.' Ravena thought as her ears dropped a bit in worry.

"**Well I wish I would've gotten a better selection, but the only thing that can be done now is to pucker up." **Doppelman said as he and Bella stood up from their seats and in front of one another. The other participants either cheered or looked on in anticipation. Seeing that Bella was slowly closing the gap Doppelman closed his eyes and received his kiss. Once the kiss was over Doppelman's eyes was still closed but the drunken shade seemed to have enjoyed it. **"That…wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."**

"**Oh my heart is all a flutter…though I'm a skeleton so I have no heart!"** In shock and horror, Doppelman opened his eyes and paled to see the one standing in front of him now was the skeleton Brook standing in front of him. **"Skull Joke, YOHOHOHOHO!" **The skeleton raved.

Doppelman then held a hand to his mouth as his pale face then turned a sickly green. **"What the hell…I'm going to be sick!" **Doppelman then ran off, probably towards the nearest bathroom.

"**Come on, doesn't the king have another command?"** The Skeleton then pranced after him.

"**Stay the hell away from me!"**

As the rest of them heard the crashes as the two chased each other out of the room, Rose was the one to call their focus back to the game. "The first round ish OVER~! We've got two people thash out." The drunken redhead slurred.

"Pfft….HAHAHAHA, Skull Joke, AHAAHAHAHA!" Illu fell back in laughter, almost sliding off of her seat on the long couch. "Bella-chan, yaoi…ahahaahahaha!" The girl said, seeming to not stopping to laugh soon.

"Looks like your guild can't really hold their liquor DB." Naenia commented as she slowly sipped her glass, still on her face as she knew the correct way to drink the wine.

"Hey some of them I expected to not have drunk before, besides Rave's doing just fine." DB objected. "Still, didn't you expect this when you decided to have this game; I thought you could see into the future?"

"Now now, let's not point fingers; besides I wouldn't have spoiled this moment." Naenia laughed causing the vampire to groan.

"Well we might not be the only ones sober nya, Grimmy still up with us and Shadow-kyun hasn't done anything weird yet." The nekomata said noticing that Shadow was still on his second cup, still drinking slightly.

"I'm quiet…because I'm waiting for them to hurry the hell up!" Shadow suddenly yelled causing the catgirl to jump back a bit in shock; he then grabbed two sticks out of the cup and tossed them aside. "They're out right, now let's continue on; pass the sticks already! I'm ready to be King!" The leader of Kurotsubasa continued his rant.

"I think you created a monster Neesama." Ravena said in a low breath.

"Guess we have to start the next round then." A second later, after checking to make sure the numbers were in order, the entire group each had a new stick and was checking to see what they had. "So who's the King now? Naenia said.

"About time!" A stomp on the table caught everyone off guard as a stick was tossed up in the air and then coolly caught by Shadow who was standing with one foot on the table still displaying the red tipped stick. "Was there any doubt…the King would be me?"

"Please tell me this order wouldn't be as bad as the last one." Grim said, shivering a bit as he recalled the last order. He wondered how the girl found a loophole in the no powers used, but then again the powers wasn't be used in a harmful way and Doppelman didn't count as another human.

"What do you mean Grim-chaaaaan~ that's not how the game works." Illu said. "The orders have to get more and more extreme, that's the fun part!"

"So if the last King just wanted a kiss, then the next King can ask for something even more." Key then began to chuckle, creeping Ravena a bit as she slowly slide away from the boy's now perverted eyes that were suddenly looking at her.

"Ooh, ooh; you should make the one called have to sit on your lap!" Rose called on.

"No they should more extreme, they should have to hug him~!" Illu suggested.

"Or maybe fullbody contact!"

"Great idea!"

"Kill…me…now." DB slowly said feeling like his world was just turned upside down.

"Come on, what's the order already?!" Key asked, getting excited from all the proposals the two girls have given out.

"Silence commoner, for it is the King who gets to speak!" Shadow said as he then sat down lounged on his spot on the couch. "All right then, since all of those ideas were so good I'll take one of them…Number #5, sit on my lap." The King ordered.

Three of the sober ones' eyes widened at the order. They all then noticed how silent Ravena was, as the girl was now blushing red with her tails all fluffed up; however, it was not from the wine but rather the fact that she was holding the Number #5 stick. "I g-guess that's me nya." The catgirl said nervously.

"The King's orders are absolute." Shadow said as he sat patting his lap, waiting expectantly.

"He does have a point there Little Sis'" Naenia said. Ravena was still blushing but she still stood up as she was being cheered on by the drunken cheerleaders: Rose and Illu. Once she reached the couch, Ravena quickly turned around and sat in her new seat on Shadow's lap, still blushing from embarrassment.

"Wow, I can't believe you did it Rave-chan!" Illu giggled a bit, but what she said next surprised the catgirl more. "Ok my turn!" It happened so fast that Ravena didn't even noticed that she was now sitting next to Shadow as Illu bumped the girl off and was sitting on the boy's lap, only the hybrid girl seemed to enjoy her position as she was hugging against him, pressing her generous C-cup chest as her arms were around his neck.

"See Ravena-chaaaan~ you have to really enjoy yourself. Hug him too!" The drunken hybrid said causing the nekomata to sweatdrop. "Huggy-huggy~HAHAHAHA~!"

"Now hold on there!" Rose said with an angry frown on her face. The others thought that maybe the sight had reverted her back to her senses but they were horribly mistaken. "If anyone ish going to enjoy Sensei's lap ish going to be his first disciple!" The redhead then hip checked Illu who now had an annoyed look when her hug time was cut short. Rose now had a look of bliss as she rest her face next to his, holding his arm against her chest.

"Ahhh~! Sensei-chan is soooooo cuddly~!" squealed Rose unnaturally making Grim and DB exchange looks with each other. Shadow on the other hand held a straight face the entire time.

Naenia let out an impressed whistle seeing that Illu had taken her spot back when Rose hadn't noticed and that Ravena just sat next to them trying to let her blush die down, though she looked as though she wanted a quick picture of then scene and maybe using her Visor to screenshot. "Well isn't he popular, could it be he has noticed their feelings before?"

"I doubt that….If there's one thing Shadow doesn't know, it's when a girl has feelings for him." DB said and then noticed someone was missing from the room. "Hey, where did Key go?"

"He left right after Ravena sat on Shadow's lap." Grim answered them, "He said something about, wanting to feel what it's like to have two girls sit on his lap so he left the room. You two have any idea what he was talking about?"

"I think I have a clue." DB said, mentally wishing for Key to return the next morning safe.

"Well the game haves to keep going, so I'm afraid I have to break up the love fest." Naenia said as she walked over to separate the girls from the former King's lap so that they could start round three.

"Booo…." Pouted Rose while Illu continued laughing as Ravena dragged her back to her seat.

Naenia finally got rid Key's stick before handing out the cup again. "Now who's the King?"

"ISHA ME~!" squealed Rose happily holding up her stick with pride. "AND I COMMAND NUMBER #3 TO BOW DOWN AND BECOME MY LOYAL STEED!"

Ravena nervously turned over her stick before sighing in relief that she had gotten Number #1. Next to her Grim also sighed in relief seeing that he had a different number. Shadow, Illu and Naenia also appeared to be safe which only left one person.

"Seriously…Kill me now…." Groaned DB as he face-palmed himself. Sure enough, the vampire held the unfortunate Number 3 in his hand.

"Come on! Number #3~! I'm waiting~!" called Rose teasingly as she stood up while Illu fell on her back and continued laughing.

With a pained look he tossed at Naenia, the vampire had no choice but to get on all fours and give Rose a ride around the room.

"Hiya! Horsey! Hiya~! Giddy-up!" cheered Rose as she tugged on DB's hair making the boy cringe in pain as he got forced to pick up the pace.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAH, DB'S A HORSEY! KYAHAHAHAHAHA~! Hic! " laughed Illu uncontrollably, tears already pouring out from the corners of her eyes.

"Hey Grim, filler up!" commanded Shadow as he jerked his cup at the player who sweat-dropped.

"Nee-sama! Please I beg you let's stop the game before we get kicked out-nya!" pleaded Ravena desperately, clearly freaked out at the scene before her.

"Come now Sweetie, you're just exaggeratin- " Naenia was about to say when suddenly she heard DB yelp in pain.

"OW-OW-OW! Get her off me!" yelled DB as Ravena and Naenia turned to see Rose was now clinging on to DB and was chewing on his head. **(A.N. Imagine Maka when she chewed on Chrona's head.)**

"OM-NOM-NOM-NOM-NOM~!" went Rose as she happily continued chewing on the vampire's head.

"KYAHAHAHAHAHA~! Hic! ROSE-CHWAN-hic- LOOKS FUNNY~! HAHAHAHAA…..! Hic!" laughed and hiccupped Illu hysterically.

"Gimme the bottle Grim!" demanded Shadow as he tried climbing over the bounty hunter who was using his right leg and hand to hold him off while Grim was doing his best to hold the bottle out of reach.

"Forget it!" yelled Grim through gritted teeth as he held the bottle out further.

Ravena folded her arms and cast Naenia who sweat-dropped and scratched her cheek. "Well, uh…I guess we should end it here…."

"Gee, ya think?!" yelled Grim, Ravena and DB in unison making Naenia flinch.

"Anyway we got to deal with these drunken nutcases before we go catch DP and the other two!" said Grim who now had progressed to wrestling Shadow for the bottle that held the rest of the alcoholic beverage.

"Don't worry, I got this-nya!" Ravena quickly volunteered as she quickly made her way over to Shadow. "I'm so sorry Shadow!" she apologized as her hands began to fly in a flurry striking Shadow's chi points making freeze before falling limp on top of Grim unconscious.

"Thanks Rave," said Grim as he pushed the Guild Leader of him.

"I could use some help here!" called DB as Naenia quickly went up and tried to pull Rose off the vampire, but the rogue clung tightly.

"I'm a KOAAAAALAAAAA~Hic! Hic!" exclaimed Rose deliriously as she wrapped her arms and legs around DB.

"Rave!" called DB loudly as Ravena quickly ran over and struck Rose's chi points knocking her out as she did with Shadow so that she fell limp in Naenia's arms.

"That's two down," noted Naenia before everyone's attention turned to the hysterically laughing owl girl who was now rolling and hiccupping all over the floor.

"The world is SPINNING~! WHEEEE~! HEE-HEE-HEE~!" squealed Illu loudly.

Ravena hesitated a bit at striking her best friend as she stared at the girl briefly at a loss.

"_**OH COME ON!"**_ Felis exclaimed in annoyance as she suddenly took over Ravena. Ravena's eyes flashed into Felis's eyes briefly as the girl suddenly grabbed Illu by the collar. With a loud thud, Felis gave a single hard head-butt to Illu effectively silencing the hybrid as she collapsed on to the floor with swirly eyes and a steaming bump on her forehead.

"AAH! I'm so sorry Illu! It was Felis I swear!" exclaimed Ravena in a panic when she suddenly regained control of herself.

Naenia and Grim both looked at DB who just shook his head. "Don't ask, look we have to go out and gather Bella, Key, and Doppelman before they get into any more trouble." The vampire said, getting them to agree as he got Ravena to release Illu.

"That's a good idea, Ravena since you can disable them you can come with me to search for the runaways and Grim since Doppelman is your shadow you should be able to better track him down then any of us." Naenia planned out. "DB, why don't you put everyone to their bed, I think it would be best if they all thought of this as a bad dream."

"More like a nightmare, I think I still feel bite-marks on my scalp." DB said, glad that his healing was still taking effect. "Seriously, we are never getting them drunk…EVER."

"I'll keep that in mind, ok let us go." Naenia said as the three of them ran out the door in pursuit. DB stayed where he was and rubbed his abused head as he looked at the three passed out players; he made a move to do as Naenia planned but then an idea caused him to smile deviously.

"Sorry Naenia, but this is too good to pass up, besides she owes me for the ride and the bite anyway."

**(Scene Change)**

"This place is huge, how are we going to find them nya?" Ravena asked as they started their search. Grim had taken the lead seeing that Bella was chasing after Doppelman; said person was looking around using his connection to find the runaway shadow.

"Well they're not far, I feel Doppelman up ahead." Grim said as he opened a door that lead them outside. The three then came to the sight of Bella lying down in front of a tall tree, after checking her friend Ravena let out a sigh of relief that the toon girl was still breathing judging from how loud she was snoring.

"Thank goodness nya, she's just out cold." The catgirl said.

"Well that's one less person to track down, Doppelman!" Grim called out, sensing that the shadow was still around.

"Not so loud! Before you wake her up!" They all then saw the shadow hanging from the tree quivering in fright.

"What are you doing up there?"

"What do you think, hiding from that monster?"

Grim just placed a palm against his face and groaned at his shade's ridiculous attitude. "First of all, Bella is out cold and second you're a shadow just sink back into the ground!" The reaper said; he didn't know if Doppelman was still drunk or he deliberately was doing this out of fear.

"You think I'm going to fall for that fake sleep trick, it's all a trap! A Trap, I tell ya! There is no way I'm going to fall for-" _**WHACK!**_

A solid blow to the head later caused Doppelman to slump over unconscious and then fall out of the tree. After collecting Doppelman, Grim just looked over to Naenia who was now tossing a rock in her hand.

"We don't exactly have all night Grim and that was the quickest way to get him down." The priestess said. The two then saw Ravena carrying Bella, the girls decided to have Grim take the girl back to the room so that they could search for the final member of their drunken party. "Now Grim said something about Key wanting to experience…the same situation Shadow was in, do you have a clue what that means Ravena?" Naenia asked.

"I think I have an idea, but hopefully I'm wrong." Ravena said. "Let's find Ani-Key before he ends up arrested." The catgirl said to Naenia's confusion but the girl decided to follow Ravena as they continued to scour around for the runaway Beta. Following Ravena's intuition, they ended up near the front asking the receptionists some questions.

"So you believe that Key has run off with someone from the Admin?" Naenia asked as they were walking to the room number they were given.

"Something like that, if he's not with Rina then I don't have a clue where he is since I don't know where TPB is staying." Ravena said. "Nya, something inside me knew this was a bad idea when I tasted that drink."

"Well, think of this as an experience you can't take back since it looks like you and DB will be the only ones from your guild to remember this night." Naenia said. "Besides all the chaos that followed, how was your seat?'"

"N-neesama!" Ravena blushed brightly. Naenia laughed as they made it to the door; before they could knock Cast had already opened it and was surprised to see the two girls at her door.

"Oh, it's you two, Ravena I think you owe me an explanation." Cast said, folding her arms.

"Nya, we can explain later but please tell me that Key is here." Ravena pleaded to the Admin.

"He's here…and he's also brought a guest over, I tried to talk Rina out of it but things got out of hand quickly here." Cast began to explain. "Then your friend…placed his hands on my chest, so then I needed the quickest way to knock him out."

"Did you hurt him nya?" Ravena asked.

"I wouldn't know it was Leon who knocked him out." Cast said surprising Ravena. "I had to knock out Rina and the girl Key had brought over, it seemed he had more planned than just the make out session he had." She said with a small blush on her cheeks.

"If Leon didn't kill him, we'll take him back now." Ravena said with Naenia nodding. They then walked inside to collect an unconscious Key from an annoyed Leon's grasp. The two girls widened their eyes at the sizeable throbbing lump protruding from the back of his head and the glowing red hand-prints that decorated his cheeks.

"Next time, try and keep a tighter leash on him." Leon said sternly as he handed him over to Ravena.

"I'll keep that in mind" Ravena said. After making sure they weren't going to report the Beta on account for his drunkenness they then were able to carry him back to their room.

"Well this night could've gone better." Naenia said taking full responsibility. "All we need to do now is just rest for the night."

"I agree I'm sure Punnya wouldn't mind spending the night since we can't exactly find Rosie's key." Ravena said. The two went inside and saw Grim helping to clean up after the disaster. "Hey Grimmy, mission accomplish, where's DB?"

"Still taking blackmail shots." Seeing their confused looks he just pointed to the boy's room, they decided to check it out only to see DB standing with a camera taking pictures.

"Oh you two are just in time." DB smiled as he showed off the scene. Ravena and Naenia sweat-dropped as they saw Rose and Illu still knocked out but were cuddling against Shadow in their sleep. The vampire took a final snapshot and then turned back to the girls. "Well what do you think?"

Ravena and Naenia opened their mouths wanting to say something but exchanged looks with each other and sighed, waving DB off. "Forget it… I don't even care anymore….I'm going to bed…" said a worn out Naenia.

Ravena released a big yawn and nodded sleepily. "Send me copies D…."said the catgirl before yawning a second time as the two girls trudged back to their room.

**(The next day)**

"Oww, my face feels so sore. Does anyone remember what happened last night?" Key asked, wincing as he felt the sore and sensitive parts of his face. "Last night was a blur; I can't remember much of it." The Beta said as he thanked DB as he accepted the cup of water the vampire gave him.

"I can tell you this, you didn't miss anything special." DB said, as he was trying to cover up last night's fiasco.

"Really, well something must have happened for my face to feel this sore and I have a pounding headache too." Key said.

"Trust me it was nothing, maybe it was just the way you slept." DB said.

"Speaking of sleep, I think I was still dreaming because when I woke up I thought there was more than one person in Shadow's bed." Key said not noticing DB sweating nervously. "Though my head was pounding so hard I didn't even bother to check, maybe that was just whatever weird dream I had last night."

"We all have those kinds of dreams sometimes, hey maybe you should hit the hot springs or something to deal with your headache. It's our last day to enjoy our trip before heading back to Tokyo City." DB reminded them. "You know, I'll join you; go on ahead and see if it's open for guys yet. I'll wake up Shads and see if he wants to go."

Key seemed to agree with that and walked out the door, still clutching his head in slight pain. DB then breathed in relief, not noticing he was holding his breath for so long as he turned to the boy's room. "Now to the Lion's Den."

"They're still like that DB-chan?" DB looked and saw that Ravena was awake as well. Seeing as they were the only ones who were sober last night they didn't sleep in like the other members did. "I thought one of them would've woken up last night nya."

"Apparently not," DB said.

Ravena nodded but then smiled as she waved him forward. "Well, you were the one who thought it would be funny so you're the one who has to wake them up." The catgirl said cheerfully.

"Well don't be so happy, I'll be lucky of the redheaded demon girl doesn't kill me." DB said as he entered room. Ravena decided to follow after him to be, in her words, moral support; though she made it clear that DB would be the one to wake them seeing as it was his fault they were in that position. The two saw that during the night both girls were asleep on both sides of the beds, each with an arm to themselves, as the boy was also asleep.

Ravena took out a camera and decided to take a picture for herself before she sent DB forward to wake them up. The vampire sighed dejectedly as he looked for something around the room to use to try and poke them awake; he settled for using a stick Ravena gave him and went to poke the first one, Rose, who suddenly grabbed the stick and yanked it forward so that she could kick DB out of the room.

"Serves him right…damn Doppelman trying to sneak in here" Rose drowsily stated as she began to stretch, just now waking up. "Argh, my head hurts…is this what a hangover feels like?" The girl said rubbing her temples.

"Kind of nya" Rose then opened her eyes and saw Ravena standing there next to the open door where she unconsciously kicked DB out off. "What are you doing in my room Boobcat; more importantly how did you get a key to my door?"

"Guess again, Rosie." Ravena said when she saw that Rose was still confused she just pointed in finger back down to the bed. "You might understand more when you see who you've been using as a pillow."

"Pillow what are you talking abou…" Rose then froze in shock as her face turned completely red as she stared back at the bed and saw Shadow still asleep. "Wha-wha-what the hell…how and why…"

"Long story really…." Ravena tried to explain. "That drink that Naenia-neesama had you drink, well it was a really strong wine and…"

"That doesn't explain why we were suddenly in bed!" Rose yelled as she checked herself to see if sleeping was the only thing they did; the girl let out a breath seeing as they didn't go further though she was confused at the string of black hair that she found in her mouth after her search.

"Ummm….Chocobo, not so loud~" Illu groaned as she then rolled in her sleep, ended up on top of the sleeping Shadow to the others shock. Feeling that she was no longer on the soft cushion of the mattress, Illu opened her eyes and steam formed from her face as it lit up; before she could scream Ravena placed a hand over her mouth and quickly dragged her out of bed.

"Take calm deep breaths Illu-tan." Ravena said, as she got Illu out of bed hoping that the girl's embarrassment would fade soon. Seeing her this way, the neko could guess why Illu was so embarrassed, not from the fact of sharing a bed with a boy but her coat was completely open. Ravena thought back to last night and remembered Illu had unzipped her coat back when she was drunk.

"Mmm cmmmhm, yhm hmm mm om mm mmouth mavena!" Ravena understood what she was saying and took her hand off allowing Illu to take deep breaths of oxygen. Once the girl was calm she then clutched her head in pain. "Owe, my head hurts…even more than back when we were training. What happened, how did I end up in bed with Shadow?"

"That's exactly what I want to know." Rose said as she was now angry. "And I'm sure Naenia is to blame for the fact that she brought the drinks; wait until I give her a piece of my mind!" she growled before suddenly cringing in pain again.

Suddenly, Shadow gave a small groan and stirred, causing the Rose and Illu to panic as they quickly (albeit clumsily) scampered out the door pass Ravena. Looking back to the Guild Leader, Ravena sighed and shook her head as she walked up to the bed to try and wake Shadow up by tickling him with her tail but all that was get Shadow to grab it and hug it like a pillow.

Just then an idea struck the cat-girl as she suddenly cleared her voice and knelt down next to Shadow's ear. "Sweetie…..it's time to get up~…" she whispered in a motherly tone.

"Oh….Five more minutes Mom….." groaned Shadow a bit before rolling over.

"Come on Honey….or you'll be late for school…breakfast is on the table~…."

With a defeated groan Shadow rolled back to his original position and slowly opened his eyes to see blurriness. After blinking a few times, his vision finally cleared to seeing Ravena's face close to his.

"WAH!" _**THUMP! **_Shadow exclaimed as he pulled back, falling off the bed in the process making Ravena laugh.

"Morning Sunshine~" greeted Ravena cheerfully.

"RAVENA?! What are you doing in my ro-Arrgh!" yelled Shadow before the headache suddenly attacked him.

"It's morning Silly, and the last day of our trip, so look alive Great Leader!" declared Ravena making Shadow cringe again in pain.

"Uggh…I had this weird dream…. Doppelman was dancing with Brook…Illu was laughing and spinning…DB turned into a Horse was giving a ride to a Giant Koala dressed like Rose….."

Ravena suddenly averted her eyes and turned away much to the confusion of Shadow. "Uh…wow…weird dream…yeah! I'm gonna go now!" said the catgirl hurriedly before dashing out the door.

Shadow sweatdropped at the girl's actions but decided to get out of bed and stretched a bit feeling how sore his body was as well. "Must have just been a dream, but then again I don't remember much of last night." As the guild leader went to leave the room he saw DB slump on the ground. "DB what are you doing?"

"I was going to see if you wanted to come with me and Key to the spa, since he said things like he wasn't feeling well when he woke up." The vampire explained.

"You don't exactly look 100% either D, why are you on the ground?" Shadow asked.

"Because, stuff…" DB said as he stood to his feet. "Anyway let's hurry up an meet Key so that you can deal with that headache."

"How'd you know I have a headache?"

"Lucky guess, come on let's go!" DB said, dragging Shadow along with him.

**(Time Skip)**

After the men went off to the springs and the women gathered everything up and made sure the guild wasn't missing anything. They all soon met back in the living room where they saw that they all had received outfits left on the table by the staff members. "So you don't remember what happened last night either Illu?" Shadow asked, seeing as both he and Key couldn't remember much.

"Not really, last night was all a blur and Ravena-chan and Naenia-san wouldn't tell me much." Illu said, with Mukurowl and Nyoka perching on her shoulder and wrapped around her neck respectively. The hybrid took the time to go to Rose's room and brought their pets back with her.

"It's really nothing nya, we were just having so much fun it wore you three out!" Ravena said and then quickly brought attention to the clothes they had all received. All the boys had Hawaiian shirts and cargo shorts, while the girls all had sundresses. "So why do you think they left us these clothes nya?"

"Well on the way back there was a sign talking about a Luau and that all the guests were invited." Key said. "It's in a little while but if we want to get back to the base in time we may have to miss it." The Beta said.

"What, the vacation was for two days and it's the last day we can't just leave early!" Bella reminded them. "We still have the rest of the day; you promised two days so you can't just cut it short!"

"I know that Bella." Shadow said, wincing at the volume. "We do have to get back, but I did promise we would have two days of vacation before returning back to Tokyo City." The guild leader said as he proceeded to compromise. "How's this, it looks like the Luau will take up most of the day by itself so we'll stay for that if everyone can get ready to hit the road afterwards."

"Now that's what I want to hear!" Bella smiled and then she looked down to the dress she was given to wear. "Though I don't like the fact that I have to wear this dress to the Luau," The tomboy toon girl said as she placed her dress back down.

"But you need to wear it to go to the party nya." Ravena said, to Bella's displeasure.

"Punnya-Punnya-Nya~!" mewed Punnya in agreement as she bounced on Ravena's head.

Illu came to behind Bella and patted her friend comfortably on her back. "Cheer up Bella-chan, this is the last day we have on vacation and we have to make the most of it." The hybrid girl said. While she can't remember the night before she still wanted to have some good memories with her friends at the Inn.

Bella sighed. "Fine, but I don't see why. Can't I just go and swap it for one of the guys outfits?"

"You can try but we'll see how far you get." Shadow said. "I'm going to go change and then make sure to collect our things from the front desk; I'll put in the van so that we can leave easier." Shadow then went into the room to change into the shirt and short combo; after he was done and left with Amaya on his head the rest began to pack up their things as they all agreed to meet back in front of their room.

"Well girls, let's go get ourselves pretty…." Muttered Bella in obvious disdain as she and others went back into their room to change.

Naenia was already in before them having already changed into her sundress, simple with a long flowing skirt. It was a light pink with sakura flowers and petals adorning the bottom of the skirt with a single pink flower adorning the left strap.

"Good timing girls, could one of you help me with the ribbon please?" she asked as she turned around.

Illu nodded as she stepped forward to help Naenia while Ravena and Bella went to change into their dresses.

**(Scene Change)**

Soon, all of Kurotsubasa and company met again in the front lobby and decided to go to the Luau as one group. When the girls arrived they even were able to convince Rose to join, though the girl refused to meet Shadow's eyes to his confusion; when he tried asking the others he got no responses though he did spot a small blush on Illu's face. The guild leader decided to dismiss it as they got to their table out on the beach which coincidentally was next to Aetherion's table.

"Chocobo, you guys decided to stay awhile longer too?" Illu asked, surprised to see the whole guild was still there. However, the owl girl had a guess as to why her protective brother would want to stay.

"Hey even if the Guild Wars are tomorrow, that doesn't mean we still can' live in the now and enjoy our vacation." Aeon defended himself seeing the accusing look on Illu's face. "And will it kill you once to call me Aeon in public?!" The dragon hybrid asked, trying to change the subject quickly.

"Nya, I think we both know the answer to that Chokobi!" Ravena answered for her, causing Aeon to lower his head in defeat. "Still I figured you guys would at least leave to check out your base, don't you have another one in the Asian Server to look after?"

"That's my job and I know for a fact that our Headquarters is well protected," Ganymede answered. "All we need to do is relax and count down the hours until the Guild Wars begin; Aetherion is certainly ready for the competition, can I say the same for the rest of you?"

"Guess we'll find out when the day comes." Shadow answered. As they all sat, several Inn workers walked around the tables handing out flower pins for the girls to wear in their hairs and leis made of bright colored flowers for everyone to wear around their necks. "I'll say this; for once Bella had the right idea that didn't involve too much collateral damage. Guess we really did need this vacation."

"Told you so!" The toon girl said, smiling. "And I'm glad you said that, because I've been thinking that we take vacations like these each year! I know a great spot for us to go during the holidays."

"No thanks, last time you had us stranded in the middle of the North Pole." DB dully said.

"Hey we made it back didn't we?"

"We almost froze to death!"

"The North Pole, my you've been to some out of the way places. I figured you would all keep your bearings in Tokyo City." Naenia said.

"We have to go where work takes us, just because we accept the jobs in Tokyo City doesn't mean the jobs are always in that town." Key answered. "We've been to a few corners of this Server and back."

"I see; I'll have to ask DB to tell me those stories." Naenia said.

"You know, the one thing that wasn't right about this vacation was last night." Sol said, not noticing Ravena, DB, and Naenia tense up. "Did any of you hear any of that strange noise that was going on?" He asked them all.

"Sol I told you before that it was your imagination." Malachite said. "Anyway it was probably someone who had their TVs on too loud." The blonde then turned to the others. "He's been saying things all night in our room about hearing strange sounds around the Inn at night; please tell him he's wrong."

"I wish I could Mal-nii, but last night was kind of a blur." Illu said. "I can't even ask Muku-chan or Nyoka-chan what happened because they weren't with me at the time." The girl said about her pets as they remained on her person as opposed to Punnya who was with Mazareth; Amaya decided to keep her spot on Shadow's head.

"Well we mostly had to put up with the cats flirting over there." Nyoka said. Punnya seemed to have heard her causing the Neko-Manju to stick her tongue out at the small snake. "Trust me Illu-sama it was unbearable."

Ignoring the snake's words, Zephyrus decided to continue the conversation. "Anyway…I didn't even hear whatever Sol was talking about; all we've pretty much done if not relax on the beach or order room service was fight over the sleeping arrangements. It's not really fair when you have five guys and one girl in a room." The Wind user explained.

"But Zephy-kun, I already told you we could've shared the room together. Wouldn't that have been much easier than having to fight over who gets what bed and who sleeps on the floor or the couch?" Saphir asked.

"That's all right Saphir-chan; I just didn't want anything embarrassing to happen to us and even in a game it would still be frowned upon for us to share a bed here." Zephyrus said to Saphir's frowned look.

"I see Saphir-chan is still trying to have pups with Zephy-nii." Illu said causing the two to blush. "Though I didn't hear anything, we all had a party in our own room last night but the strange thing is I can't remember anything much after we got our drinks." The girl explained.

"Drinks…what kind of party were you all having in there?" Aeon said with a brow raised.

"Come on Aeon, Illu-chan is a big girl and she knows not to do anything wrong. Besides look, she doesn't even look to have a scratch on her." Malachite said, before Aeon could enter protective brother mode. As Mal and Aeon proceeded to check Illu's body for any marks Ravena sighed in relief knowing that the bump on Illu's head, that Felis left, was healed.

"Next time, try not to go so out of control in your games." Ganymede said silently, shocking the catgirl.

"How'd you know about that nya?" Ravena asked.

"I specialize in stealth and I have my own ways of looking after Illu, and besides…" Ganymede then slid out a small picture from his robe which Ravena saw was a picture of Illu in Shadow's bed. "It's good teasing material to use on Illu later." He said causing Ravena to sweatdrop.

"Nya, well Mister Know-it-all, do you happen to know why they still have the stage set up?" Ravena asked. That question got everyone's attention as they saw that the stage from the pageant had not been removed but the decorations from before was gone and a large white curtain kept it from view.

"Must be some event the Inn has planned; you guys know you aren't the only ones who are going to be leaving tonight." Rose answered; as the rest were going to ask her why their answer was given from Grim as he appeared out of nowhere with Doppelman behind him.

"She's right; the Guild Wars catches the attention of everyone, even those not in guilds. It's featured even on the Game Channel in the real world so it's highly anticipated; a lot of people are going to be paying close attention when the event starts." Grim explained. "Anyway, the stage is for some event the staff has planned but I don't know anything about it." As Grim sat down in an empty seat Doppelman also found one that was empty.

"**Speaking of things we don't know, when we were on our way here we heard the staff talking about how the people in the room next door disappeared. They were saying something about a little boy, a sailor scout, and a pale guy, any idea who they're talking about?"** The shade asked.

"Well if the Sailor Scout is Sakura, then they might be talking about BoD since we did see her today." Ravena concluded.

"And the little boy was probably the kid from the tournament, but who would the third one be?" Before they could think any further they heard fanfare from the stage that made everyone present look on as one of the staff walked up with a microphone.

"Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen, we hope you are enjoying the accommodations the Ember Island Inn has provided you thus far." Hearing the sound of applause, the speaker stopped to allow them to finish before she continued. "Now we know a lot of you will be leaving us tonight to catch the upcoming events but we can't allow you to leave the Inn without some memorable moments." At that signal, the curtains were peeled back to reveal the stage which now had a full karaoke system set up. "So before we can leave you with some of our magic, might someone feel brave to step up and lend us their voice?" The woman asked.

"Ooh, why not us?" Bella asked to Shadow's surprise.

"Karaoke really?" Shadow sighed.

"Come on Shads, they're asking for only just one song! We go up there we sing and then they continue with the rest of the party." Bella said. "Besides I don't think anyone else is a rush to get on stage." The toongirl pointed out to all the nervous faces in the crowd; before shadow could object Bella was already on her feet waving to the stage. "Hey is there a chance we can get a group song?!"

"Well that would be a first for a large group to sing a song; I trust you have one short enough?" The Inn member asked.

"Of course!" Bella said, giving her friends a thumbs up to the rest of Kurotsubasa as they were being applauded on by the rest of the vacationers. While Bella went to choose the song the others followed up after her.

"Be sure to put on a good show, I want my recorder to capture everything." Rose teased them as they got on stage.

"That's a bit cruel isn't it?" Grim asked.

"You remember all of last night don't you?" The redhead asked; seeing that Grim didn't speak she decided to take it as a yes. "Well I don't, and I ended up waking up in an unusual situation so this is my way of payback." Rose said.

'Well at least she doesn't remember everything she did last night.' Grim thought as he turned his attention back to the stage.

On stage, each member of Kurotsubasa was waiting as Bella walked over to them smiling with a mike in her hand. Seeing as they had no other choice with the crowd Shadow sighed as he waited for them to play the song Bella chose. "Bella what song did you choose?"

"Trust me; you'll know once you hear it." Bella said with a smirk, when the rest were about to ask what that meant they soon heard the beginning of the song play catching them off guard at the song.

_(Play: Teen Titans Trouble in Tokyo Karaoke)_

"Oh you didn't." Shadow said, hearing the song play.

"You bet I did, not less talk and more rock!" Bella said as she held the mike up and began the song. Giving the rest only seconds to decide on the order as they decided to pass the mike around.

_Bella: "I will obey~ the traffic rules. TEEN TITANS!"_

_DB: "I will eat everything without likes or dislikes. TEEN TITANS!"_

_Illu: "Earth, Wind, Lightning Fire, Dad."_

_Ravena: "Grammar, Math, Science, Social Studies~Nya!"_

_Illu and Ravena: "There is nothing I am afraid of~~~! TEEN TITANS GO!"_

_Key: "Holla, Holla, Holla, Holla, Holla, Holla, Holler my name! TEEN TITANS!"_

"_Half of your troubles will be gone!"_

"_TEEN TITANS!"_

_Shadow: "Papa's schedule control. Mama's weight control. Wishes are endless~."_

"_TEEN TITANS GO!"_

_All: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5…TEEN TITANS!"_

Just as soon as the song ended, all the guests began to cheer and laugh in amusement for the group. Bella flew flying kisses to the crowd enthusiastically while the others took a bow and left the stage.

Once back at their table Ravena couldn't contain herself and began giggling uncontrollably causing the others to look at her.

"That was…..crazy! Hee-hee-hee!" giggled the cat-girl, her face all flushed. "I'm so sorry, I giggle when I get excited sometimes~!"

"See! I'd knew you guys would like it!" said Bella proudly while Grim began to pat Ravena's head to calm her down as the speaker went back on stage.

"Thank You! For our next singer, we have a lovely lady ready to serenade you!" declared the announcer as a familiar girl got up on stage.

"ZEPHY-SAMA~! THIS SONG IS FOR YOU~~~!" called Saphir excitedly as she bounced a little on stage.

Zephyrus who was drinking water from a glass did a sudden spit-take as he quickly looked at the chair beside to see it was empty. 'When did she…?"

"Whoa, she got up there fast!" commented Sol while the rest of Aetherion nodded in agreement. Illu simply sighed and sweat-dropped at her 'sister'.

"Hit it!" commanded Saphir as the familiar drum intro began to play.

_(Play Ouran High Theme Song: Sakura Kiss)_

_Saphir: KISS-KISS, FALL IN LOVE~!_

_(HEY! HEY! HEY!)_

_Saphir : Kizukeba itsudemo,_

_Soba ni iru keredo_

_ Honto wa kirai? Suki?__Mousou na no?__  
><em>

_ Jibun no kimochi ga~__Kuria ni mietara!_

_ Lady demo, Hosuto demo,__Kamawa nai yo!__  
><em>

_Suki ni natteku~_

_Riyuu wa minna_

_Chigau yo ne kedo__ ~…._

_MAYBE YOU'RE MY LOVE__ ~!_

_ Aitai ima yasashii kimi ni__SAKURA KISS~!_

_Tokimeitara ranman koishi yo!_

_Mirai yori mo ima ga kanjin,_

_Uruwashi haru no koi wa~!_

_Hanasaku otome no bigaku!_

_(HEY! HEY!)_

"_MAYBE YOU'RE MY LOVE~!"_ finished Saphir with a flirtatious wink and a peace sign as the crowd began to cheer for her. As Zephyrus sat in his seat stunned by the song, the rest of the party was clapping at Saphir's performance.

"I'll say this Zephyrus, that's some girl you got up there." Shadow said as the wolf girl had returned to her seat next to the stunned, silver haired Aetherion. After a few more songs, they all saw the equipment was being moved now as they began to set up the closing event.

"Thinking about finding someone for yourself?" Malachite asked, curiously.

"Aren't you?" Shadow dodged the question as he drank from his cup.

"There are too many wonderful flowers out there for me to settle on just one; at least for now." Malachite said, much to the rest of Aetherion's annoyance at his flirtatious nature. "And from that answer I see you haven't found that one person yet, that's good."

"Oh and why's that?" Shadow asked.

"That means Illu-chan still has a shot." Malachite said, causing Shadow to spit out his drink and Illu to blush red.

"MAL-NII!"

"Relax; it's just a simple joke." The blonde continued to smile.

"U-pyon?" Amaya asked, seeing Shadow recovering from the shocking spit-take.

"Don't ask Amaya."

Soon, as the sun continued to go down, torches were being lit around the area providing light as the performers got on stage. Music began to play as several performers got on stage with all of them holding flaming torches; the fire dancers then began their show having everyone look in awe in their performance.

"And to think we almost missed this, its one thing to see it in person than just seeing it on TV…if virtual reality counts?" Shadow said.

"Glad I decided to push for this vacation now?" Bella asked.

"Don't press your luck Bell….." Shadow said as he got another refill of his drink. "But yeah, this was a good vacation."

"I'll say nya, cheers!" Ravena raised her glass and all of Kurotsubasa clashes theirs together, symbolizing the end of their vacation. The whole group continued to watch the show until it was over as they then walk to check out of the Inn before heading back to Tokyo City.

"Wait hold on!" DB stopped them as he fished out a camera. "Can't leave yet without getting a group picture right?"

"Well it wouldn't hurt if we took one, how else are we going to remember the fun times we had here…even if one night was blurry and hard to remember." Key said.

"Cool idea DB, hmmm…" Bella then began thinking of how the picture should be taken.

"Let's take it on the boardwalk; it should have plenty of light for us if we go by one of the torches." Illu suggested.

"Nya, leave the picture taking to me. I'll make sure we get a great shot." Ravena said as she used her magic to make the camera float out of DB's hand into hers.

"More memories to add to the album huh?" Shadow said as they all began walking to where they would take the picture. "Of course we can't forget Mukurowl, Nyoka, Punnya, and Amaya too." He said scratching Amaya behind her ear.

"U-pyon~~~!"

Soon they were all set up, standing around each other with their vacation clothes still on. Punnya was perched on Ravena's shoulder while Mukurowl was on Illu's head with Nyoka around the girl's neck. Amaya was still on her spot on Shadow's head. No one was taking the picture however; because Ravena controlling the camera through magic.

"You sure this will work Ravena?" Key asked.

"Don't doubt my magic skills nya, just stand still and look pretty." Ravena promised them. "Now at the same time; one…two…" The camera flash then went off as each of them said their own goofy remarks as it captured that moment in time. After seeing the picture come out great, everyone then headed to the van to make their journey back home.

_**(Elsewhere….)**_

Back at the castle, Raiden looked dazed as he stared at the setting sun and heaved a heavy sad sigh. In his hand, was the purple flag he managed to pull from the sand-castle he made back at the beach with the pretty Bunny-Girl he called Mimi. He didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. All he had were the brief but good memories he had the mysterious girl. Suddenly, a vision of Mimi's smiling face flashed in his head as Raiden looked at the flag and gave a small smile.

'_I hope we meet again Mimi…._' He wished hopefully looking towards the sky.

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><p><em><strong>Until Next Time…<strong>_


	27. Chapter 22: Guild Wars Kicks Off

** Sup! It's the moment we've all been waiting for as we cross into the next arc…the ever expanding Guild Wars arc. With the filler being a nice way to breeze us through, it is actually time to formally start this exciting new chapter. Expect to see many things from this moment on as we go on to the next level. However; I've kept you all waiting long enough so…ON WITH THE SHOW!**

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><p><strong>Beta'd by: Ravena Felidae<strong>

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><p>"FFW"-Speech<p>

'FFW'-Thought

'_FFW'-Flashback_

"FFW"-Attacks

Disclaimer: I do not own any reference to any anime/game/show/book, etc. that appears in this story. I own the original plot (at least I hope its original) and my own characters and OC's. All other characters and references belong to their original creators.

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><p><strong>Chapter 22: The Guild Wars Kicks Off<strong>

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><p>"Well that was a great end to a very special summer vacation!" Bella said as she walked out the van that was now parked in Kurotsubasa's back garage in Tokyo City. "Too bad we had to end it so early, if only I could just turn back time so that we could have more fun…Ooh wait!, I know!" Before Bella could transform Shadow held her arm in place and then smacked her head lightly with a rolled up newspaper.<p>

"Bad Bella, Bad! Remember your promise. I let us take a break for summer, but now we're back and have to be prepared for anything tomorrow brings." Shadow said as he was now wheeling his new motorcycle to the wall. Amaya was asleep from the trip, but kept her spot on the boy's head.

Bella was now rubbing her abused forehead. "I know, though I wish this tournament would come at another time. All this Guild Wars nonsense has really eaten into my pranking time." The girl pouted.

Ravena took the time to pat the toon girl's back as she exited the van. "Nya, cool down Hy-Nya. The trip was fun while it lasted but we do have some things to be worried about in the morning. The Guild Wars are very important."

"Punnya!" Punnya agreed, to Bella's ire.

After taking two days off to enjoy the peace of summer, Kurotsubasa found themselves back at their base in Tokyo City unpacking and getting ready for the Events that will soon take place the next day. Even though it was night, there was an unusual quiet air around Tokyo City. There weren't any late night gamers socializing and doing some quick quests or raid before they crash; everyone had gotten an early night's sleep to either be prepared to enter or watch the anticipated upcoming event: The Guild Wars.

"To think that the event starts in the morning; I'm even more nervous now than when it was just a few days ago." Illu said as she made sure Mukurowl and Nyoka was with her when she got out of her seat. "I wonder how Chocobo and the others are dealing with this too. It's one thing to be prepared, but now that the day is so close…"

"Don't sweat it Illu, I'm sure we'll do fine." DB said getting out of the passenger seat. "We've all had our share of tough battles and all the Guild Wars are just a series of battles. It's not like we aren't used to fighting strong opponents, I'm sure we're ready for anything." The vampire said confidently as he tried to sooth the owl girl's anxiety.

"While the Guild Wars will be more than just battle after battle DB is right. There is no use for all of us sweating over the Guild Wars when it's so close. We'll worry about the challenges when they get here." Key said after parking and stepping out of the driver's seat. "Let's all logout, get some good night sleep and be ready to meet up tomorrow for when the kick off starts."

"Man I can't wait! The Kick-Off events are always so amazing each year, I'm always so jealous of all the people chosen to actually go see it live!" DB said, with jealousy present in his voice. Each year, the Guild Wars began with a kick-off to begin the battle season, and unlike other events it wasn't in-game, but on a special island in the real world provided by the creators of FFW: Murakumo Industries. A select number of players are chosen randomly from all over the world are invited to the island to watch the event take place first-hand while the other players not chosen were able to see the live stream from their TV's and in FFW. "What are the chances that all of us will be over to go this year?" DB asked.

"Right now, I like my chances of getting a good night's sleep. Whether we get an invitation or not, I want all of us to be at one-hundred percent. Once the kick-off is over expect Guilds to be popping up out of the woodwork." Shadow said as he opened his menu to logout.

"Wait, Shadow," Illu stopped him once his finger was inches from the button. The girl seemed even more nervous now, though he couldn't see her expression because it was hidden partially by her scarf. "Um, did you hear news of the update FFW will be given tomorrow as well?" Illu asked.

"You mean, the linked web chats right?" Shadow asked, receiving a nod from the hybrid. He had received a message from FFW saying they were now supporting web camera chats but he didn't know why Illu was bringing this up now.

"I-I figured since the chats can now have web cams, maybe we can all see what each other looks like. It can also give us another way to strategize secretly since our chats could be private." Illu offered her idea; true it would give them privacy to plan for the Guild Wars but Illu was also curious to what her friends look like in reality. With all they been through, she thought they should at least know each other real world identities.

"I don't know…" Shadow said looking to the side.

DB raised a brow. "Sounds like a good idea to me; I always wondered what my friends looked like from other sides of the screen." He said with modest curiosity.

"It couldn't hurt, and we trust each other with so much already. A name and a face can't hurt." Key agreed.

"Friends in not one, but two worlds; Who would say no to that?" Bella smiled.

"Nya, don't tell me you have your own reasons to want to hide your face Shadow-kyun." Ravena said, agreeing with everyone else on the idea that they should switch their chatroom style to web cam. Even she was curious about the people who truly made up Kurotsubasa.

"Call me crazy but I kind of like this air of mystery we have with each other. I've never really liked web cams." Shadow admitted as he then prepared to logout. "Sorry but I got to go otherwise I'll never get to sleep, we'll talk about this later after the kick-off maybe. Night guys."

"Night crazy!" Bella and Ravena waved him goodbye. Shadow decided to ignore their jibe as he then disappeared, having now logged out of FFW. "Sometimes he can be so secretive, but Shadow-kyun is Shadow-kyun. You can't really change him." The catgirl said.

"Maybe what I said brought up some bad memories." Illu looked down; thinking that she may have opened some of the scythe user's old wounds.

"No it's like Rave said. Its just Shads being all mysterious." DB said. "I'm sure tomorrow he'll be the same and we can probably guilt him into the webcam idea. If all of us gang up on him I'm sure we can convince him." He then gave her a large smile. The smile seemed infectious as Illu let out a few giggles of her own seeing the smile.

"Ok, then I'll see everyone tomorrow then." Soon all of Kurotsubasa said their own good byes before logging out after securing their base and locking for the night.

**(FFW)**

That morning, a young man rose out of bed and stretched as he saw from his clock that he had woken up earlier than he normally would. He shrugged as he gone through his daily routine and got dressed, thinking only of the event that was about to start off in FFW today. After washing up and brushing his teeth the young man got dressed and observed himself in the mirror. He had brown skin and short black hair that spiked slightly but was right now matted down with water from the recent shower. He was wearing a half zipped grey hoodie with a black shirt underneath it, blue jeans belted off and black and white sneakers. As he continued to check his appearance he was soon called by his mother to join breakfast; he left the bathroom to the kitchen where he filled his plate with a few stacks of pancakes with eggs and bacon.

"Shawn I wish you would stop wearing that jacket in the summer, one day you're going to be walking back here with heat stroke one of these days." The young man's mother chastised him.

"I wear it out of habit, and who knows how the weather could turn it rained twice yesterday didn't it?" Shawn said as lightly applied syrup to his pancake stack. He sat in his usually spot at the table seeing his brothers and sister already there eating their food, Shawn quickly finished and then stood up to walk outside. "I'm going to go check the mail Mom." He called to her before he left as he searched through the mailbox. Sorting the mail as he walked back in the house he stopped seeing an envelope addressed to him.

He had expected to receive some mail from work, probably something his boss forgot to give him at the office or email because he was busy with his stories about his 'little dragon' back at his home in Japan. What he didn't expect was the envelope to contain a letter, an airline ticket, and what looked like a red armband.

_Dear Shadowlight0982_

_ Congratulations, you have been selected along with 1000 others players of FFW to be invited to attend the Guild War Kick-Off Event held at the Infinity Dome. Within this envelope lies a ticket that will allow you to access our private jet that will be transporting many of you to our private island for the event. We hope that you will be able to attend this event._

_P.S. Bring your Visor._

_Sincerely,_

_Murakumo Industries_

It took a lot of convincing to his mother to allow him to go, mostly that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and he had his own way of making it to the airport and back home. Once Shawn got her permission, he went to his room and packed a few things in a black backpack to take with him, especially his Visor. He also used his special methods of travel to quickly leave home and head towards his destination. So now Shawn found himself at the airport heading towards the gate that will have him board a jet heading towards M.I.'s private island; home of the Infinity Dome and site of where the Guild Wars kick off will take place. All he had to do now was pass through security and endure an hour plane flight. He set his bag down on the conveyor belt to have it run through X-ray while emptying his pockets of things like his wallet and other things that might set the alarm off.

"No need for me to be stopped before I can even board the plane; I'm already here so there is no way I'm just going to turn around and head home." Shawn said as he passed the scanner without setting it off. When he went to retrieve his things from the other side he was stopped by one security worker.

"Excuse me," The officer said, keeping Shawn from grabbing his bag.

"Is there a problem with my bag?" Shawn asked. He knew everything he had packed into the black backpack; things like his laptop, some notebooks, and even his Visor lied inside its confines. The only thing in there he could think of that would possibly cause some problems would be…

"It's about…these." The man reached within the bag and brought out a pair of skates. The skates themselves looked normal, four white wheels set under black shoe designed skates with dark blue trim and crescents on the side. "Can you tell me why these skates would possibly have motors in them?"

"Oh that's an easy one; it's a project that I worked on." Shawn answered the man's question. "Is there a problem with them, surely skates with motors in them can't be a problem, nothing in the airline regulations said that I couldn't bring them."

The Officer then thought for a moment. "Well, this is the first time we ever seen something like this on the airline. And something like this wouldn't have a listing in the regulations, but the fact that these skates have motors in them…"

"How's this, I can show you that these skates are perfectly harmless to the airline." Seeing the look the officer was giving him, Shawn then added more to his offer. "I was to one who made them, so I can vouch for its safety. Plus I'm sure you don't want to keep the line waiting too long with all those people behind me wanting to catch their flights."

Soon, they could both hear the outbursts of impatient travelers waiting to board their planes. Shawn himself just kept a neutral look on his face and he could see the officer try his best to do the same but he also saw the potential for a riot to form if the line didn't move quickly enough. The man then handed the skates to Shawn waiting for the demonstration. "Ok, if you can show me that they are safe I will let this incident slide." The man said.

'Incident huh?' Shawn thought as he soon took off his shoes and substituted them for the skates. Once they were securely fastened and he had his bag on his back he began to explain. "It's simple, there may be motors and circuitry involved in the skates but none of them are moving because I have them on standby." He then leaned the skates a bit to show three small buttons underneath. "It's on standby so they are ordinary skates and off locks the wheels altogether." He motioned to the first two buttons.

"And if it's turned on?"

"Well think of it like the motor of a car," To answer that man's question Shawn then hit the last button and once he focused on the ground the wheels began to spin and screech along the airport's floor attracting the wonders and awes of those in line around him. The Officer himself also looked confused but made no motioned to stop him. "It's just a way I get around; it sure as hell beats having to buy gas. Now I don't want to be late for my flight so if this interview is over I'll take my leave." Suddenly the boy then vanished taking his things with him, leaving the security in shock of where he went while there were many cries and applause from the people in line at the display. A few feet away from the line, Shawn was now replacing the skates with his shoes as he casually walked towards his gate.

'Least I got through that no problem, though I don't need to be spreading more awareness about my invention. Let's hope it doesn't get that popular.' Shawn continued on his way until he stopped suddenly seeing that he had another audience to his trick.

"Well that's some magic show you put out there, though you didn't have to leave those guys hanging. They were just doing their jobs." The girl said, eying his bag since she saw him put the skates away. Shawn shifted his bag, trying to keep it from her view as he observed this stranger that came up to him.

The girl had on a gray t-shirt leading to a floral printed skirt and purple slip-on tennis shoes on her feet. She was carrying a purple satchel with her, which Shawn could see had several designs on it such of exotic fishes, coral, and other sea related decorations. What really got his attention about her especially was the black and green FFW Visor that she used to keep her brownish blonde hair out her eyes like a makeshift headband. Unlike his, her visuals were like goggles that she kept up and she also had hers moved up along her Visor and what looked to him like an antenna on the right side complete with a small dial.

"Their job was keeping me from where I needed to go, and I didn't feel like answering a million questions." Shawn said as he walked past the girl on the way to where he needed to board, he was walking slowly this time because he could still feel the girl's eyes on him. "Is there any reason you're following me?"

"I'm not following anyone, my flight leaves from this gate too." The girl said, though she kept at pace with him as she tried to start conversation. Shawn then sighed, as he could've guessed that she would be on her way to the Infinity Dome as well since she already had her Visor out. "And plus, some voices in my head said I should walk and get to know you. There's always a time to make new friends." The girl said.

"Well now, isn't really the time. I have a jet to catch and from the looks of it so do you; now let's go to our terminal and board." Shawn then started walking faster, leaving the girl slightly confused. She then shrugged and decided to increase her pace as well seeing as they both were catching the same flight. As the two showed their tickets to the counter and went to board the large jet, Shawn let out a sigh of relief as he saw the mysterious girl's seat was on another part of the plane. He set his bag up in the carrier and rested in his solo seat as the plane continued to fill. He then pulled out some earphones and played himself some music, wanting a peaceful flight to the island.

'At least now I don't have to worry about challenges on the first day, but I wonder about the others. Odds are; it's not likely that they all got invitations as well; hopefully they aren't in any sort of trouble.' Shawn said as he enjoyed the music passing through his ears and the view outside the jet as it eventually made its ascent from the ground into the clouds.

At the same times; several jets were taking off, each with their own passengers which were players all given their invitations. After hearing the announcements from the pilot that they would be arriving soon Shadow looked down to see the island they were approaching. It was a moderate sized island that still had its natural wonders such as the beach, its forests, and a dormant volcano; though what everyone was there wasn't the island's natural beauty. It was the large structure built in the center. The Infinity Dome was a large white dome building, the passengers can see from the plane that it had a glass ceiling and was three stories tall. The jets begin landing in the runway as the one thousand players stared in awe of the gravity dome as they left the plane, the security that were stationed helped everyone off and into the dome after they had all showed their tickets upon arrival.

Once inside, Shawn took eye at all the many marvels inside the large building. He had read a few articles about the Infinity Dome but seeing it in person was something else, hundreds of shops selling FFW merchandise and items for the game, people chatting and showing off their Visors. There were even those gathered on the viewing floor already to see fighters face off in the special gravity rooms. "This place really does have everything, makes me feel jealous that I can't really go to the Gravity Domes at home." Shawn said as he slowly walked through the stands trying to find something interesting.

"Well this place may not have everything but we're close to it!" Shawn stopped to see one of the vendors call out to him. When he looked to the woman's stand he didn't see much but many different colored square devices; they almost looked light small I-phones. "Here's something that we're giving free for all the players here, they go out mainstream tomorrow!" The woman said holding one up.

"And what exactly are these things?" Shawn asked, picking up a dark blue one.

"Something new that Murakumo Industries just created, it's a PT – Portable Terminals. It's a way for players to pack all of their FFW data and make it portable, which makes it easier to move accounts to new systems." The woman explained. "Go ahead and try it out."

Shawn was a bit skeptical of the idea but he then turned it on and was greeted with a Login screen similar to the one he uses to play FFW on his computer. After putting in his information, the screen lit up and then the image changed. Lying in him realm was Shadow, asleep, with Amaya also sleeping on his head; Shawn then made a quick check with the PT and saw that it did have all his data uploaded to it. "It really does have everything."

"I told you." The woman smiled. "Say, I know I'm not supposed to ask this but did you get a band?"

"A what?" Shawn asked.

"A band, they say they have something special planned for those who have bands. So did you get one in your invitation?" She asked again, curiosity clearly evident on her face about the band. Shawn got nervous a bit not really knowing what she was speaking off until he remembered the final thing that came in the envelope.

"You mean this thing?" Shawn asked showing her the red fabric. What he didn't expect was the woman to squeal in surprise and then drag him in close.

"Listen, hold onto that but whatever you do don't show it to anyone until it's time for the events to start!" The woman said.

"What event?" Shawn said as he place the band back in his pocket.

"Well I can't tell you that it will spoil the surprise. Now go on and enjoy the place, I got other players to give these PT's too." The woman said as she began to shoo him away as others came to check out the free merchandise. Shawn then just left in silence wondering what she could mean by the bands, he eventually found a place where he could sit down and took his bag off as he relaxed.

"This place really is something, though I wonder what that woman meant about the bands." Shawn side as he then reached into his bag and brought out his Visor and his laptop from his bag. The laptop was a simple, black laptop though his Visor was vastly different from others who kept the default FFW Visor. Shawn's Visor was a full ring, which dark blue except for the sides, which had silver crescent moons. The visual was also a see-through black band that he could retract back into the Visor if he needed to. As he began to plan out where he wanted to go next, an announcement sounded through the Dome getting everyone's attention.

"_Attention Guests, the Guild Wars Kick-Off is about to begin. Gather to the second floor where the event can begin."_

Shawn then gathered his things and stood up to follow the crowd to the next floor only to accidently bump into someone. The person gave a small gasp as she suddenly stumbled a bit while Shawn's bag fell back on his sitting spot.

"Woah! Sorry!" Shawn said quickly as he looked at the person who bumped into him.

The person was undoubtly female and had a small stature.

She wore a black hooded jacket over a red T-shirt with a paw-print on it and black slacks along with running shoes. Shawn didn't get a good look at her face since she had her head down and her hood was up, which obscured the top half of the girl's face but Shawn could see she had tan skin. He could however see that she was wearing a small black bag-pack. The girl somehow lacked presence, which was probably why Shawn didn't notice her before.

"Are you ok?" asked Shawn in concern.

The girl raised her head slightly and suddenly gave a small smile.

"Yes, thank-you…." the girl said in an almost monotone voice.

"Are you sure?"

"Thank-You, I must go," the girl said bowing before suddenly walking away.

Shawn quirked an eyebrow as he watched the strange girl walk off. "Huh…she's a weird one…" thought Shawn out loud as he reached down for his bag…only to feel the hard surface of the seat.

Widening his eyes, Shawn quickly looked down to see his entire bag was missing save for his A.T's which he placed next to it. "Huh?!" Shawn exclaimed as he quickly looked around the bench and under it when a thought struck him.

The boy quickly popped his head up and looked about for the girl before. Sure enough, there she was, a good distance away carrying not just her bag-pack, but his as well.

"When did she…? HEY!" Before he could fully give chase to the girl he was soon wept up with the crowd. Taking another look, he saw she had vanished inside the crowd of people, Shawn gritted his teeth and began to walk until he felt his foot hit something.

'Wait… is this…?' Shawn then pocketed the item as he went to hear the announcement.

**(Scene Change)**

When all one thousand invited players were upstairs, they all were greeted with a large coliseum like room. Stands littered the room in a full circle for many to sit in; while in the center were a large screen and two lone seats. Many whispers were going around the stands as people were waiting for the event to start. Soon, the lights dimmed and the screen turned on showing FFW's logo.

"_Welcome everyone…all of you here was invited to appear live and view the first battle of the Guild Wars. However; some of you are given an even higher opportunity, because you will get to participate in the Guild Wars themselves!"_ An announcer explained causing cheers and applause to sound through the stands_. "Now all of you sit back, as I leave the explanation to someone who can properly set the stage. As of right now, four people in the crowd have been mailed something special going along with their tickets. These four are given the honor of being involved with the first battle!"_

'Of course, guess that's why that woman was telling me about the band.' Shawn thought. Unlike most of his items, his band was placed in his jacket pocket as opposed to his backpack; which he still needed to retrieve back from the unnamed girl.

"The ones with the bands know who they are, but the rest of you do not yet. For now we would like all of you to stand and make your ways to this center arena; the ones with the bands will be taken to another area." Once the Announcer was done, everyone then stood up and were being led out towards the center of the room. Shawn followed the crowd until he showed his band to one of the workers; he was then led to another room.

"I don't know what this game is, but as soon as I get back down to that crowd I'm going to find my things."

"Sounds like your first time here."

Shawn turned to see another one of the chosen four, if the band around his arm was any indicator. The teen had brown hair, tan skin and brown eyes; wearing a Brazillian yellow soccer jersey and khaki shorts along with sneakers. The striking feature of this person as Shawn noted, was unarguably his height as he stood towering over Shawn. "I just guessed from the way you came in here, if I had to guess this must be your first time in a dome; much less here," the boy noted with a Hispanic accent in his voice.

"And you've been here often?" Shawn asked.

"A few times, the people that run this event like to show off some of the Guilds and if you're here that means your guild has been chosen. And from how green you look I say your guild was the wild ballot." The boy continued on ranting.

"Wild ballot?"

"That's right; usually a lot of known guilds take part in these events yet every year a random gear is chosen to even things out and have their chance to exhibit themselves here I the Infinity Dome. Many of us are familiar faces here, but this is the first time I've seen you here." Shawn then saw a girl walk into the room as well. She had red hair tied into twin pigtails at the side of her head, had on a pink and red dress and red shoes, she also had a few accessories such as pink bracelets and ties to hold her hair that matches perfectly with her red band. "Is your guild only starting out?"

"No, we've been in service for a while." Shawn said as he tried to keep his answers vague.

"Hey guys, stop pestering the new guy. I'm sure you'll find out what guild he leads once the first event goes underway. Right now shouldn't you be courteous to him and give him an idea of what's to happen." The three of them looked to the last person that was lounging around; he had long straight black hair and was wearing a white buttoned up collared shirt with black pants and dress shoes.

"Well we can't all be as fancy and charismatic as you Rem, and besides they change the game every year so what's the point of getting him informed if we don't know." The tall boy answered. "By the way; we might as well introduce ourselves. I'm Tulio Pedrosa," Tulio introduced himself. "Miss red and pink is Belle St. Arc" Belle waved her hand as her name was called. "And mister personality down there is Remmington Lovushka, but here among us he's called Rem."

"So what can we call our stranger of the year?" Belle asked curiously.

Seeing the spotlight was on him now, Shawn sighed as he did the polite thing and introduced himself as well. "I'm Shawn McMillan, though you can keep it to Shawn." He said giving out his name. He knew there were small odds they would all meet after this, from their names alone he guessed some of them didn't live in his region.

"Shawn huh, well nice to meet ya'" Tulio said. "You may want to tie your band around your arm; the first event is going to start soon." As he said that they were all soon called to walk out. Once all four of them stealthily hid themselves among the crowd they could hear music playing as a familiar image appear on the screen.

"_Hey-Yo! Long time no see! What's happening everybody?!"_

Loud cheers and applause instantly began to fill the air as the crowd began to get hyped up.

"_That's right yo! After the last big tournament, the higher powers finally decided to pull me out the woodwork and be the official MC for this Kick-Off Par-Tay! If ya don't know me, I am DJ Plugman. YO! Get it memorized y'all because you'll be hearing my voice all war long!"_ The tube headed DJ said pumping the crowd even more.

"_Now this is a bit trippy for me seeing as this party will be starting out here with all of you in the Infinity Dome but we have a special game planned out involving four guilds. Before I explain the game, let's introduced the ones chosen! Three of these aren't a surprise to be here, but the wild slot chosen is one to blow your minds!"_

Excited cheers cried out as four empty slots revealed themselves on the screen. The first slot the flipped to reveal a ring of six different colored flowers that created a magic seal in the center_. "Our first guild, the FFW definition of all magical girls; these ladies are not to be underestimated for they have great power and know how to use it! Everyone hands for __**Mahou Bouquet!**__"_ The symbol flashed again revealing the members of the guild causing the audience to cheer.

"_The next guild isn't one new to the spot light! They are the legendary performers, display all feats of wonder and amazement for your pleasure; whether it is in battle or not. Those brawlers from the Big Tent; __**Cirque de Circuit**__!"_ More cheers came as the Guild's portrait was shown underneath their symbol.

"_And here we come to our third selection; these guys have been making many appearances here and are an obvious fan favorite! You know them as one of the more popular guilds in the Guild Wars, the 'Risk-Taking' guild: __**The All-Stars**_!" As the All-Stars members appeared on the screen there were a lot of cheers towards the popular guild. Soon all that was left was the last slot as it was slowly being revealed.

"_Our fourth guild and our random wild slot is none other than the winners of the Eclipse Tournament! They've been slowly gaining attention and fame since then and are now making a gravity dome debut, everyone give a round applause for __**Kurotsubasa**_!" Plugman said as the slot revealed Kurotsubasa's symbol as well as its members.

The was a small pause as many seemed to recognize the members of the guild and caused a few eyes in the crowd to widen as well before the guild received its own degree of cheers and applause as well. Now that all the names of the guilds were displayed, Plugman then gained everyone's attention once again.

"_Now our teams have been introduced and decided; all I have to do now is introduce the first game to you. However; I'm afraid I'm not interested in the technical stuff, just on the action people!" _Plugman said_. "So I'll just have our new announcer explain the games to you. I apologize in advance that she isn't much in the looks department but-ACK!"_

Something was suddenly thrown and hit the DJ square in his face, cracking his screen slightly as he soon went unconscious. There was a quick transition and now the person on the screen was a young woman who seems to be straightening herself a bit. She had bright orange hair in braided twin-tails and large round nerdy spiral glasses. The woman wore a pink office suit and skirt. She cleared her throat as she addressed the crowd.

"_HI~! Well while my associate takes a while to recover I will take the reins in explaining the games today. My name is Masukomi, FFW's top reporter."_ Masukomi introduced herself.

"_Now the first game is what will be known as Guild scavenger hunt! As you all know, four of you have been given a band signifying them as the guild leaders. Those four will have to go out into the crowd and locate their guild members, be it how large or small they are. The first three to fully assemble their team will move on to the next part with the ones in last place being eliminated." _The reporter finished_. "The event ends as soon as the last team is formed, so try your best and locate your fellow guild mates so that you may move on to the next event. Are you ready? __**START!**__"_

Soon the four band-wearing players ventured out into the crowd in search of their fellow members. Shawn was concerned for the game but not as concerned as he was for finding his stolen things. He removed his shoes and used his AT's to quickly comb the crowd of people.

"And here I thought this would just be a normal day, but it keeps getting more and more eventful. I feel like someone up there has it in for me." Shawn said as he kept going with his search. He almost left to another part of the room until he caught eyes of the girl he had met in the airport. "That's goggle girl from before, but wait are those?!" He then sped towards her eyeing the Visor she had in her hand, his Visor.

"What the hey? That girl literally just dropped it in my hands but I what would I want with a random Visor?" The girl thought a loud as she observed the device more. As she paused and seemed to turn the dial on her own Visor she nodded her head. "Right, maybe I can find out who these belong too!" Looking within the band she soon caught a name written on it.

"S…Sha…Shadow…lig…HOLY FRAKUS is this?!"

"I'll be taking that if you don't mind!"

The girl stopped her realization seeing Shawn standing there by her with his hand held out. The brownish blonde haired girl nodded as she slowly gave the Visor back noticing the ban wrapped around his right arm. "Ok, though I didn't expect to be seeing you out here in real life Shads."

"Who are you talking abou…" Shawn stopped as he took another look at the girl. Only a select few people called him that nickname and only in FFW; and looking her over again he almost kicked himself for not noticing the similarity sooner.

"Hey, you might want to stop ogling too much boss man. Otherwise you might have some of my men to deal with." The girl said in good humor.

Shawn then smirked a bit, hiding his humor. "Don't flatter yourself Bella, though seeing as we're not in FFW anymore I need to call you by your name. But, let's leave that for later as we have the others to find." He told her.

"I got it, wanted to save the big reveal until we all met each other." Bella agreed with him. "Well you're the boss so let's go, but why did I end up with your Visor anyway? Having problems keeping up with your things?"

"No, I ended up bumping into this girl when she suddenly swiped them when I wasn't noticing." Shawn told her. "You see her anywhere, a girl wearing a black jacket with the hood up?" He described her to the girl.

"That sounds a lot like the girl that bumped into me and handed me this, she ended up heading that way." Bella then pointed to the direction she last saw the hooded girl take off.

"All right then, event though I'm pressed to finding my things we can look for the others on the way. How fast can you move?" Shawn asked.

"A bit faster than the average bear, why do you ask?" Bella asked, then she now saw the wheels on Shawn's AT's spinning in place and gaining speed.

"I ask because I know I move faster than average." Shawn said as he darted through in the direction that Bella pointed. The girl followed after him, running quickly as to not lose sight at the speeding guild leader.

**(Scene Change)**

"Man this place is massive and after all that talking to the woman did how am I going to find Shads, much less have him find me." A teenage boy said. He had on an open grey vest and khaki pants with red shoes. A blood red shirt was a black cross on the front, his shirt matching the red fedora hat on his head where his blond hair was hidden slightly. "How the bloody hell exactly am I going to find Shadow?"

"Hey Shads slow down!"

"Stop yelling that name out in the crowd and help me look for her, I have a feeling we're close!"

The boy then stopped his pondering seeing Shawn and Bella zoom pass nearby in the crowd. "Guess that's one way to have my questions answered. Though I wish the universe would give me other freebies." He said as he ran after the two.

With Shawn and Bella, they had stopped to gather their bearings so that they could stop the process of randomly searching through the crowd and moving in circles. The two could see the screen showing the guilds, telling how each was fairing. All-Stars and Mahou Bouquet seemed to have both found two of their members, leaving Kurotsubasa tied with Cirque de Circuit; though the two knew they had to speed up the process before they were left behind.

"It's going to take forever at this rate to find the others." Shawn lamented as he tried to think of a strategy.

"Now hold on, we're not giving up yet." Bella said. "Maybe if we ask hard enough the others will show up." She suggested.

"Yeah, might as well say the thief will give me my things back if I ask nicely." Shawn said. "Seriously Bella, I don't think it would be that easy to find everyone and even if they are looking for us as well what are the odds we run into them?" He asked.

"I say pretty well," The two stopped to see a hat-wearing boy walking to them with a black bag in his hand. "I believe this belongs to you Shadow, or whatever your real name is." He said as they both heard a slight British accent from him. Shawn took the bag and nodded accepting it as he shook his hand.

"Guess with that hat, I would've guessed it was you DB." Shawn said.

"Hey, Hellsing will always be one of my favorites. So I see you found Bella already, or at least I think she's Bella." DB guessed.

"That's right D, I may not be as awesome as I am in FFW but it's still me." Bella answered. "Hey where did you get that bag from?" She asked as Shawn proceeded to look through his backpack to see what he was missing.

"Let's see, around the time we were all moving a girl slipped it to me. I figured she must have forgotten about it so I kept it for safekeeping. I wanted to hand it back to her when I saw her, but you're saying that bag is yours Shads?" DB asked.

Shawn nodded his head. "That's right, we're doing this first challenge but I'm also looking for that same girl. She took my things and for some reason has been giving them out. All I'm missing now are my laptop and my new PT." He explained.

"Harsh man, those PT's are supposed to store all of our data right? Who knows what someone would do with that." DB said, knowing how much potential danger that was.

"That's why finding this thief is my number 1 priority." Shawn said.

"Hey, don't forget about the game too." Bella reminded him.

"I know Bella, but I have to find my things too. My whole life was basically in this bag and I want everything back." Shawn said.

"Well you said you were missing two things, and you found two things from us. Think this person could know that we were all in the same Guild?" DB asked.

"Maybe, but I'll save interrogating for later when we run into her." Shawn said. "I have backups of everything on that laptop but that PT is something I have to get back. Just imagining what that thief could be doing with all my data is making me worry, especially for Amaya."

"Well that only gives us more reason to find this thief right?" Bella said confidently.

"Don't worry we'll help you look." DB said. "Now let's find where your PT could have gone. Imagine the horror if someone else found out you were…"

"Shadowlight0982, known mostly as Shadow, age 19 and resides in America within the North America Server yet spends most of his time in the Infinity Server."

The three members of Kurotsubasa then spied a person reading off a dark blue PT, which Shawn immediately identified as his. He had short black hair and a slight olive tan skin. The young man was wearing a blue t-shirt with black jeans and black combat boots with a black trench coat over his outfit. "I never had an idea your collection was this massive and that you had so many treasures collected. You really need to know how to keep closer eye on your things Shadow." The man said with a slight Hispanic accent.

"Thanks for the advice, but I'll be taking that back if you don't mind?" Shawn said sarcastically as he had intent on taking the device back. He could care less if a random stranger learned his game identity, just as long as he didn't tamper with his data.

"I don't, though maybe I should test you to see if you are the real Shadow." The young man said. He then raised his free hand and held up one finger. "Now here's my question, what is the keyblade you gave to me when we met?" He asked.

"That's not a fair question, how is he supposed to know who you are?" DB asked, holding back as he was thinking of ways of swiping the device from the stranger without damaging it in the process.

"Well how am I supposed to know he's really Shadow? He could just be a very convincing impersonator, and even so the real Shadow would know what I was talking about." The mysterious teen explained.

"Well, that doesn't matter because I can say that this is the real Shads, so if you don't give him back what belongs to him…" Bella paused and was about to finish her statement until she was cut off by Shawn.

"Ultima Weapon"

The two stopped, hearing Shadow give his answer. "The keyblade was Ultima Weapon, one of the rare ones hard to find because it can't be synthesized correctly unless on can do it themselves or knows where to look. I got it out of a dungeon raid where I gave it to a certain someone because I didn't have a need for keyblades." He continued his explanation as he saw a small smile on the teen's face. "But you know that story, don't you Key?"

Key nodded his head and grinned as he tossed the PT to Shawn, which he caught. "Got it right in one, though what is something that important doing away from you? It was given to me by some girl but before I could ask any questions she took off running." Key explained how he came across the PT. "Care to explain it to me?" He asked.

"I'll tell you as we keep moving; we still have three things to do." Shawn said as he placed the PT in his pockets.

"Three things?" Key asked.

"Catching the thief, finding Kitty and Owl girl, and finding his laptop." Bella listed them out.

"And in no particular order." DB said. "Though it looks like all his lost things ends up with one of us, so if we find either Illu or Ravena that kills two birds with one stone. Not to mention I think we're in the lead with finding our Guild mates since we don't have so many."

"I don't know about lead, but I agree that we should continue looking for the rest of Kurotsubasa." Key said.

"Ok then, we haven't checked near the center yet so that's our next destination." Shawn said as he led them all through the crowd, hopefully towards the next member of Kurotsubasa and the final piece of his stolen items.

**(FFW)**

"_MOH! Baka Chokobo-Niisan! _Where could he have gone?" a Japanese girl with auburn hair lamented as she looked about the crowd. She had lovely fair skin and sea green eyes. She also wore a light sea-green colored dress that went down to her knees with puffy short sleeves with white sleeves that flare out at the wrists underneath the green sleeves and her favorite knee high brown boots. At her side was a small camera case.

The girl had previously arrived on the island with her brothers but they got separated in the big rush. The girl was so busy searching the crowd that she didn't realize that someone was trailing behind her until….

"Poke." A voice said followed by a sudden poke to the girl's ribs.

"Kya!" squeaked the girl who jumped in the air surprise, suddenly whipping around to see a short girl wearing a black jacket with the hood obscuring half her face clutching a laptop looking at her. All of a sudden, the girl handed the laptop to the other.

"_Neko ni shitagatte kudasai…."_ the girl said before suddenly smiling and bowing politely before taking off.

The Japanese girl tilted her head in confusion as she watched the stranger run off. "What was her deal?"

"HEY!" a loud male voice suddenly called out making the girl jump again in surprise, almost dropping the laptop in her hands but was fortunately able to recover in time, making her heave a big sigh of relief.

"Phew! Close!" sighed the girl.

"Excuse me Miss, but I think that's mine," said the voice again.

The girl slowly turned around to see the speaker was a African-American boy her age followed by a three other people behind him.

"Excuse me?" the girl asked politely in confusion.

"That laptop you're holding, did a strange girl suddenly pass it to you?" he asked quickly.

The girl nodded in response as the others finally caught up. "Shads! Did you find something?" one of the boys with the fedora asked making the girl widen her eyes in recognition.

"Yeah!" Shawn replied when suddenly the girl said something that made something click within the boy.

"Shadow-kun?" the girl asked unsurely making Shawn turn back to the girl.

The others all raised their eyebrows as they exchanged looks with each other when suddenly the one girl in the group gave an excited squeal.

"No freaking way! Owl-girl?!" she exclaimed.

"Eh?! Uso! Bella-chan?!" the Japanese girl exclaimed as well while Shawn quickly took back his laptop as the two girls began squealing in excitement as Bella suddenly swept Illu into a big hug and bounced about happily.

"Ohmigosh! Ohmigosh! Illu! We found you!" squealed Bella as she swung Illu about.

"AH! Don't spin me!"

"For god's sake Bella put her down!" scolded Shawn as he lightly slapped Bella on the head making her put Illu down. "We finally meet Illu."

Illu smiled happily and bowed in greeting. "If you're Shadow, and you're Bella then the others must be…."

"DB and Key in the flesh, _Chica_~!" said Key cheerfully while DB gave a salute.

Shawn smiled a bit but quickly called the group to attention. "Come on guys, let's save the introductions for later. That's five of us and the last of my stuff found but we still have to find Ravena."

"But how? You just said we ran out of stuff and unless Ravena is actually born with cat ears and a tail, none of us has even the first idea about her," noted DB.

"And we still got that thief to find!" added Bella while Shawn suddenly considered something.

"I might have an idea…" said Shawn suddenly as he turned to Illu. "Illu, the girl that handed my laptop to you, did you notice anything about her?"

Illu thought a bit before shaking her head when she suddenly recalled something. "Wait! She did say something before she took off!"

"What did she say?"

"She said '_Neko ni shitagatte kudasai….',_ It means ' Follow the cat' in Japanese," explained Illu.

"Follow the cat? Seriously?!" exclaimed Bella and DB at the same time incredulously.

"What is that even supposed to mean?" asked Key when the group suddenly heard a meow, alerting them to look down to see a black cat looking at them.

"Meow~!" it mewed before suddenly taking off.

"Quick! After it!" commanded Shawn as the others quickly obeyed and chased after the feline.

The cat ran down a path through a garden before suddenly turning a corner. As the group followed, the group began to notice more stray cats running past them in the same direction as the one they were following.

After turning another corner, the group finally saw the cats heading towards a park bench in particular where a small person sat. It was the girl who had swiped Shawn's stuff earlier, sitting all by herself save for the cats and kittens rolling at her feet or cuddling next to her as she tossed cat treats to them.

"That's her; she's the one that passed me your laptop." Illu said, as the group went to confront her.

The girl had a look of serenity on her face, or at least the part they could see that wasn't hidden by the shadows of her hood as she fed the kittens around her. She then stopped as she looked over to the group. "Sleek, graceful and carefree…Cats are perfect that way…don't you agree?"

"Gatos are one thing, but I don't think anything was graceful about you being a thief." Key said, getting straight to the point. "So why did you go through the trouble of stealing our friend's things and giving it to us? What's your angle?"

"Angle, not much, if I had any ulterior motive it would be to help you win this event." The girl said stroking the head of a purring kitten that climbed on her shoulder.

"Win the event, what do you mean by that?" Bella asked confused.

"Help us win? The only way we can win is if all of our guild members meet up and gather. How did you know who we all were?" Illu asked in a nervous voice. She wasn't comfortable with the fact a stranger knew her identity online as well as here.

"I'll admit it was hard to figure out who some of you are, though you all shared some of the same interests that leads to your FFW selves. All it took was to put the pieces together." The girl explained. "And so we all finally meet. Nice to finally meet Kurotsubasa face-to-face."

"All right enough with the games and tricks, just who are you?!" DB asked again with everyone else, starting to lose patience.

"You guys can't tell?" Shawn said, catching everyone's surprise.

"What do you mean?" Illu asked.

"She said meet Kurotsubasa face-to-face; she can't say that unless every member is here." Shawn said. "Isn't that right, Ravena?" He asked shocking the others a bit with his guess.

"Ravena, are you joking?"

"How can someone that mysterious be anything like Ravena?"

"What makes you say that?"

Those were several questions asked be the others but were all stopped by the sound of hands clapping together softly. Once again, everyone's attention was on the girl. "It's about time you figured it out; we finally meet at last Shadow." She then took down her hood to reveal familiar brown curly hair and dark brown eyes behind a pair of red metal half-rimmed glasses.

In order prove Shawn's point, the girl removed her glasses and wore a pair of cat ears. Suddenly as if a switch was turned on, the girl suddenly smiled and brightened. "Ara~nya~! You found me, Nyano~!" she said in a familiar tone.

"EEEEEEHH?!" exclaimed the others in shock as Ravena replaced her glasses and took off the headband before resuming her initial expression.

Ravena got off her seat and walked over to the group while most of them were pulling their jaws off the ground. "I see my plan worked and you got everyone together; otherwise you might have been able to catch me before the event could start."

"You could've just told me who you were instead of leading us on this goose chase." Shawn said.

"Where's the fun in that? Sure you could have asked a thousand people who their identities are and get lucky but you could only figure out who we were by remembering our personalities." Ravena said. "All in all, I say you could've moved a bit faster."

"Well all this time I thought I had to chase down a thief." Shawn objected.

"Keep a closer eye on your things then." Ravena said, adjusting her glasses.

"I will…once you take your own advice." Shawn said confusing her. He then pulled something out of his pocket; a keychain. It was a small doll keychain that looked like it was high quality but those around could tell it was handmade. All of Kurotsubasa's eyes widened a bit when they saw that the doll on the keychain was Punnya. "It slipped off your bag after we bumped into each other. Guess you could say I ended up with a big hint."

"Touche."

Before anymore words could be said they all heard the sound of a timer going off.

"_All teams return back to the central room, three guilds have succeeded in finding all of their members. Please make your way back so that we may see the results, those who do not show up will forfeit their rights to compete!"_ They all heard Masukomi's voice say.

"I guess it's time we make our way back; I hope that we got into the next round." Illu said.

"I hope so, I don't want this crazy cat chase to just be for nothing." DB said.

"Well we'll find out once we get there. Let's go everyone." Shawn said after handing the keychain back to Ravena for her to reattach to her bag. They can all see she had keychains of everyone in the guild but they decided to save questions until after the games.

_**(Scene Change)**_

"_Well it was a really exciting round, seeing the leaders go out and round up their entire guild members. However; only three guilds can move on! You can all see everyone that all four teams have an impressive number of people present!"_ Masukomi said as the teams stood in the center of the room. Kurotsubasa saw that standing around Belle were four others girls of different ages; the All-Stars also had five members all together and they saw that the Circus had four people standing together.

"_From the number of members and the times, the three guilds moving on to the next game are…"_ the reporter continued with a long pause making the groups nervous; seeing all their waiting faces Masukomi giggled a bit before reporting the final results_. "First place in finding all their members is Mahou Bouquet; guess those girls really know a lot about each other! And in Second would be the All-Stars!" _Those results got people congratulating both guilds with rounds of applause.

"_And now third place, with both sides taking so much time; the winners with all their members present on stage is…Kurotsubasa!" _The reporter said with people now clapping for the guild.

"We won; didn't we go down to the wire though?" DB asked.

"Maybe…" They turned to see Rem who didn't have a disappointed look on his face. "I found out close to the end that all my members weren't present. By the time I knew the time ran out, so congratulations on your victory. Most new guilds never make it past the first game." Rem explained.

"That's a cheap way for us to win; you should have told the officials." Shawn said.

Rem then shrugged. "It doesn't matter, in the end our Guild exists for entertaining the masses and we succeeded in that. There isn't much we can do entertainment wise until the last event, but we'll always have FFW." With that, Rem and the rest of Cirque de Circuit left the stage leaving the three winning teams.

"Now that our teams have been reduced to three we will proceed to the next event. Our officials will escort the team out to the next arena; the rest of you can sit tight until we set up for the next challenge."

With that, the crowd all went to find their seats in the large rooms. The guilds were led out of three different hallways back to outside, continued being led by their escorts Kurotsubasa soon found themselves outside in front of a large maze. Before any questions could be asked they saw the security guards heading back into the building. All eyes were on the entrance to the maze.

"This is the next challenge; they want to run us through the maze like mice?" Bella asked as she eyed the beginning steps. "How exactly is this going to work?" She asked as she lightly tapped the walls framing the entrance.

"Well it's a maze, so the goal has to be to get through it. Possibly reaching a goal or finding something inside." Key guessed, trying to use some logic.

"_Right you are!"_

A voice rang from all of their pockets. Illu was the first to check and pulled out her new, lavender colored, PT and saw the image of Masukomi on her screen. "It's Masukomi-san!" Illu said as she held the PT for all of them to see the reporter.

"_Kurotsubasa, the goal is to reach the center of the maze; however, there are several rules to this race. If you haven't noticed, anything on your person with a GPS unit has been disabled; it's a way to prevent cheating. Another thing is that it's almost impossible to scale the walls, though if you try to go through or over a wall the guild is immediately disqualified."_ She explained. _"Other than that, use everything on your person to reach the finish."_

"Is that really all of the rules, or are there any penalties you forgot to mention?" Ravena asked.

"_Well since you asked nicely, the other teams have been given different edges to help them through some of the trials of the maze. Since you came in last, you will receive no such edge. OH! And there are a couple of obstacles in there, so good luck~!"_ Masukomi answered. _"The race begins now, so I suggest you all get going!"_ She then vanished, allowing Illu to place her PT away.

"Guess it's time to storm the castle right!" DB proceeded to walk forward only to be stopped by Shawn.

"Hold on a second, race or not, a maze is a maze. We need to be smart about this." Shawn said as he walked ahead with a hand placed on the left wall. "Standard rule, we keep our hands to the left and work from there. It's not quick but we'll make it somewhere eventually."

"No offense boss, but wouldn't be faster if we split up and cover more ground?" Bella asked as they all followed him inside staying to the left hand side of the maze.

"I think a rule is, to have every member present once we reached the end. Even if we do split up, there's no way of us to keep in touch with each other." Key theorized. "They said we can use anything on our person, but I don't think our phones are working after being disabled here. So not much we can do to keep in touch."

Ravena looked like she was going to say something but Illu beat her to it. "Actually…I think I could fix our phones so that they can still communicate, but the problem would be if we separate too far from each other." She said, she also looked like she had something else to say but refrained from saying what was on her mind.

"I have a feeling my methods wouldn't work here either, but then again I wouldn't want any cats running lost and loose in this maze." Ravena said bluntly. Kurotsubasa then made it to a closed off room where they saw a mirror resting on a pedestal in the center and three locked doors in front of them.

"Dead end," DB said. "I don't think we can open a door with a mirror."

"Maybe we can, who knows this could be some kind of futuristic mirror that they left in here for us." Bella said getting close to the mirror. "It could be the key itself."

"It could be there is also something written on the back." Ravena said. They all gathered to the mirror to see the name written on the back. In a calligraphy-like style, the name was inscribed on the mirror read Yata no Kagami.

"Yata no Kagami…wait I sort of know what that is. It's a sacred treasure." Key said.

"Right, Yata no Kagami is one of the three imperial regalia of Japan. Though what sort of clue of that?" Ravena asked. "If we had an edge, maybe we could have an idea of what to do with it." The girl said seeing as they couldn't remove the mirror from the pedestal after trying.

"Maybe we don't need an edge; the clue could be right in front of us." Illu said causing the rest of Kurotsubasa to look at her for an explanation. "Yata no Kagami is a sacred treasure but it goes back into mythology as well. It was the mirror used to lure Amaterasu when she hid herself within a mountain." She explained.

"Amaterasu being the goddess of the sun" Shawn then looked up to the ceiling and saw a small sealed opening and what looked like a switch. "Guess we got to get sunlight into this room, that switch looks like it can open the roof."

"Great, none of us can make it up there though." DB said as they all looked at the opening.

"Maybe we can all get on each other shoulders until we reach it." Bella suggested.

"I don't know Bella-chan; it looks a bit unsafe to be trying something like that." Illu said in worry with a hand clutched on her heart.

"Also unnecessary" Shawn said as he reached down to the AT's he was still wearing and adjusted them slightly and tightened the laces. "We just got to flip the switch; I can do that in a second."

"I saw how quick you were going through the crowd with those skates but do they really have the jumping power as well. Speed is one thing but the ceiling is high up, we're talking about flight." Ravena said.

"Then it's a good thing I'm tall, stand back." Shawn said as with the flip of a switch the AT's came to life, wheels screeching as they whirled against the ground. Bracing himself, he then did a large jump aiming at one of the walls. Using the skates he then proceeded to ride up the walls.

"Sugoi, real AT's!" Illu exclaimed in awe.

"I've seen a lot of pretend skates online and videos, but no one has ever tried to do the real thing." DB said impressed. They all then watched as Shawn eventually reached the switch and flipped it before making his descent to earth.

"Wall riding is frightening, I don't usually try it. Though I do have some experience testing these things." Shawn said. From the ceiling a ray of sunlight was sent down and reflected off the mirror to a point above one of the doors; they all heard two clicking sounds as the door then slid open.

"Just like the story, the mirror was used to lure the light out." Illu said. Kurotsubasa then continued on forward to the room, before she left however, Illu took a final look at the mirror. Testing it now, she was able to remove the mirror. Tucking the mirror into her bag, she then followed the others further in. There was no telling what else an imperial treasure could be used for in this challenge.

**(The next room)**

Kurotsubasa soon found themselves in a large room with a very high ceiling decorated with question marks and two large squares in the middle.

"Woah, who decorated this place? The Riddler?" asked Bella raising her eyebrows when the door behind them suddenly slammed shut.

"Well if it isn't Kurotsubasa," a new voice sounded out alerting the group to turn their heads to the group of girls entering through a different door that also slammed shut as well.

"Belle," greeted Shawn with a nod.

"Shawn," said the leader of Mahou Bouquet, returning the greeting when a hologram of Masukomi appeared before them.

"_Welcome Mahou Bouquet and Kurotsubasa~! You two have just stepped into the Short-Cut Challenge~" _greeted the reporter cheerfully as trumpets begin to fanfare. _"In this room, both Guilds are to compete in a challenge. The winners will be directed to a special route that will lead them closer to the goal while the losing team will have to take a detour~! Once you're in you can't leave until the challenge is complete!"_

"_Please step onto the squares to begin~!"_

Both Guilds briefly exchanged looks before complying and stepping on to the squares. No sooner did they do so, guard rails suddenly sprung up around each Guild as a motor sounded, causing both squares to begin rising into columns for about two storeys tall before it stopped.

Suddenly, Shawn felt something grasp at his jacket as he looked around to see Ravena trembling while closing her eyes tightly.

"Kitty, you ok?" asked Bella in concern for her friend.

Ravena shook her head. "I'm….I'm terrified of heights!" she squeaked.

"HUH?!" exclaimed everyone in disbelief.

"But you can fly!" pointed out DB incredulously.

"Only in the game…. But in the Real World I get terrified of being in high places…"

Before anyone else could get a word in, Masukomi's hologram appeared floating before the two teams.

"_Ok Players~! This Short-Cut challenge is a battle of Brains! You need to win if you want to take the Short-Cut!" _Masukomi began to explain as a pair of Buzzer buttons appeared before each Guild, a red one for Mahou Bouquet and a Blue one for Kurotsubasa.

"_I'm going to ask five questions on FFW, answer correctly and your opponent's platform will drop bit by bit~! Are you ready?~"_

"YEAH!" came the response from both Guilds.

"_Quiz Time Start!"_ cheered Masukomi as the first question illuminated above her.

"_**Question 1: As you all know, the Dome we are currently in is called the Infinity Dome. What are the names of the six other Domes located Worldwide?"**_

_**BZZZZZT!**_ Went Mahou Bouquet's buzzer without hesitation as Belle smiled confidently.

"Future Dome, Centro do Karneval, Player Palace, Diety Drive, Temple of Ra and the Coastal Center," the girl said calmly as a bell sounded indicating the correct answer.

Kurotsubasa's platform shuddered as it slowly dropped a bit as its occupants all hung on to the sides.

"Kya!" squeaked Illu and Ravena as they clung to each other while Key frowned looked at the other Guild who was currently cheering for their Leader.

"This isn't going to be easy, that girl didn't even **try** to think!" exclaimed DB, clearly impressed.

"Not if I can help it," declared Key as he steadied himself by the button as Question two appeared.

"_**Question 2: The Reception Center is located in….?"**_

_**BZZT! **_"Tokyo City," answered Belle once more with so much as batting an eye as she beat Key to the Buzzer much to his disbelief. The bell sounded once more indicating her answer as correct much to the frustration of Kurotsubasa.

"Darn it!" growled Key in annoyance.

"Cool it Key, getting angry isn't going to help," said Shawn patting his friend's shoulder to calm him.

"Yeah Key! Let me handle the Buzzer pressing, and you guys do the thinking," suggested Bella.

Key took a deep breath and nodded as he stepped aside, letting Bella take the reins as she cracked her knuckles and braced herself for the next question.

"_Advantage: Mahou Bouquet!" _announced Masukomi as Kurotsubasa's platform lowered once more before the next question revealed itself.

"_**Question 3: The first group of Players in FFW were known as….?"  
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_**BZZZT! **_Went Kurotsubasa's buzzer this time as Bella's fast reflexes allowed her to quickly slammed her hand on the buzzer this time, finally beating the other team to the punch.

"The Beta-Movement!" exclaimed Key confidently as the bell rang, finally earning Kurotsubasa their first point.

"Yatta! Finally!" cheered Illu as their platform finally began to rise while Mahou Bouquet's went down, finally leveling the two teams once more.

"Just two more and we'll win this!" urged DB while Bella nodded in agreement.

"Let's do this," said Shawn while Ravena finally composed herself and nodded her head and smiled.

The two Guilds exchanged competitive looks with each other as the fourth question appeared.

"_**Question 4: What are the three Rare-Types of Beast-Manju?"**_

_**BZZT!**_ "Kodai, Jewel and Mahou- Manju!" exclaimed Ravena this time as soon as Bella slammed the Buzzer. Another chime sounded indicating another win as this time Kurotsubasa rose above their opponent.

"Alright Rave!" cheered DB slapping the girl a high-five while Ravena smirked and readjusted her glasses.

"Only one left guys!" noted Illu anxiously while the others began to exchange heated glares with the other team.

"_Ok People~! We are tied 2-2 for both teams~! This final question will decide who gets to leave through the Short-Cut!"_ announced Masukomi as a drum-roll began to sound off, building up the suspense before the final question revealed itself.

"_**Final Question: What is the most Powerful artifact in FFW?"**_

There was a brief silence in the room that was quickly followed up by murmurs as Mahou Bouquet began to discuss their answer while the members of Kurotsubasa simply exchanged looks and smiled at each other knowingly as Shawn stepped up to the Buzzer and sounded it.

_**BZZZT!**_

"_Kurotsubasa, before you answer I must remind you, answer wrongly and your opponent wins the challenge, do you want to proceed?"_ asked Masukomi while Shawn looked at the others who gave him looks of encouragement and confidence before he nodded.

"Yes, Ma'am," replied Shawn earning a nod of approval from the reporter.

"_Very well, what is your answer?"_

"The most Powerful Artifact of FFW is…." Shawn began to say before smiling confidently. "The Wings of Creation."

_**DING! DING! DING!**_

Bells chimed loudly as confetti and balloons streamed down from the ceiling with trumpet fanfare.

"_YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! WINNER: __**KUROTSUBASA~~~!"**_ cheered Masukomi happily as the Guild began cheering in victory as a door slid open and a walkway appeared, connecting to the platform allowing Kurotsubasa to proudly make their forward while a trap-door opened on Mahou Bouquet's platform, causing the all-female Guild to fall through screaming as they disappeared.

Ravena swallowed heavily while Illu breathed a sigh of relief before the two quickly trotted after their friends over the walkway and into the next step of the maze as the door closed behind them.

"Well we got lucky, coming down to that last question." Shawn said. "Only a few people would know the real answer to that question, the one time I used it in public was the Eclipse Tournament and I'm sure I didn't do it to its full potential."

"Hey let's not look a gift horse in the mouth, we got through the challenge and got the shortcut. We're closer to the end and, if we're lucky, just took our competition out of the ranking." DB said.

"That's one way of looking at it." Shawn said back as they went back to navigating the turns of the maze. While going through the manmade labyrinth, Bella decided to make small talk with the rest of the group.

"So…I'm surprised you and owl-girl are afraid of heights." Bella said, in honesty. "Though it was funny seeing you girls clutch the closet thing in sight."

"I told you before; I don't do well in high places. Even on the flight I tried hard not to think of how high we were. I was relieved when the flight was over." Ravena said.

"It happened so suddenly and I wasn't prepared, you can't say that didn't startle you even a little bit Bella-chan." Illu admitted.

"In the end, it was actually pretty fun; I wonder what else they got in store for us." Bella smiled as she looked onward. "Maybe some undiscovered treasure, or possible hidden booby traps!" She said getting excited while the others looked her nervously.

"Calm down Bella, it's just a company made maze, I don't think they would go that far. Don't put your expectations up that high." Key said.

"But now I'm even more excited!" Bella said, stars sparkling in her eyes.

"Let's hope no one watching is paying attention to you." DB said before bumping into something. As he steadied himself seeing he accidently bumped into Shawn. "Hey Shads, why did you stop?"

"The next room is right there." Shawn said, pulling their attention to the entrance to the next area.

"Then why are we standing around, let's go!" Bella said, waling forward before Shawn could stop her. Kurotsubasa walked into the room after her to try and stop her only for the door to close behind them; before one of them could try for the exit as it then sealed in front of them as well.

"Well, ask and you shall receive." Ravena said, looking at Bella who was nervously chuckling.

"So what's the gimmick of this room?" Shawn said. This time the room was well lit enough for them to see around, though one wall got their attention immediately. The wall had a small sliding tile puzzle, with numerous pieces to it. Soon a ringing was heard and they received another message from their announcer.

"_You won the shortcut and covered much ground, though you didn't think that winning would be as easy as continuing did you?"_ Masukomi said in a lecturing tone. _"Give us some credit; we got to keep this interesting for you as well as our viewers."_

'Great and I forgot this was all live on the channel too.' Shawn said as they looked to Illu's PT. "So you have us trapped in the room, I guess the puzzle is supposed to be a key to getting out?" He asked.

"_Precisely, though there are two ways to solve this puzzle. As you can see one wall possesses a puzzle, but it is very time consuming to solve it; it could very well take away the lead you've earned from the last challenge."_ Masukomi said. _"The second way is faster, though it's difficulty is much harder."_

"What's the other challenge then?" Key asked.

"_The second challenge went along well with your first, I'm surprised you solved it when you didn't received a hint. The hints we gave the other teams matches what I will tell you now, the three treasures light the way to victory." _She said leaving the group confused._ "One of those tiles is a secret switch that will open the way out, though it would be almost impossible to open by just touching a random tile."_

"Then how exactly do we solve this puzzle?" Illu asked.

"_That is what you must figure out; hurry…your competition is slowly getting closer! Good luck!"_ With that Masukomi's image faded.

"So we got a puzzle and a riddle." Ravena said walking to the wall. "Though what kind of image should be made with this wall?" She could make out small things like what looked like flowers and maybe a robe but couldn't guess to what the image is.

"We can stay here and plan out how to solve this but we do need an image. Even if we did, the puzzle will take too long." Shawn said. "First of all I know where the picture is."

"Really, where is it?" DB asked.

"We're standing on it." Shawn said causing all of them to look down to see that there was a large image in the center of the floor. The image was that of a white dog with flowers around its paws and what seemed to be a mirror on its back. Swirling around the dog was also a long string of beads.

"Okami! I used to play this game a bunch of times, especially with Sera-chan!" Illu said a bit excitedly. "Though if that is the image we can start unscrambling the puzzle right? How did you see it so quickly Shadow-kun?"

"The reason I stopped earlier was because I noticed how different the floor was from the one we previously was. Before I could assess it further Bella just rushed in." Shawn said seeing the girl wince a bit and looked to the side.

"Yeah, my bad!"

Key took a look at the floor and the puzzle. "So now we got the image we have to make, but it would take a while since it is a complex puzzle. It looks like it has more than a hundred tiles."

"Or one thousand." Ravena added as she tried to get to work on the puzzle. "Maybe there was an extra clue back in the last room. If only we could've taken the mirror."

"Oh, the mirror came loose after the puzzle was solved. I brought it with me just in case." Illu then opened her bag and brought out the mirror. "What did Masukomi-san say; the three treasures would light the way?"

DB shrugged. "Possibly, Illu you know a lot about the treasures more than us. What are the other two?"

Illu nodded as she looked to the mirror in her arms. "The three treasure, refer to the imperial regalia of Japan; national treasures. You could say there are similar to, the crown jewels of other countries." DB nodded, understanding what she was saying. Everyone was silent, waiting for her to continuing (causing Illu to become embarrassed a small bit). "Well we have the mirror Yata no Kagami, the next would be the sword Kusanagi; think of it as…Japan's Excalibur."

"And the final treasure?" Key asked.

"The last is the Yasakani no Magatama, a special jewel in the shape of a comma. Those are the three treasures." Illu finished explaining.

"Well this picture surely does have magatama in them; maybe this is another light puzzle." Ravena said. "May I?" With a nod, Illu handed the mirror to the spectacled girl. Angling the mirror to reflect some light, they were able to cause a few parts of the puzzle to sparkle a bright jade color. Soon eight magatama, matching the picture, were glowing as well as some few odd beads.

"I was sure lighting up the magatama would work, maybe we're missing something." Ravena said, seeing more beads light up. She then put the mirror down to look at Shawn, who was silent. "Any ideas, leader?"

"Give me a second," Shawn then reached into his bag. A few of them were interested in what he would possibly be pulling out, though were surprised to see it was just a case containing a pair of glasses.

"Glasses, I don't think this is the time for reading Shads." Bella said.

Shawn ignored the joke as he placed the half framed, glasses in front of his eyes. "I need them to see the puzzle better; I just don't like wearing them constantly." He admitted as he saw the puzzle more focused now. After what seemed like a long moment of analyzing the puzzle, the picture, and the glowing pieces he came to a conclusion.

"We've missed one important thing." Shawn said.

"How, the treasure is obviously the Magatama so shouldn't the door open now that they all are glowing?" Key asked.

"No, even the magatama themselves were a hint." Shawn said, seeing a few confused faces he stooped down placing a hand on the image. "The magatama was our hint, but remember the picture and the puzzle are of Okami or specifically the character Amaterasu. What were her weapons in the game?"

"That's easy Shads; Ammy used the mirror, swords, and beads as weapons." DB answered. "Anyone who has played the game for a bit knows that."

"But I bet there was one thing you don't remember from the game." Shawn then turned to Illu. "Illu, you played the game, do you remember the special side quest the game had?"

"Side quest?" Illu thought for a bit before shaking her head. "Gomen, I mostly play for completion sake, Sera-chan knew the most about it and guided me through it when I get stuck. I would never check online sites."

Shawn nodded as he kept his hand on the large string of beads revolving around the white wolf. "The side quest was collecting the many stray beads that were hidden around the game, you have to find all 100 beads to unlock a special prize at the end as well as receive the most powerful magatama weapon in the game." Shawn then stood to his feet. "There are eight magatama glowing and one hundred beads, they come together to make 108 prayer beads…"

"The same type that Buddist Monks use!" Illu yelled out. "Sugoi, I didn't think Okami went that far in symbolism!"

"So we need to have all 108 beads in the picture glowing, it could take a while." Ravena said as she picked back up the Mirror to continue.

"Maybe we could speed up the process!" Bella reached into her satchel and brought out a flashlight. "Never leave home without supplies, plus my folks were worried about the plane crashing and me getting stranded somewhere." She said as she handed the flashlight to Ravena.

"Don't say plane and crash in the same sentence please." Ravena then used the light from the flashlight to illuminate more of the wall, covering the whole picture and having all 108 beads glow. Soon they heard the rumbling of the exit as the door opened; Kurotsubasa then packed up and continued towards the end.

"Shadow-kun, where exactly did you learn about the 108 beads?" Illu asked curiously.

"Well Okami wasn't the first place I heard of something like that, it was actually the third. I did research on why beads were symbolic in Japan's history and discovered it." Shawn admitted as he put his glasses away. "I'm just full of random information."

"Random or not, you've got us out of the room." DB smiled as they continued. "And Masukomi said we were close to the end, we're home free I can feel it!" He said as they noticed the lack of branching paths on their route to the finish.

"Though we did take a while to solve the puzzle, we don't know if the girls made it back to catching up with us or if the All-Stars have finished…" Key said.

"Come on, don't be a downer Key." Bella said.

"I'm not a downer, I'm being realistic." Key said back.

"Well I'm seeing a trend, we've got a mirror and I remember the leader of Mahou Bouquet had a necklace with a jade magatama on around her neck." Ravena remembered back. "If it's following the Imperial Treasures like Illu said, then the All-Stars must have the Kusanagi sword."

"It's a good guess; maybe the treasures mean something once we reached the end." Illu said as they continued walking. She took a second and reached into her bag and took out a professional camera. She then took a picture of the floor's art before continuing with the group.

"All I want to know is why we've been going through so many puzzles, this is a Gravity Dome! A place where people can meet and battle, when can we start some actual fighting?!" Bella raved on.

"What do you expect, every year the battles are the last game of the kickoff; if we make it to the end you'll get your wish." Key said.

"And good news to that, it's a straight end ahead." Shawn said pointing forward. It was a straight walkway to the next room, and since they didn't see anything like the outside to the Dome then it must be the center. "We've gotten far guys, let's finish this game." He said as they, this time, took their time to the next room.

Kurotsubasa entered, they were hoping, the final room as they allowed the door to close behind them. They were patient until they saw the door in front of them open, though instead of them going through they heard the sounds of footsteps. Tulio came into the room with the rest of his guild. They could see in his left hand was a large, decorated sword which he rested on his shoulder.

"Well look what we got here; I was thinking we wouldn't see anyone to the end." Tulio said. "Glad to know you guys are still in the game, new blood is always a good thing for the kickoff." He said.

"Same I could say to you, we've seen Mahou Bouquet though I was thinking if we were ever going to run into you guys down here." Shawn said.

Before anymore words could be said, there was a large clearing ring going through the room. Soon on a screen on the wall they could see Masukomi smiling at them. _"We're down to the last event, Kurotsubasa and All-Stars are the first two to clear our maze, testing their abilities with that of each relics properties!"_

"Properties?" Each guild looked at their regalia as Masukomi continued.

"_Kurotsubasa was given the path of the Mirror and passed all their tests while All-Stars faced the trials of the Sword and managed to withstand them! Mahou Bouquet couldn't continue and ended last on the road of the Beads and must now be escorted out." _Masukomi said._ "Now, we must get you two to the proper Final Stage!"_

Feeling the floor move once again, both sides began to rise up in the air, causing Ravena and Illu to yelp and grab each other again. They all looked up and saw the hole they were ascending to and once they reached the other side found themselves back in the stadium with the crowd cheering for both sides as they were now standing on the stage they started from.

"_Hello, all of you FFW fighters out there! I was out of commission, but Plugman is back and now to announce the final game of the Guild Wars Kickoff Event Extravaganza!"_ The commentator was able to pump up the crowd even more. _"So, what better way to finish off the party and start the Guild Wars, than to have a struggling grudge match against our finalist? That's right, it's the part of the party that really gets the blood pumping!"_

"Grudge match?" Illu asked.

"It's a special competition, we use the gravity rooms to play FFW here but only one match and with special conditions." Tulio explained. "You'll see, it's better than most ordinary battles in FFW and maybe we'll got a special game."

"_Oh how right you are contestant!"_

They all saw Masukomi join Plugman on the screen. _"Now we choose the game the only way we know how, spinning the Wheel of Fate!"_ Now on the screen was a large wheel with many challenged written on different colors, Kurotsubasa was able to catch some of the games on the wheel.

"No item battle, dogfight only, freefall fighting, field demolition, what kind of games is these?" DB said in surprised; only seeing some of the options.

"_**The Wheel of Fate is turning!"**_ The announcers called as the wheel started to spin and gain speed. After holding all the crowd's anticipation the wheel then stopped showing the result of the game. The moment the wheel lost momentum and stopped revealed the conditions for the final battle.

"_There you have it folks, in a rare treat for us but the Wheel of Fate has chosen the final game! It's the Party Soul Challenge!"_ Masukomi made the announcement.

"_It's a simple rule that makes for a lot of fun and excitement! Each guild picks a fighter, but here is the challenge…they won't be able to use their own powers, Original or Fictional!"_ Plugman announced surprising Kurotsubasa_. _

"_That's right you heard me! Instead, the one chosen receives__** one**__ Original Power transferred randomly from one of their own team-mates and they battle it out! So who is going to fight for each side?"_

Kurotsubasa quickly turned and huddled as they began to decide.

"So who's going out?" asked Illu as she looked about her team.

"I'll do it!" offered Bella eagerly but DB shook his head.

"No offense Bells, you may have experience using different powers, but you might have trouble using one of ours," he explained making Bella pout disappointedly.

"I believe it would be appropriate if our dear Leader decided," suggested Ravena as she adjusted her glasses as everyone shifted their gaze to Shawn, who sighed heavily.

"Well Shads? Who's it gonna be?" asked Key.

Shawn looked at the faces of his Guild-mates for a moment before making his decision. "I'll do it," he finally.

The others exchanged glances before nodding in approval as they broke from the huddle. Kurotsubasa then looked over to the All-Stars to see that they have also made their decision.

"_Time's up! Will the representatives please make their way to the center of the stage?"_ announced Masukomi.

"Wish me luck guys," said Shawn taking out his Visor as the rest of his team smiled reassuringly.

"Go get'em, Boss!" cheered Belle while Key gave Shawn a scout salute as he took his bag from him.

"Go crazy, Shads," said DB grinning.

"_Gambatte, _Shadow-kun~!" encouraged Illu while Ravena folded her arms and gave a small nod as Shawn made his way to his spot.

He wasn't very surprised when he saw that the All-Stars representative was none other than their own Guild Leader, Tulio Pedrosa.

"_It looks like it's going to be a Battle of the Guild Leaders in this match, Plugman!" _exclaimed Masukomi excitedly.

"_You said it, Komi-chan~!_ _Players, to the Gravity Room!"_ announced Plugman causing two trap doors to open underneath the boys, causing them to suddenly fall through onto a slide that led into a large Gravity room.

"Seriously, what is it with this place and Trap doors?" asked DB incredulously only to receive shrugs from the others as a live video feed appeared, showing Shawn and Tulio come tumbling out of separate tunnels.

**FFW**

"They really couldn't have softened that landing?" Shawn said after the surprise trip through the trap door. He stood up and brushed off the imaginary dust on his clothes when he saw he was in a large room with three large cylinders with open doors. Observing them a bit, Shawn saw that there were small indents on the sides of the cylinders and that they were big enough to fit a person inside.

"These look almost like…" Shawn then squashed his nostalgia as he went back to the indents. It was a perfect rectangle shape and looked like something could fit inside. Taking a guess he pulled out his new PT and saw that it was the same shape.

"_You seem to catch on to things quick, that's a good quality to have."_

Shawn then looked at the new voice speaking from the device in his hand. Normally a face would have appeared, much like Masukomi's before. However; whoever was talking didn't appear and he could only hear her voice.

"_My apologies, I would formally introduce myself but we do have a schedule to keep. You can guess what you have to do from this point on?"_ The mysterious woman's voice asked.

"I put this terminal in so that it can read my avatar data and just walk in. I guessed that much but this is my first time using a Gravity Room." Shawn said.

"_Fufufufu, well I'll just say that you're in for an experience. However; are you brave enough to take the first step?"_ She asked him.

Shawn just smirked, even though the person probably couldn't see his expression. "Well after everything this game has put me through I can't just give up here. Besides I have a team that's cheering me on, can't let them down." He placed the terminal in the slot and hears engines hum as he steps inside.

"This is the last game right, might as well let this end in a bang." Shawn said as the doors to the cylinder closes.

The voice lets out a small chuckle, _"Well said Shadow, well said. There is a reason I picked you after all."_ And with that the voiced vanished from the screen.

**(FFW)**

"_We have received word that both combatants have entered the Gravity Room and are right now being scanned. As the two prepare we'll look to the randomizer to choose the appropriate battlefield for these two fighters to face off in!" _Masukomi explained to the crowd.

"_That's right; we've kept the randomizer going since they were both sent down! So let's see what we have in store for these two brawlers!"_ Plugman said as a new area filled the screen. It was an open wasteland; there was barren land in all directions. There was nothing to offer cover besides a few dead trees, though what added to the battle was the large storm clouds and lightning that would constantly strike the ground in random spots.

"_It seems that the battlefield chosen is the Volt Graveyard. It's an open field that allows for lots of possibilities but because of the lack of cover, stealth is not a factor here!"_ Masukomi said looking at the field. _"Not to mention the beautiful volts of lightning from the sky will add a surprise factor! Who knows when and where they will strike next ?!"_

"_I don't know about the lightning, but I know that someone's already being transported!"_

As Plugman said that everyone's attention was on the screen. The rest of Kurotsubasa and All-Stars stared at the screen wondering which leader was the first to step into the battlefield. A green beam shot from the sky and as it hit a large gust of wind exploded outward as the player stood up.

The man was tall, with amber eyes, tan skin and black hair with yellow jagged highlights. Almost like the lightning circulating through the clouds. He wears a white shirt with trims of blue and a small yellow lightning bolt on top above his heart, along with blue shorts, a belt and soccer shoes. As he stood there were obvious cheers from the crowd who recognized the Guild.

"_And Striker has entered the field first; obviously the leader of the All-Stars would be the first to enter. Though usually opponents land at the same time or with some delay…did Kurotsubasa have a problem out of the gate?"_ Masukomi asked.

**(Volt Graveyard)**

Striker looked around seeing the desolate area and began scratching the back of his head. "Aww….That was the best entrance I had in a while and no one's here to see it. I even delayed going into the Scanner for about ten seconds just so I know he'd get here." Striker then looked out at the sky.

"Don't tell me he chickened out close to the end. The way people talk about I would thin…hmm?" Striker stopped his musing as another light made its descent down. This one was violet in color.

"_What's this, maybe Kurotsubasa is here to answer the call of battle after all! Good thing, I wouldn't want to be the one to chicken out at the best part of the Event!"_ Plugman said.

As everyone was now silent the beam now struck the ground. Instead of the wind released from Striker's beam, this one released several blades of energy that seem to slash out randomly. Some blades sliced the ground while some narrowly missed Striker as he stood in awe. The ones out in the stands, in the real world, were also shocked and awed by the displayed while Kurotsubasa gave a knowing look to the screen.

The darkness faded to reveal Shadow who was now standing with his arms crossed.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, I had to finish a call." Shadow said. "But now, what say we get this match started?" He asked his opponent.

"No problem Shawn~! Glad you made it! Since this is our first meeting in-game, I guess I should tell you I go by the name of Striker in here~" said Striker cheerfully.

"In that case, I go by the name of Shadow," introduced Shadow with a nod when a mass of pink data suddenly began to gather between the two boys which gradually formed into Masukomi and a small white Mokona with a pink Gem floating next to her.

"Hi everybody~! Masukomi here~!"

"Pu-Pu-Pu-PUU~!" cheered the Mokona as well.

"And CAM is here too!" introduced Masukomi as she gestured the boys to come closer. "Alright people, remember since this is the Party Soul Challenge, your own powers have been deactivated and will be temporarily replaced with an Original Power from one of your own team-mates~!"

"_That's right, Komi-chan~!"_ announced Plugman as a screen appeared flashing the grinning face of the DJ. _"And to decide we going to use something we like to call…__**Random Roulette**_!"

No sooner did he say that, two large picture wheels labeled with the boys' respective guilds appeared floating next to the screen. Each wheel were segmented by color with a chibi picture of each of their guild mates depicted on it.

(Real World)

Back in the real world, two cylindrical podiums appeared before the rest of the All-Stars and Kurotsubasa guild members. The tops of the podiums were designed exactly like the roulette wheels displayed on the screen except instead of pictures, there were rectangular indents.

"_Alright All-Stars and Kurotsubasa! Insert your PTs into the roulette wheels if you please!"_ commanded Plugman.

The two guilds nodded as they all took out their PTs while Kurotsubasa walked up to the podium with five segments. Key, DB, Bella, Illu and Ravena with took their PT's, colored silver, black, green, lavender and red respectively, and placed them into their individual slots while the All-Star group did the same.

Upon doing so, both podiums, lit up brightly as red button appeared next to Plugman on screen. _"YOSH! And with that, Random Roulette start!"_ he yelled pushing the button causing the segments on the wheels to begin lighting up individually in circulation.

Back on the Volt Graveyard, Masukomi, Shadow and Striker all looked intently at the illuminated wheels began to slow down.

_**BING-BING-BING! BING-BING-BING!**_ Both wheels blinked crazily as they finally came to a stop and rested on their individual team-mates.

"Power Transfer: START~!" commanded Masukomi as the selected PTs in the Real World began blinking as data began to get transferred through the system. Before Shadow and Striker could do anything, a flash of red and white lightning suddenly came down and struck both boys.

"ARGH!" both of them yelled in shock as they got zapped while Masukomi and CAM kept on smiling naturally until the lightning bolts disappeared just as soon as they appeared.

"Power Transfer: COMPLETE~!" cheered Masukomi, clapping her hands excitedly. "Now lets see who they received~! From the All-Stars: AKISAME!"

Striker looked down at his hands in surprise to see them glowing with aura before suddenly bursting into a huge excited smile. "YAY~! AKI-BOO~! I got AKI-CHAN~! AKI-MI~! DO YOU SEE THIS AKI-TAN~?! OUR LOVE HAS TRANSFERRED YOUR POWER TO ME~!" he said excitedly.

(Real World)

A few people giggled in amusement as loud smack could be heard coming from the direction of the All-Stars. Kurotsubasa all turned their heads to see a Japanese boy with pretty features face-plant himself into his hands with a loud audible groan.

"_URUSAI ! NANI GA SUKI-DESUKA?! KONO YARO! KUSO BAKARO!"_ screamed the boy in obvious annoyance and embarrassment at the screen with a bright red face.

Bella, DB and Key turned their heads to Ravena who was suppressing an amused smirk while Illu smiled a bit sheepishly.

"What? What did he say?!" asked Bella eagerly while Illu waved her off.

"Something not very polite…." said Illu sheepishly while Ravena simply walked up to Bella and whispered the translation in her ear.

Bella's expression went from confused to shock and then amusement as she too began to start laughing. Ravena then whispered the translation to the boys who also gave mixed reactions of amusement while Illu sighed when she looked back to the screen that had shifted to Shadow and suddenly blushed when she saw that Shadow's appearance had changed due to the Power Transfer.

Quickly, she tapped her other members who all looked at the screen suddenly with wide eyes at Shadow. Ravena in particular blushed the brightest and clasped her hands together with a huge smile and sparkling eyes. "NYA~ NEKO-BOY~!" she exclaimed excitedly.

(Volt Graveyard)

"Well, I honestly did not see this coming…." Muttered Shadow as he turned his head to see a sleek pair of black cat-tails swishing about behind him before putting his hands to his head to feel the new pair of black cat ears that had replaced his human ones.

"Kurotsubasa Power Transfer: RAVENA FELIDAE~!" announced Masukomi cheerfully.

"Pu-PUU~Pu-PUU~~~!" cheered CAM as it circled around Masukomi happily.

"Great, I can already see the pictures going up online today." Shadow sighed, the newly formed cat ears also flopped down as well emulating his emotions. Inwardly he shivered as if feeling some of the more…extreme thoughts of the audience.

"Oh calm down; all of this is good fun who cares about appearances. It's all about the action." Striker said as he stretched a bit.

'Of course you can say that, most of your team probably doesn't have weird features they can pass on to you. I can only pray I'm still sane when I get to Bella's.' Shadow sighed as he looked himself over. Not only were his powers removed but so were his weapons and items (which probably explained why Amaya wasn't there); his right arm was even normal as he no longer had the Blazblue but he saw that he now had sharpened claws.

'Come to think of it, my sight has become a lot sharper but I don't have the Byakugan anymore.' Shadow was then pulled out of his thoughts as Masukomi began speaking.

"You have all received your first power, as you know the rule is you get a random Original Power from your team and the power changes every ten minutes! The goal is to defeat you opponents while trying to discover what gifts your teammates have given you!" Masukomi explained as she then allowed CAM to fly up higher to catch a better view for the audience.

"CAM will be keeping a close eye on all the action so no cheating; weapons and items have all been removed so this is now a physical slugfest for victory! I'll be your field host and commentator while Plugman watches from his seat to keep the crowd going!" Masukomi said as she then floated to the sky for safety.

"_Here that, the match is decided by all around skill and creativity! There won't be any weapons allowed unless they can be made by the powers you received, but I'm sick of this talking…let's get down to the blood-fest!"_

Hearing Plugman already both Shadow and Striker tightened themselves into different stances. Seeing them both ready Masukomi decided to start the match. "Are you both ready?!" Seeing the focused and determined looks on their face, Masukomi smiled as she signaled the match.

"Start!"

The battle started immediately with Shadow soon vanishing from sight. Striker seemed to smirk as he crossed his armed in order to block a kick that was aimed at his chest. "That's funny, I figured you were the type to take their time and think things over before making the first move?" He said amused as he backed up to create distance.

"Not much time to plan when I hardly know what I can do." Shadow admitted. That was untrue; since he hoped that earning the first blow would stun Striker long enough for him to figure out what else Ravena's powers could do. 'I'm going to have to improvise since there is a lack of cover.'

"Ahaha, I agree with you there!" Striker smiled as he seemed to relax himself to Shadow's confusion. "'Though I have to say, considering the power I got you must have horrible luck." He said.

"And why do you say that?" Shadow asked, wondering if that statement was out of confidence or arrogance.

Striker then smirked, "It's because…out of everyone in my guild I happen to be closest to Aki, so I know exactly how to use his power." Raising his hands, they were soon filled with a bright light. Faster than anyone could, a ball of energy quickly shot across the field.

Shadow didn't know if it was his new senses or maybe insanity, but he quickly bended backwards and completely avoided that blast as it over him (almost grazing his chest) and created a new crate nearby. The new black cat soon righted himself as he looked at where the blast landed.

'Ok, I always wanted to do that…but how did I do that?' He thought to himself. Feeling his body warn him of danger again he then moved to the side to avoid a punch from Striker.

"Hey where are you looking?! I know you might still be shocked at your performance but don't forget this is still a battle!" Striker called as his leg went flying towards his target.

Shadow raised his shoulder to block but was sent flying as the kick literally slammed into him. Guarding or not, he still felt pain as he left trails in the ground as he tried to maintain his footing.

"Well would you look at that, Shadow may have surprised us with a trademark Matrix move; however, he still seems to not be able to use that power effectively. Meanwhile, Striker seems to know all about the power he has and not to mention we got to see his legendary leg strength in action!" Masukomi commented on the two fighters actions.

"_That's right, the little kitty thought he was a lion by trying to block that attack but it just shows why they call Striker the Devil's Foot. It wouldn't be surprising if every bone in that arm was dust right now!" _Plugman said.

"You think Shadow-kun is all right?" Illu asked, visible worried after seeing the events just play out on the monitor.

"Come on, Shadow is stronger than that and it takes more than a kick to keep him down." DB tried to reassure her. "Just give him some time to adjust to the powers; I'm sure he have this fight turned around!"

"Still what is that power, ki? Was he able to strengthen his kick just now?" Key asked.

"Nope that was all Tulio, or Striker I should say." All of Kurotsubasa turned to the speaker from the All-Stars. "My power is only energy manipulation, I can control the raw energy my body generates, though that power can't strength attacks. That powerful kick was Striker." Aiko said. "Though I'll give your leader props for still standing, not many can stand up to the Devil's Foot."

"The fight isn't over yet." Ravena said pushing up her glasses as they all looked back to the screen.

"Indeed it isn't, though do hope that he can survive at least for ten minutes." Aiko said.

**(Volt Graveyard)**

"Oi, you ok? It would be bad if I killed you in the first few minutes of the game; sure you can keep going? I'm sure I must have left that arm in pieces." Striker called out jokingly seeing Shadow had braved the impact of his kick.

Shadow seemed to be rubbing his wounded shoulder, though that seemed to be all. 'That kick felt like getting hit by a truck. By all means, my arm should be in pieces.' Shadow then tested his arm and extended it. Though the arm was slightly bruised it was still intact and unbroken.

"Actually that barely hurt at all." Shadow tested his arm again before getting back on his feet. "Sorry, but I've taken harder hits than that, you're going to have to try something different." He said.

Striker let out a quick laugh as he began to gather energy again. "Of course; however…" The Leader of the All-Stars then poured all the energy into his hands and shaped it into a medium sized ball. "While I enjoy CQC like anyone else, I rather stick to what I do best."

'I don't need these neko senses to know what he's planning.' Shadow thought as he remained on his guard. "You're the Devil's Foot right, then let's see what you got." He called out with his fingers using the 'Bring it on' motion.

"Ahaha, all right then…" Stirker allowed the ball to fall from his hands, though instead of exploding it hovered still above the ground. "Let's my show you my game then!" Rearing back his legs he then kicked the ball of light forward shooting out at high seed as it shredded the ground around it.

Shadow quickly jumped into the air avoiding ball as it exploded upon a nearby rock. Striker didn't stop there as he created three more deadly soccer balls that aimed at the airborne player. "Bad choice of strategy, can't really dodge in the air can you?" Striker asked as the ball went flying towards their target.

Shadow was able to bend and move himself out of the way, dodging two energy balls. Once the last one aimed dead center at him, he suddenly was able to move himself out of the way. Standing, or floating, confused Shadow then realized that he was flying. It was that reasoning that cause Shadow to berate himself.

"Man I'm such an idiot, can't believe I forgot that Rave isn't just an ordinary cat girl." Shadow then looked back at the two tails that flickered behind him. 'She's a Nekomata, that means…'

Suddenly Striker saw the air light up briefly, shielding his eyes from the light he just barely dodged a ball of fire. Seeing the smoke from where the attack hit he then looked up to see Shadow surrounded by what looked like a cloak of fire. Two large tails of fire extended behind him as they appeared to be charging something.

"Now it's my turn." The balls resting on the tips of the tails soon grew wide and began forming large spectral cats covered in flames. Shadow then launched the cats down towards their earthbound enemy.

Striker created a wall of energy that blocked the first cat but then quickly had to roll out of the way to avoid the second cat that flanked him. He put up another shield in front of him as the cats detonated into a large ring of fire around him. As he stood motionless he couldn't dodge a claw swipe from Shadow who dashed through the flames quickly and out again.

"_Way to turn the tide, not only was he finally able to gain quick control but he was able to turn around a losing match into a slaughter-fest with that power he has. Can Shadow pull a lead out before the next power swap?"_ Plugman asked the crowd.

"Ravena-chan, I didn't think your power could really be used that way." Illu said seeing the speed trap in effect.

"Well it's not how I would usually use it, but since Shads doesn't have my magic that's his way of compromising. Not to mention Shadow and I have different fighting styles." Ravena said as she looked like she was quickly sketching something while taking time to watch the screen.

"If that's how Shads is now I can't wait until he gets my power." DB said wondering what else Shadow had in mind when using fire. "Still, didn't know your Nekomata powers could be that scary Rave."

"Must be hidden by your magic and cuteness Kitty." Bella joked as she then noticed the clock. "Whoa, is it really almost ten minutes already?" She asked seeing the countdown under the monitor slowly reach zero.

"He'll have to change powers soon." Key agreed seeing as they both only had a minute left.

"_**Ce que l'enfer? !**_What kind of power is that?! Surely there is something in the rules about it; I thought he could only use _**Un**_ original power!" One of the girls from the All-Stars raved seeing the battle go on.

"_The power being used is called Nekomata and it fits the requirements of the match as it is an original power. We don't know what the powers do, just the players from which they come from know that answer."_ Masukomi answered from the screen.

"Still compared to just Energy Manipulation Striker has his work cut out for him." Aiko said as he pointed to the screen. Where Shadow's claw's met there were tears in Striker's close but not blood was show, just small scars. "He's using the energy to reinforce his body; Striker just has to last until the ten minutes end.

"Then Striker will do just that, all he needs to do is stand and hold him off until the powers change." The other male of All-Stars said. "Though there is one thing that I don't get, no items can be used or be summoned in the battle, so why is that thing still on Shadow's wrist?"

"Like,What do you mean Jesse?" The other girl then looked and saw that despite the battle rules the gold bracelet was still present on Shadow's wrist. "Isn't that the Wings of Creation everyone is, like, talking about or some junk?"

"Then doesn't that mean he can just cheat, maybe that's how he got to use those powers! _**Ce**_ _**tricheur !**__**"**_ The girl who was calling out before called again.

"Hey, Shads doesn't even use the Wings that much and he doesn't need it to win a battle like this!" Bella yelled back.

"Shadow would never cheat!" Key added.

"Then how do you explain the bracelet then, how do we know he didn't use it?" Just as that question was asked the same questions began to go through the crowd. Before anything can form out the dome's lights darkened a bit as someone spoke from the rafters.

"**I am one of the people monitoring the system…as well as one of the creators of FFW. Our equipment would tell us if any item was being used and so far none have been used. The battle is being done with just their strength, power, and will."** The voice answered.

Before anyone could question who the voice was, an alarm went off showing the first ten minutes had ended. On the screen, all the flames were gone as Shadow and Striker were standing a distance away from one another.

"Hai~Hai~! Ten Minutes are up and that means…._**Random Roulette Start~!" **_ cheered Masukomi as the wheels began spinning.

_**BING! BING!**_

This time silver and pink lightning came shooting down and struck Shadow and Striker. Shadow coughed a bit as he waved dust away and quickly felt his head to feel it was normal again. He looked behind to also see his tails were gone as well. "Hmm, I kinda almost miss them."

"_**Power Transfer: Keybladedude!"**_

"Oh Come on! Seriously?!" he heard Striker cry out in disappointment and disbelief.

Shadow looked towards his opponent and almost choked on his spit to find that Striker had brown Bunny Ears sticking up from his hair. Striker groaned as he turned to see a cotton tail twitching as it stuck out his shorts.

"_**Power Transfer: Prima-Diva!"**_

(Real World)

"_**VOUS JACKASS! **_You should be in _**CELEBRATION **_at the_** Occasion **_to use _**MES POUVOIRS ! VOUS IMBECILE!**__** "**_screamed a blond-haired girl from the All-Stars making the rest of her team shake their heads.

(Volt Graveyard)

"Oh calm down; all of this is good fun who cares about appearances. It's all about the action," said Shadow smirking as he repeated what Striker said to him earlier.

' _So it looks like I got Key this time. If I recall correctly is ESP. Sure hope it helps!'_ Shadow then tightened his guard; he knew Key's ability was not offensive so he was limited to what he could so in CQC, a bad strategy considering Striker's leg strength.

All right, stay focus and think, I'm limited on moves and Key's ability heightens my perception. From the looks of Striker, him being a rabbit makes things worse with his legs. I'll just have to keep on my toes…and hopefully take him out.' Shadow strategized as he stayed and observed Striker.

"What you're not going to charge in this time? All right then, I guess it's my turn to get the game started! " Striker then seemed to vanish in a large burst of speed.

Shadow's eye's widened though he did duck to avoid an overhead kick from the now rabbit Stirker. As Striker continued with a flash of kicks Shadow was able avoid each one. He then backed away as Striker held up an axe kick that created a large dent in the ground where he once stood.

Looks like things have escalated to just close combat. Despite the looks, Striker's new abilities seemed to have increased the destructive power of his already Deadly Devil's Feet. However it looks like Shadow's return to normalcy didn't come without perks, it's like he able to tell where the kicks are coming from despite Striker's new amazing speed!

"Key, is that how its usually like when you use your perception? " Illu asked. She and Ravena were the only ones to have not seen Key use this power and from what she remembers it was how the Beta had located the Red Savage's base so easily.

"Something like that, my ESP works like a radar I can quickly detect any person within a kilometer around me even if they are trying to mask their signature." Key explained. "Shads had always good perception of his own and even better reflexes, I say he's just using ESP as a six sense to counter Striker's speed. "

"He's going to need the edge; I mean a regular kick from the guy sent him miles in the other direction. No telling what this rabbit hybrid of his can do." DB said.

"Hey, I'm sure Shads knows enough about bunnies to take care of this problem." Bella said confidently.

"Somehow I don't think raising Amaya is a way to prepare him for this." Ravena said pushing up her glasses again.

**(Volt Graveyard)**

"Can't you just stand still for five seconds?!" Striker said agitated as his feet only managed to strike empty air.

"And get my ass kicked? I don't think so! It looks like you're enjoying the power you have now." Shadow said as he narrowly dodged another sweep kick.

"Because I want to get out of this form as fast as possible!" Striker said back, showing his anger in full. "If I can't do this the easy way, then I guess we're going to have to go the hard way!"

"Oh then by all means, show how good that power is?" Shadow said.

"I will, try and dodge this; maybe you can say you dodged a Prima-Diva original!" Striker said as he built up power in his legs, so much that Shadow saw them glow a dim color. "Try this on for size…_**Bunny 1000 Kick**_!"

Soon multiple kicks came in a flurry in Shadow's direction. While the ESP helped him see through the afterimages the kicks left behind he still had trouble with the speed that Striker's legs were going. More than once, he had been grazed by the lightning fast legs, briefly sensing the power behind each one.

'Guess it's time to play offensive.' Shadow said as he then vanished out the way of Striker's kick. The All-Star stopped his flurry seeing Shadow suddenly vanished, though he soon felt a rush of air as Shadow was now behind him.

"You're not the only one who's fast and that last move left you wide!" Shadow called out. Striker quickly turned around for a punch only for Shadow to feint it as he gotten up close and delivered a palm strike to Striker's chest that pushed the man back. Before Striker could right himself he was now dealing with several fast jabs as Shadow continued his attack.

"And the tables have finally turned; Shadow, who has been on the defensive since the beginning has now trapped Striker. Seeing how it looks like Striker can hardly move means that Shadow doesn't need a fancy eye to know where to hit." Plugman said.

"I can second that, it looks as though he's striking several of Striker's pressure points before delivering several quick and fast hits. Lather, rinse, and repeat and he's got Striker trapped in an inescapable combo!" Masukomi added on.

"That can't be my speed, I'm not that fast." Key said.

"Um, what Shadow said before was true; remember we each had to tell each other our stats as soon as we join. I found that I was faster thanks to my hybrid status, though Shadow is fast after me." Illu said.

"Oh yeah, I remember those test. Though I hardly see Shads using anything other than gravity or his Shadow Step for speed, I really need to double check our stats." Bella said as she then looked to the other team. "How's that Fancy-Words, think Shads is still cheating now?!"

The blonde girl seemed ready to shout something but then regained her composure. "While the words from that Director were surprising, I still have no _**soucis**_. This is just a minor setback; we just need to watch as Striker turns this around with my _**puissance**_."

"That's if Striker can get comfortable using them Emeline-sugar, like from all we've seen Striker only knows how to use them for kickin'." Another member of All-Stars said.

"Valerie _**mon**_ _**Cherie**_, we can say that from just about all of our powers when Striker gets them. But at least with mine it takes Striker's best talent as uses them as an even stronger weapon. The imbecile just needs to use his head." Emeline said with a toss of her hair.

"There is still time left, don't underestimate Striker." Aiko said as they all just saw lightning strike dead center of the two fighters. "Or the stage for that matter, from all that's happened I forgot about the lightning."

"Well well, looks like we just got some intervention. Will that be enough for Striker to come back from the losing battle?"

**(Volt Graveyard)**

"I wonder how random that last bolt was, I wonder how long we've been going at each other. We must have at least hit five minutes by now." Shadow said as he looked back to the hole the lightning left as dust clouded his vision. "Better stay here for a minute; I'm sure Striker isn't going…"

Just as he said that he saw something shoot out from the dust and into the sky. He covered his eyes from the dust blown his way and when his vision was clear he could see how high Striker jumped and what looked like pink energy swirling around him.

"You got to be kidding me." Shadow said seeing Striker in the middle of a ball of energy. Soon Striker then made his descent falling like a meteor towards the land bound player.

"I still have one more trick, let's seen if you're fast enough to avoid this!" Shadow could hear Stirker's voice as he fell.

"_**BUNNY METEOR!"**_

Shadow turned to quickly run to try and avoid being caught in the attack. His retreat was then block by an inconvenient volt that struck right in front of him pulling him to a stop. He turned around to see the attack quickly gaining speed, Shadow then dove to the right to avoid a direct hit but was caught in the shockwave the attack produced.

"Wow, just look at the sparks that flew just now. That ill-timed lightning seemed to cut off Shadow's escape and he was then caught up in the blast the Meteor produced upon impact! From our status both players are still in the game, let's take a look at their health." Masukomi said as CAM then pulled up both players' readings.

Next to a portrait of each player was a green lifebar. The one next to Striker's showed a small chunk missing, but on Shadow's end it was done to nearly half gone. "Well we can certainly tell now who received a beating ladies and gentlemen, if the battle keeps going on this way Shadow will reach zero long before Striker does.

"How _**PARFAIT~!**_ I knew my power would be the one to turn this around! Not even your brave leader can withstand the impact of the Bunny Meteor; even fate was not on his side. He was just lucky not to be hit directly." Emeline boasted on.

"You keep saying that but the battle is still happening!" Bella said just as they all heard an alarm ring signaling the end of ten minutes.

"Time to change already, we haven't even had a chance for the smoke to clear. Oh well, rules are rules…_** Random Roulette Start!**__" _Masukomi announced as the wheels began to spin towards the next power each fighter would receive.

Back on the ground Striker jumped out of the dust cloud and back seen the impact zone his attack caused. "I have to give it to Prima, that attack sure was fun. Mine wasn't as graceful but it got the job done." Striker said as he dusted himself off. The dust clouds still lingered on as he saw no sign of Shadow. "Guess that must have been a little much, but there ain't no kill like overkill!"

After that he was then hit by red lightning and saw the extra appendages disappear as he saw a green volt of lightning strike something within the dust. Striker then stretched and popped a few joints as he slowly walked towards where he saw the lightning hit.

"_**Power Transfer: Pitch!"**_

"If you're trying to hide it won't work now, the shuffle already gave away your location. Come on; if you're in that much pain give up. This isn't like playing with a visor back home, some physical pain is gonna transfer over." Striker said as he closed the gap, he could already see a silhouette. "You lasted about 20 minutes, that's an accomplishment for your first run, but let's say we bring an end to this"

Striker then reared back a punch only for it to be caught by a large red hand. He stood surprised but then raised another one only for another hand to grab it. What surprised him next was two more arms appearing out the dust as four yellow eyes stared back. Striker was then sent flying back as a large alien emerged from the dust cover.

"**No kill like overkill right?" **Four-Arms asked and then in a flash changed back into Shadow. His clothes had some tear from the explosion but he was still intact. "So that's what it feels like to be Bella." Shadow said as he dusted himself off.

"_**Power Transfer: GeneralHyna!"**_

"Well this is a surprising turn." Ravena smirked as she looked at the screen putting up a hand for Bella to High five enthusiastically.

"Power of the Toons, go and give him one for Shads!" Bella cheered on giving as the All-Stars were silent at the display.

"_Now that's the luck of the draw; Shadow ended up with what would be one of the more unique powers I've ever seen. That punch alone just evened up the score between hit points, due to how overkill the power is the rules have restrained them to only one series each used and Shadow just used up a very helpful series." _Plugman said.

"What?! Boo-Boo, I say!" Bella yelled at the screen.

"_Boo yourself, those are the rules along with each transformation gets only one attack!" _Plugman added.

"That's discrimination; I'll see to it that my men and I riot!" Bella said as Key and DB held the girl back.

"Calm down Bella, those rules are just so that the battle is far." DB tried to reason with her.

"Can't expect everyone to be able to deal with your power; everyone has to have a fighting chance!" Key said.

**(Volt Graveyard)**

"That's one way to make this fight far; otherwise really with Bella's power I can end this fight fast enough with just a few thoughts." Shadow shrugged. "This way it will be easier for you, I felt that super strength you had but you're going to need more. So how about this, I'll give you a challenge."

"Challenge?" Striker asked back.

"We got about eight minutes left, what's say I use only five forms. If you can survive all of those, then whatever time is left I'll just not use the power anymore." Shadow proposed.

"And how will I know you won't just bring out something that can end the fight in a second" Striker asked.

"Now where's the fun in that, it's not a challenge if everything is stacked completely against you." Shadow smirked. "I'll keep them moderately tame; though surviving will all depend on you." He added.

"Well I was never one to not accept a challenge, you're on." Striker said, confident in his abilities.

"That's good…because you're going off against my childhood, and I'll warn you this now. I've seen some weird things as a kid." Shadow said. "Let's hope T.V. doesn't kill ya' too quickly."

In another flash Shadow was replaced with a small bald headed monk. Before Striker could even laugh or question it, the monk then pulled out a small blue orb and held it high above his head.

"**Orb of Tornami!"**

Already Striker's eyes widened, as he now had to deal with a large tidal wave that swept up most of the ground. He had no place to go as he was quickly swept along the current created by the Pint-sized Monk.

"Ha! It looks like you have mistakenly made an assumption about a piece of literature by its front and not reading what is written inside!" said Omi haughtily before Shadow quickly covered his mouth in surprise and regained his composure. "Woah…that was weird…"

(Real World)

"I'm guessing…..Judge a book by its cover?" asked Illu looking at Bella who nodded.

(Volt Graveyard)

"Pfft! If your gonna gloat as least get your sayings right!" yelled Striker irritably after spitting out a mouthful of water when suddenly he saw a flash and felt a powerful strike on his chest.

"_**Soul FORCE!"**_

Striker let out a huge yell of pain as jolts of soul wavelength coursed its way through his body as he got blasted away and through a row of gravestones causing a huge dust cloud to up in the air once more.

"Hmph, that outta do some damage," said Dr. Franken Stein, the Mad Meister as he began twisting the screw on his head out of habit. While he was off in his own world of experimentation, Striker then burst from the rubble and began to move forward towards the stitched man.

"No way something like that is going to stop me!" Striker then struck where Stein was standing, easily cracking the ground with one punch.

As he just saw himself standing above a hole Striker looked around to see where his new changeling opponent had vanished too. Placing all of his attention to looking around he never noticed the extra blue weight on his back. Suddenly feeling the paws on his back he began to feel around barely even able to grab onto it until finally grabbing it and holding it to his face only to freeze.

Hanging upside in his hands was the small alien Stitch that met his gaze right back at him. The alien experiment blinked for a bit before waving his free hand to his opponent. "Really Shadow, you're going to have to do better than a small blue Disney Character to take me on." Striker planned another attack only for two more arms to sprout out of Stich's sides and catch the punch, Striker was suddenly pulled off his feet by the alien's superior strength.

"I'm not just small; I'm also cute and FLUFFY!" Stitch then spins him around on one hand before throwing Striker off against the ground. In a flash Stitch was gone and replaced with Shadow. "Maybe you should remember those old Disney Movies." He taunted back.

"Right, I get it, I'll stop holding back…" Striker got on his feet but then dug his hands into the ground.

Confusing Shadow for a bit, he stood there wondering why Striker didn't stand yet only to feel the ground crumble and shake underneath him. Trying to gain some footing Shadow looked and saw Striker was pulling a large chunk of the ground out using his newly acquired super strength.

"Let's see what you have in your arsenal that can stop this?!" Striker yelled holding a massive piece of the ground in both hands before chucking it towards Shadow.

At the speed and size of the attack Shadow could only stare at the large mass of Earth that seemed to have crushed him in an instance before it shattered on impact. Dust rose and Striker couldn't see if the attack was affective, the fight didn't immediately end so he knew Shadow was still there some way.

"That was interesting, trying to close off anyway that I could to actually dodge. However; you were mistaken to think I could have just ran out of the way."

Striker then turned around to see he was now facing a gun barrel that was in the hands of a red and black hedgehog. Shadow the Hedgehog sighed before backing up away and changing back to Shadow. "Got to try harder than to just throw rocks at me."

"That's a real game breaking power, anyone ever tell your friend that?" Striker joked as he got back on guard.

"Ain't no one try to take it out the system yet so there are probably powers that are more game breaking. Besides if I really went out of control like Bella does I could literally turn this entire patch of land we're standing on to ruin." Shadow said.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want you nuking the battlefield," Striker chuckled as they both soon got the alert that they both would only have one minute left until they would have to switch powers again. "We're heading to the final stretch; I only have one more member of my Guild so this would be the last round. I rather not have roulette and risk you getting this power again."

"Well until then, I still have one more form to try out don't I?" Shadow smirked as he got prepared. "I didn't think you would try a move like that, so I thought I had more time for this."

"Then, you better make this form your best one or will you let the time run out?" Striker asked.

"No, I don't think I will do that." Shadow then raised a hand and shaped his fingers like that of a gun. Striker thought this was a trick until Shadow's form changed and the tip of his index finger then glowed with a blue light as spiritual energy gathered to the appendage. "It's been a while since I've seen this show so let's see if I can make this shot count." The light then grew in size and intensified.

"Spirit Gun!"

A large sphere of energy shot forward and Striker only hand an instant to cross his arms to offer some sort of guard as he was hit with the blunt force of the Spirit Gun. The blast detonated and sent him sliding back though the only form of damage he had taken was the smoking and char on his arms.

"Ouch man, that seriously hurt! I don't know if I preferred that or having to take on a Kamehameha!" Striker said as he waved his arms to get some sense of relief after blocking the attack.

"Seriously, that didn't kill you?! Dammit, I need to see that Old Hag for more training!" Yusuke then vanished as Shadow stood there as they both heard the time end.

"Wow, these two are almost easily matched, if it weren't for the special rules these two would seriously give each other a workout. I can't wait to see if these two Guilds ever face of in FFW officially!" Masukomi announced. "However we are to the final random roulette and both fighters are down to a third of their original health!"

"That's right, and both fighters seemed to have made it clear that they want to end this bout with the next and possibly the final roulette. Let's give these boys what they want and see if they have any regrets." Plugman said as he started up the wheel.

"_**Random Roulette Start~!"**_

At the call, two final volts of black and purple lightning rained from the sky and struck the two as their powers were now chosen an arranged. They were about to charge at the other only for a large volt of lightning to strike between them causing them to back up; overhead they could hear the multiple booms as the storm began to intensify.

"Ooh, looks like even the stage wants to give them an extra challenge everyone! The storm seems to have increased in intensity as more lightning seem to come striking down, how will this play out for these two?" Masukomi asked as the two fighters righted themselves.

'Val's powers aren't good much physically, but now I can start playing this game my way.' Striker thought as he seemed to reach behind him. Out of nowhere he pulled out and let three soccer balls land on the ground. Rearing up his legs, Striker sent three swift kicks that sliced through the ground and the air towards Shadow, almost like missiles.

Shadow then backed up and then a flash of light filled their eyes as another lightning bolt dropped down close to their location. Taking advantage of the light, Shadow seemed to have vanished as the Soccer balls seemed to continue advancing off into the distance. Making it behind Striker, Shadow reared back a palm to try and strike a pressure point only for Striker to turn quickly and stop him with a quick turn and sweep of his legs causing Shadow to have to dodge back.

Striker seemed to have gotten into a rhythm as now he seemed to be dancing in place to a song only he could hear, but with the look he was sending Shadow he knew there was something more. Seeing that Striker was no longer going to start, Shadow rushed in to resume the battle. The scythe-user's fists were flying as he made jabs almost at the speed of sound to try and strike several points; though Striker's movement and sweeps made it almost impossible and more than often Shadow had to stop and block a sudden strike from Striker's elbow. The battle became that of skill and evasion to see who could land a solid blow on the other.

"Looks like Striker's actually forced to have to fight somewhat seriously, he's focusing back to his instincts of dodging rather than trying to block the attack." Aiko said. "Though even with this change Shadow still isn't a slouch; however he seems more prone to actually endure a hit if it means gaining an advantage."

"Why would someone actually try to get hit? I think he would remember how hard Striker's kicks are." Jesse asked.

"Just take a look," Aiko pointed out the scene taking place. Striker was able to remove Shadow's footing with a successful strike to the legs, though instead of falling Shadow just planted himself on his palms and was able to strike a close range kick to Striker's jaw before flipping himself back to his feet.

"I've heard this Guild's methods of fighting are unusual, but it does take more than just raw luck to win something like the Eclipse Tournament." Aiko said.

"Well either way, at the rate things are going Striker's going to be the one left standing. The only way for Shadow to land damage is to get damaged himself, truly poor strategy." Emeline said.

"If Shadow does something then it's for a reason," All eyes were on Ravena now, though hers were still planted on the screen where the battle still took place. "This is the final stretch and he has no intention of losing, the battle just started."

"And it's going to end with your friend's defeat; in Capoeira no one can beat Striker!" Emeline shot back. "Not to mention his distance is cut off, thanks to Val's power and Striker's Devils Feet. Your Guild lost, but at least he put up a good show."

"Well you better hang on to those fancy britches cuz the show ain't over yet!" Bella shouted back to the girl.

"I feel bad, if he has my power I don't think he can use it without having help like I do with Muku-Chan." Illu said sadly.

"Hey don't talk like that Illu; we don't know what power Shads has." DB said.

"It all comes down to chance, but what we need to do now is just good Shadow our support." Key chimed in.

"H-hai" Illu nodded as she turned back to the battle.

**(Volt Graveyard)**

Another clash and Shadow found himself moving back as he got some distance away from Striker. He was panting now after both attacking and dodging Striker's wild movements, Shadow decided to make a small retreat and catch breath. However; Striker didn't look as winded as he had just brought out more Soccer balls to shoot at his target. At this time lightning was constantly striking now leaving few spots safe for either fighter.

"This has actually been one of the best fights I've had in a long time; you're really good even without your powers." Striker said with a smile.

"Well I'd be lying if I said this fight wasn't enjoyable but the fun has to end some time." Shadow said.

"I agree, so I'll do you a favor and make your exit a bit flashy." At that moment Striker was juggling the balls with one foot, he then sent them all up to the air, as each of them were suddenly struck by lightning, surprising the audience. Instead of being vaporized; Striker now had three glowing balls with lightning arcing off of them.

"My friend Val's power is Hammerspace, she can pull out anything she wants. I decided to improvise since I couldn't use my original powers." Striker explained. "This won't be the same, but using metallic cores inside these soccer balls should be close to it…"

"Thunder Bullets!" Striker then kicked them forward, each one now resembling lightning orbs that streaked their way through the air.

Shadow made a gesture as if to dodge but he then noticed how much lightning was coming down around him. 'Dammit, the metal and the ground must be attracting more, no room to run.' He gritted his teeth as he glared at the orbs of light flying towards him and the arcs of lighting coming down towards him. A huge explosion knocked Masukomi out the air before she could see and shook the audience's scenes as they all stood to see the final outcome.

"_What the hell, Masukomi is it over?"_ Plugman demanded as the screen righted himself; however instead of a victory screen all everyone in the crowd could see was an orange and crimson light. _"What the blazes is that?!"_

"Ah hells yeah, give him a taste of what that power can do Shads!" DB cheered on, surprising the rest of the All-Stars and the audience as they all can now make out a swirling dome of fire.

"Wait wait, are you serious? Did Shadow just block all of that lightning by using FIRE?!"

**(Volt Graveyard)**

"No way, that's impossible no matter what that power is." Striker said as he felt the heat from his side. The fire kept burning but parted down the middle to show Shadow's form with flames licking off his clothing.

"I cut it a little close there, but I was able to make the fire solid enough for a barricade. It also helped to get rid of your attack." The flames vanished and Striker could see the remains of his soccer balls. Of course they were charred, but what was peculiar was that they were all sliced in half.

**(Play Persona 2 Innocent Sin ost – Boss Theme)**

"I'll let you in on why my entrance was like that before." Shadow began talking. "My Element is Darkness, and another way to use it is to form weapons that can be stronger than physical ones. Fire isn't Darkness but…" Shadow then held out his hands and flames sprouted out before extending and shaping into two swords in his hands. "I can improvise."

Shadow then kicked off in a burst of speed with his blades in hand as he rushed towards Striker. The Leader of the All-Stars then shook himself out of his shock and sent more lightning charged bolts towards Shadow. To his surprise, Shadow only kept a straight pace as he used his new swords to deflect the path or slice the balls to pieces.

'I thought he was a scythe-user, how's he so good with a sword?' Striker then dodged the thrust thanks to a quick Ginga on his part; he decided not to play any chances and pulled out an advance Capioera move. Dropping down he supported himself on his hands and produced a fast spin kick with both legs.

"_**Meia Lua de Compasso Dupla!"**_ Striker announced as he began his spin only for his legs to pass through Shadow as if he was air. His eyes widened at the result as he looked up as Shadow was now spinning horizontally midair with his swords ready as he stopped his spin.

'An illusion, no wait that heat…a mirage!'

"I don't have a name for this move yet, but thanks for helping me test it out!" Shadow called as the flames grew on his swords. "This is the end!" He yelled as he used both swords to slash downwards through Striker ending the battle as the entire field burst into flames. Striker felt nothing as he was cut in two before he was engulfed in the flames, turning into data as his health hit zero.

Masukomi was taking cover behind a nearby rock, hiding until she felt the rumble of the earth end until CAM pulled her attention. The reporter straightened herself and fixed her glasses before they slipped as she then noticed the charred and black land left behind by the flames.

"Well that battle was intense, wouldn't you say viewers?! From the looks of it, Striker's health has hit zero and he was transported back…that means Shadow wins the battle. The Winners are Kurotsubasa!" She announced on her mike.

"_Man, I don't know what happened in those five seconds, it looked as if Shadow produced a small afterimage of himself and hid behind it so that he could jump over his kick. I didn't know flames could do that!"_ Plugman yelled.

"Exactly, those flames couldn't create clones and illusions are another power but none that Shadow has. That was_** impossible**_!" Emeline shouted.

"Was that by speed or…?" Aiko tried to think.

"DB, what exactly was that?" Bella asked to the smirking young man.

"Well that's easy; it's the flames of awesomeness that Shadow used to lead himself to victory." DB smiled.

"I think she means the clone, DB" Illu said.

"That heat, with the intense heat coming from those fire swords Shads was able to make a small mirage. It was a gutsy move, but it allowed him that chance to plan. Even if Striker had chosen an overhead kick Shadow could have feinted under his guard and attack from below." Key explained.

"It was gutsy, but that heat from the first fire and then the swords as well as the field helped to his advantage. Even if it's crazy, Shads always has a plan." Ravena said readjusting her glasses with a small smile.

Dismissing the swords tiredly, Shadow let out a breath of relief since the battle was over. Soon he saw rings come down and he then vanished. In the Gravity Room, the doors opened as Shawn walked out of the Scanner and fell to his knees.

"That was intense, felt like I was going to die several times." Shawn said to himself. 'I need a new training method.' He thought as he gathered his things out and left the room. Shawn then walked out to where the rest of Kurotsubasa was standing while he could see Tulio was with his Guild speaking to them.

"_**VOUS IMBECILE!**_ If you weren't playing around since the beginning you could've won the match!" Emeline rave while pummeling her fists at the chuckling Tulio who blocked with one arm smiling.

"Hey, I can't help it if I wanted to enjoy myself a bit. Besides there's always FFW now that the Guild Wars have started." Tulio said, not really caring for the outcome.

The Kick-Off event was one thing; however, Tulio knew where to find Kurotusbasa when he was ready. He had seen how Shadow fought with other gifts, now he wants to see if he's just as good with his own powers.

"Tulio is right, there's always next time Emeline. And by then you would be participating too." Aiko tried to reason with her as well.

Over at Kurotsubasa's side, they have given Shawn their congratulations. Though a few went more to giving him pats on the back like Bella and DB.

"I got to admit, you had me worried up there man." DB said. "I'm glad that it was my power that was the deciding mark."

"Hey what are you talking about?! It was my Toon World power that was able to push things our way!" Bella objected.

"C-can't we just be happy that Shadow-kun won and it's all over?" Illu asked as she tried to play peacemaker between the two whole Key and Ravena continued to talk to Shadow.

"So, how did it feel in there?" Key asked, knowing the experience of what it was like to go through a Gravity Room for the first time.

"It reminded me of Code Lyoko from the looks, but I came out exhausted. With the Visor it's more of a mental strain, but actually using that Gravity Room felt like I was using my whole body." Shawn said with a sigh. "I'm going to need that nap on the plane ride home."

"Please don't remind me of the plane." Ravena said, placing her things in her bag; happy to be keeping the 'Neko-Boy' pictures. "Though congratulations, at least we made it through the Kick-Off." She said as they all saw the All-Stars walk off the stage and out to the crowd.

"At least it's over…" Shawn said before noticing someone was walking to the stage towards them.

It was a woman wearing a white suit and skirt with long platinum blonde hair; walking beside her were several of the security guards for the Stadium. The crowd was hushed as she reached Kurotsubasa with six medals around her arms with FFW's logo across the front.

"To see the wildcard team make it far and win, it is the perfect example that with FFW anything is possible, but I had to see the outcome myself firsthand." The woman began with speaking as she gave each of Kurotsubasa a medal. "Kurotsubasa, you certainly have earned your victory today and I hope to see more victories like this when the Guild Wars begin!" She said, looking at the crowd who cheered at the last statement. The woman gave the guild a final small bow before walking away.

"Who was that just now, an Admin?" DB asked.

"No, rarer, that was Hikari Murakumo. She's the Director of Murakumo Industries…one of the makers of FFW." Key said.

"Wait, you mean the Boss of FFW just greeted us?" Bella asked in surprise.

"To make a public appearance…why would she?" Ravena asked looking down at her medal.

"I rather not know," Shawn said, surprising them. "We won her competition and she came down to congratulate us. Let's not worry about why she's here and thanked us directly."

"True," Illu said as she held her medal.

"By the way, about directly; don't think you're off the hook Shads." Bella said as she grabbed Shawn's arm and began to lead him out.

"Bella, what the hell are you doing?" Shawn asked, seeing that the others were following and he wasn't putting up a fight to get out of the girl's grip.

"Introductions, you didn't think you could get out of that did you?" Bella smirked as the guild was now in a private room by themselves that she led them to. "After today, I think we've all more than earned the right to know each other's names." She said.

Shawn looked at the others who were also smiling and looking expectantly at him making him sigh in defeated. "OK you guys win this one."

"SWEET~!" cheered Bella slapping Shawn happily on the back making him flinch a little before regaining his composure. "Come on! Username, Name, Age, Country, GO!"

Shawn nodded and faced his team and began. "Shadowlight0982: **Shawn McMillan. **Age: 19, South Carolina/USA. Pleased to meet you."

Bella excitedly stepped forward next. "TheHynaGeneral: **Arabella Kelly!** Age: 19, Memphis/Tennessee! But please, feel free to stick to Bella~!"

Key nodded his head at his turn. "Keybladedude: **Leon** (I know, the irony). Age: 20, South Florida/USA. _**Saludos**_ everyone."

DB tilted his Fedora in greeting. "Drummerboy4Life:** Michael McConville. **Age: 16, London/UK. Cheers!"

Illu stepped forward and bowed politely in greeting. "Illusionist Owl : **Kohaku Manami**. Age: 17, Kyoto/Japan. Nice to meet you all."

Finally, Ravena re-adjusted her glasses once more and smiled a bit: "Ravena Felidae: **Adiba Mustafa**. Age: 21, Singapore. All my friends call me Abby," Ravena, or rather Abby, greeted when she realized her group was staring at her in shock.

"What?"

"EH?!" the others including Shawn exclaimed in shock.

"Uso Desho?! You're 21?! But you look no older than me!" exclaimed Kohaku.

"I thought you were in junior high at least!" admitted Bella while Abby simply lifted her hood and shielded her face in shadow once more while giving an all too familiar smirk.

"I get that a lot. I am quite a short person for my age anyway…"

Michael leaned towards the guys. _"I don't think her height's the main issue though…."_ He whispered to the two who folded their arms and nodded in unison. Michael's shoulders clenched however feeling a finger tap his shoulder from behind and he turned to see the smiling, hooded face of Abby.

"I'm sorry Mickie dear, was there something you wanted to tell me?" She asked.

"N-no, nothing" Michael backed up, not liking the look she had in her eyes. Meanwhile, the others were still examining their prize.

"So how exactly do these medals work? Why are these the prizes?" Kohaku asked, though she did admire the design on the front.

"On the back of each of these is a code, when we put them into FFW it will unlock something special. It could be a rare item, a map to a secret area, maybe even an upgrade for your character." Leon explained. "It may sound small, but then again events like these also give away the new things first like these PT's."

"Now that you mention it…the PT's really are amazing; they have almost everything. Items, Stats, Journals…there's even a contact list?" Kohaku said surprised as she was now on a new screen.

"Sure that isn't just your friend's list Il-uh…Kohaku?" Shawn asked as he walked over to see what was on her PT.

"No, it's almost like a phone book contact. Can these actually call each other?" Kohaku then handed hers to Shawn to own as she seemed to be looking into her bag for something. Shawn seemed to have discovered something while Illu seemed to have pulled out a screwdriver with a set of goggles on her head. "Guess we'll have to take it apart and find out." She said excitedly.

"Or we can just test it…" Kohaku then blushed embarrassedly when she saw Shawn had her PT back to her with his name now on the list. She then nodded and then pressed on Shawn's name; they all then waited for something to happen when they suddenly heard a dial tone ring through.

"I guess these things do work like phones; of course Murakumo Industries would make this kind of future tech stuff…and all for a game!" Michael said excitedly at the potential of his new PT.

"Before you throw your old phone away you know there has to be a catch to it right?" Leon asked, stopping Michael's enjoyment.

"Man, you're as much as a buzz-kill here as you are online."

"That's because I'm more realistic!"

"More like pessimistic!"

"Ok boys calm down." Bella got between them before they could get into another argument.

"So this is where you all are, I thought that you may have boarded the planes already." All of them turned to see a security guard walk into the room.

"Oh, is everybody packing up for the flights back?" Bella asked.

"Yes, but Ms. Murakumo would like to speak with all of you before you board. Don't worry about missing the flights; we'll keep them in the strip for as long as she needs to speak with you and to make sure everyone else is on board." The guard explained. With that they all looked at each other before following the Guard out of the private room into a nearby elevator. After a while they all were brought into another room where Hikari and two other Guards were waiting.

"Ah you were able to find them easily, that's good." Hikari thanked the man as she turned her full attention to Kurotsubasa. "I'm sorry if I'm keeping you away from anything important back at your homes, but I had you brought up here for a reason." She said, pausing to make sure they had heard her clearly. "I would like for all of you to stay here as guests on this island with me. At least until the Guild Wars is over."

"Huh?!" That was the universal response they all gave her.

"Ano, Ms. Murakumo, not that the offer isn't a good one but why would you want us to stay here?" Kohaku was the first to ask.

"One reason would be for volunteering for some FFW projects, the Kick-Off was also another way to see how everyone would be able to handle the new PTs as well as the new features it has and what better way than a group of players that know each others so well." Hikari explained. "You wouldn't need to worry about accommodations and we can see your parents or guardians about permission."

"Really, us helping you work on FFW together…that would awesome, I mean a pleasure!" Michael said, getting excited at the idea.

"What about some of us with jobs or things like that?" Shawn pulled up. The idea of doing this for Murakumo Industries was a once in a lifetime idea but he still had other obligations.

"I'm sure I can help settle some things out. For example; since you Shawn are an intern at one of our American branch companies it shouldn't be a problem to get their cooperation." Hikari proposed as an example, and we will make sure you are rewarded for helping us with our work.

"Oh man, when do we start?!" Bella said, with her eyes wide with excitement. Everyone else laughed at her enthusiasm but none of them seemed to have a reason to object to the kind woman's offer.

"Looks like we all accept." Ravena said.

"That's good…don't worry you won't have to worry about anything too extreme at the moment. Let's get you to where you will be staying." Hikari said as she sent another guard out to send word to the planes that they were cleared to leave. Kurotsubasa then followed Hikari and the rest out of the Gravity Dome to where they will be staying.

**(Meanwhile in FFW)**

"Guild Wars you say?" Kusanagi asked as she had Raiden in front of her to report the latest news.

"Yeah, everyone all around the world are getting ready for it. It's this big competition for all the Guilds around trying to raise their ranks and become the strongest one out there. It's bigger than just a big organized tournament it's like a sport to these humans." Raiden explain, though there was a bit of boredom in his tone.

"It's more than just a sport; to some Guilds it's even more. It's how some of them establish their identities and gain areas for themselves." Whisk clarified.

"I understand the gist; it almost reminds me of how these humans used to fight and kill each other just to own a small speck of land and then expand it. Now it's become a popular form of entertainment." Kusanagi said with a wave of her hand there was a visual of all the different Guild symbols inside FFW. "Many of them form guilds for their own motives…but those motives can easily be their downfall."

"Have something planned Princess?" Whisk asked.

"For now just stand by, we don't need to have Admin trying to snoop around for our location even if they couldn't reach this place if they tried." Kusanagi said. "However…it's interesting seeing how far these Guilds go out of things like munny and pride." With a smile, the dark queen waved her hand and the screen vanished. "Raiden, go along with your next assignment. I'll send more work for you to do when the time comes."

"Sure sure," Raiden said with his hands behind his head as he walked out of the room.

"And what's my next job to do, Nagi?" Whisk asked.

"To do training with the others. If I'm not mistaken you still have people still on the search for you?" Kusanagi said.

"Please, not even Rave can find this place. Shadow might, considering you said he still has that small link you gave him, but he probably just sees me as Sis's problem." Whisk said as he rubbed his right wrist. "Plus your little gift will give me all that I need to not make a mistake."

"All the more reason to best get to training, wouldn't want to keep you-know-who waiting." Kusanagi said with a smirk.

"Don't remind me," Whisk said as he then left the room.

After Whisk had left the throne room Kusanagi then looked up to the small sky light showing her the evening sky. 'So dear sister, you think you are the only one capable of stirring things. Well… while you're too busy making ripples I'll be making waves…' smirked Kusanagi while chucking sinisterly.

**TBC…**

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><p><strong> Long isn't it, one of the unusually long chapters but we are introducing a new season technically so I think it's worth the length though I may never match it until we get to a few other things. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I will see you all next time.<strong>

**-Shadowlight0982 out.**


	28. Chapter 23: Kurotsubasa vs All-Stars

** Hello everyone and welcome to a new chapter! Since it is the month of October and something special is being planned for the month I wanted to get a few specific chapters up for the story beforehand. Since this story has something planned, all my other stories are pretty much placed on the backburner until the end of the month, or around the next holiday, so while you all wait enjoy the chapter below.**

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><p><strong>Beta'd by: Ravena Felidae<strong>

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><p>"FFW"-Speech<p>

'FFW'-Thought

'_FFW'-Flashback_

"FFW"-Attacks

Disclaimer: I do not own any reference to any anime/game/show/book, etc. that appears in this story. I own the original plot (at least I hope its original) and my own characters and OC's. All other characters and references belong to their original creators.

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><p>It was morning on the large island known as Infinity Island when Shawn slowly got out of bed yawning. He took a quick look around and was reminded that he was not in his bedroom back home; he was in a fair sized dorm room. The room had everything he basically would need, a large bed to rest in, a desk where he could do work and a closet to put his clothes in. When they all accepted Hikari Murakumo's offer of staying on the island to work with her they were taken to the large dorm-like building to live in while waiting on things like clothes and messages from their parents to arrive.<p>

"And here I was thinking last night was a dream; well no use delaying it." Shawn said going to the closet as he wiped the remaining sand from his eyes. He gathered some items to bring with him as he tiredly made his way to the bathroom. A quick routine later and Shawn was now more awake; wearing a blue open short-sleeved jacket, white shirt, black slacks and shoes.

"It wasn't long where I was asleep in my room back in a small house in Charleston, and now I'm awake walking around a dorm on an island." Shawn said to himself as he began walking around. After everyone had settled in they were given a brief tour and had a map of the place placed inside their PT's. After a few trials Shawn managed to find the kitchen where he picked up an apple from a fruit bowl.

"Where is everyone? I know I'm not a morning person." Said Shawn after taking a bite of the apple.

"Morning Shads…."

Shawn then turned to a half dead Bella make her way into the kitchen, opening a cabinet to pull out some cereal. He noticed that her hair was a bit unruly and her sleep outfit was a bit ruffled up.

"You know my real name Bella, you don't have to call me Shads out here." Shawn said.

"Force of habit…sorry, it's just I accidently set this PT alarm doohickey and it had me up most of the night." Bella yawned as she then got herself a large bowl and then went to the fridge. "I usually have my mom getting me up each morning."

'I know that feeling' Shawn thought before noticing what she had pulled out from the fridge. "You may want to pay attention to what you're doing Bella."

"Huh, what for?" Bella asked after pouring her flakes into the bowl; before she could add anything else Shawn reached and grabbed the carton from her hands.

"You almost poured orange juice on your cereal Bella." Shawn said, putting the OJ away and bringing out the milk for the sleepy girl.

"Whoops…my bad," Bella chuckled a bit. "At least it wasn't fruit punch." She said as she now poured the right liquid onto her cereal.

"Do I want to know why you said that?" Shawn asked.

"Thought I try and experiment a bit." Bella said as she now had a spoon to start eating.

"Riiight~, if you need just call me on my PT." Shawn said, turning to leave the room.

"Huh, you off somewhere?" Bella asked.

"Thought I get a better view of the island, later." Shawn said after tossing the apple remains in the trash before he left. Once he was gone, Bella just shrugged her shoulders and continued back to her breakfast.

**(Scene Change)**

"Does the place have to be this big?" Shawn asked making his way to where he thought was an elevator. The dorm itself was a four-story building, but the building was so large it was easy to lose one's way if they didn't have a guide (or at least a map). He continued walking until he finally spotted the elevator doors.

'Finally," Shawn then pushed the call button for the elevator. Soon the doors open and he could see Leon was in the elevator as he stepped out.

"Hey Shawn, heading somewhere?" Leon asked.

"Just heading back up, you just now waking up Leon?" Shawn asked back.

"I was up for a bit; I'm just now leaving my room. My friends back home don't believe where I am so I'm heading out to take a few pictures of the island." Leon explained, showing his phone. Shawn nodded as he got in; waiting as the doors closed and the elevator went down a floor. "Sure you don't mind waiting out the ride?"

"It's either this or finding the stairs and it's too early for that option." Shawn explained his reasons as he didn't mind the small detour before he made his way back up. The floors were divided into the entrance floor, boys and girls dorms respectively, and a meeting floor. They didn't know all about what the place had, but they figured they would find out the longer they stayed there. "Looks like we reached your stop." Shawn said hearing the ding of the elevator before the doors opened.

"Looks like it is, I'll be seeing you amigo." Leon said as he left the elevator, ready to gather proof for those back home. After the doors closed Shawn pressed the button for the fourth floor and rode the small metal device back up. While waiting he thought back to his family's reactions to this. His mother was originally against it, but conceded when she saw how big the opportunity was and he made sure he would finish his college work online; not to mention his sister and brother were more than happy to have him out of the house. It was easy for work, since it was the same company though he did had to deal with the usual from his boss. All and all he had an easier time 'moving in' than some of the others without Hikari's help.

'I know it's been a day, but you think she would have some work for us to do.' Shawn thought as he pulled out his PT from his pocket. He looked through the messages and saw none of them were from Hikari. 'Guess I have to be patient.' A ding soon interrupted his train of thought as realized he had reached the fourth floor.

Shawn then made his way out and up another flight of stairs towards the roof of the large dormitory. As he opened the door to the top he was instantly greeted by the sunlight, he shielded his eyes as he made his way out to view the whole island. Despite how much land this building and the Dome area took up, a lot of the island's natural beauty was still there. Behind the industrial area was a trail leading towards the jungle of the island. He took a moment to enjoy the scene as he took a quick snapshot.

"At least I have this to look forward to every morning, guess I have a reason to try and wake up. Huh?" Shawn said looking outwards. He then turned his focus to the ground where he saw a few colorful specks gathered around in the distance.

"I wonder what those are?" Shawn asked himself before turning around to find out.

**(Scene Change)**

"Abby-chan, are you sure they'll be well behaved? I can tell some of them are feeling nervous." Kohaku asked as she dealt with calming down a flock of birds that had perched and landed around her. Sitting beside her was Abby who had a group of cats around her feet and a kitten in her lap that she was petting.

"Don't worry your pretty little head, as long as I have this…" said Abby shaking up a packet of catnip treats causing a couple of cats to meow excitedly as they rubbed against her legs. "I have their undivided attention…"

Kohaku smiled a little as she stroked the breast of a lovely canary that had landed on her finger while Abby scratched the ears of a black cat that had rubbed against her hand.

"Morning Ladies, I see you have acquainted yourselves with the local wildlife," greeted a new voice jokingly.

"Good Morning, Mikey," greeted both girls cheerfully at the newcomer.

Mike smiled as he whistled at the hoard of cats and birds surrounding the two girls. "Wow…you two are like Animal Whisperers or something!"

Kohaku smiled at Mike. "Arigatou~!" she replied when the three heard some gravel shift calling their attention behind them.

Shawn looked a bit surprised when he found the party. "Woah…." He said, surprised at the large amount of animals beside the girls.

"Don't tell me that one of these cats has your tongue." Abby said with a small smile. "You act as though you never seen a cat before."

"I've seen cats and I've seen birds but I never seen so many at one time and not around each other without witnessing the Circle of Life happen." Shawn said. "I saw the mass all the way from the roof and just came to see what it was."

"Well these birds won't harm you, besides if they were spooked they would have just gone back to their nests in the jungle." Kohaku said as she brushed the feathers of some of the more tropical birds. "This island is beautiful, even the Dome doesn't take much away from it."

"This island was an empty island when Murakumo Industries bought it, but they wanted to make an example of not devastating the ecosystem too much. That's why the jungle and other parts have pretty much been left untouched except for where we are." Shawn said.

"You sure known a lot about Murakumo, I mean I know Leon was a Beta so he was actually tested for them before. Though, I swore Ms. Murakumo called you an intern, is it true?" Michael asked.

Shawn nodded. "Yeah, I work in an office close to where I live. It was my way of getting some experience and I sort of hear some of the gossip and works around the building. I mostly spent my time helping my Supervisor and making sure he doesn't sleep too much on the job." He said with a sigh.

"Sounds rough, I would think working for a company like this would be a dream. And now here we are." Michael smiled.

Shawn then laughed a bit. "Yeah I thought that too when I started, hope you still feel that way when we do start working Michael." He said, "I just don't want to deal with another Takahiro again."

"Takahiro?" Kohaku asked with interest.

"My boss's name, he likes to keep things informal with me." Shawn said, "I just hope he can actually get his work done without his assistant waking him up even so often, but I'm sure he'll survive."

"Sounds like a really lazy boss, he must really know what he's doing if he still in charge." Abby said with the others agreeing.

"He's lazy, but the man is a genius. He makes the stiffs at meetings slack jawed when he brings in his work fully prepared before heading back to sleep. I got into the habit of taping some of their reaction." Shawn said. "Still Michael, we probably won't get any work for some time, it is the first day."

"I know, but think we have a whole Gravity Dome to ourselves to use when we're not testing. And not to mention some of the things we actually do get to test, I can't exactly hide my excitement." Michael said happily.

"Well we'll just have to direct that excitement somewhere else." Shawn said.

"Are you suggesting that, maybe we should play FFW together today?" Kohaku asked, wondering if that was what Shawn meant. "I think it would be more fun for all of us to play side by side than in other parts of the world."

"I can see that" Abby said as she stood up; Kohaku then whistled a small tone causing the flock to fly off while Abby clicked her fingers prompting the wild cats to return to their homes. "So when do you plan that we all get online?"

"Anytime really since we don't have anything to do, we can just wait and message Leon and Bella since they are both occupied at the time." Shawn said. "Join whenever you want, I'll be online when I get back inside." Shawn then turned around and walked back to the direction of the dorms. The rest soon gathered their things and decided to split up and do their own things before they too got online. Two messages were sent informing Bella and Leon as everyone went through their own plan.

**(Scene Change)**

It didn't take very long for everyone to gather in the Gravity Room with their Visors in tow.

"Ready guys?" asked Shawn.

"Ready!" came the answer prompting Shawn to nod as everyone took out their PTs and placed them into their slots and put on their Visors.

Everyone began to activate their gadgets as the Gravity Room began to work its magic.

"**Shadowlight0982! Dive In!"**

_**Diving In Sequence Activated….**_ The words began flashing as Shawn felt himself falling into FFW.

_**Shawn began falling through a data tunnel as a cyber-shadow of his Avatar appeared before him.**_

_**Shawn closed his eyes as his Avatar began to merge with him causing his entire body to glow to begin the transformation into Shadowlight.**_

_**The light began dissipating as his arm transformed into the BlazBlue along with his fingerless gloves appearing on his hands seconds before his signature shirt appeared followed up quickly by the appearance of his jacket. His Pants and shoes also began to appear in sequence.**_

_**A blue data stream scanned Shawn prompting him to finally open his eyes to show his left eye fading into the white Byakugan.**_

_**The player known as Shadowlight0982 was ready.**_

"**Keybladedude, Dive in!"**

_**Like Shadow, Leon fell through the data tunnel with his Avatar shadow appearing before him and merging with his form.**_

_**Leon glowed as his shirt, gloves, pants and shoes appeared in sequence ending with his signature Organization coat appearing and flapping in the wind.**_

_**A silver data stream began scanning Leon's head as his hair flared up briefly and transitioned into his silver hair before Leon, now as Key opened his eyes which had lightened a bit to complete the transformation.**_

"**DrummerBoy4Life, Dive in!"**

_**Michael threw himself wide open as his Avatar shadow appeared before him and began merging.**_

_**Layers of his Avatar's clothing began to appear in sequence to replace his own. **_

_**A black data stream swirled and scanned past Michael's head, causing his skin to pale slightly, his teeth to sharpen and elongate slightly while his eyes became swirled with red and blue completing the transformation to DrummerBoy.**_

"**GeneralHyna, Dive in!"**

_**Bella whooped happily as her hair flailed about wildly before as her Avatar shadow appeared and merged with her.**_

_**Her clothes glowed before being replaced by her game clothes, piece by piece. A green and yellow data stream began twisting and swirling towards her and suddenly split into two. The green stream twisted itself around Bella's wrist before glowing and forming the Omnitrix while the yellow stream scanned through Bella's hair accenting her highlights as it bundled itself into a pony-tail causing a big smile to appear on Bella's face as her transformation was complete.**_

"**IllusionistOwl, Dive in!"**

_**Kohaku closed her and hugged herself as her hair bellowed gracefully about her as her Avatar shadow materialized before her. The girl then gracefully opened her arms, prompting the merging and the transformation to begin.**_

_**The girl's inner shirt appeared first followed by her skirt and boots before getting covered by her lavender jacket. Her signature red scarf soon materialized and wrapped itself around Illu's neck. **_

_**A lavender stream swirled about Illu's head, transitioning her red hair to purple as her fringe fluttered up to show her seal glowing briefly as it appeared before Illu opened her green eyes which instantly changed to red with a single blink. Illu's hair tamed down as the girl finally completed her transformation.**_

"**Ravena Felidae, Dive in!"**

_**Abby relaxed her body as she calmly let herself fall. Her shadow materialized before her and merged to begin the change.**_

_**Her red top, belt, pants, boots materialized on her body ending with her coat fluttering in the wind.**_

_**A bright red data stream swirled up to her, coiling and scanning her entire body as her extra feature began to appear.**_

_**First came her nails that began to elongate and sharpen slightly. Next, a glowing stream of light came snaking out from the base of Abby's spine before thickening. The light broke away with a pop revealing her long bushy tail, which split apart into two and waved about. Abby curled her body forward slightly as her glowing wings grew out of her back and flapped, getting rid of the light.**_

_**Abby's ears glowed and transformed into cat ears that twitched slightly as she opened her eyes that transitioned and transformed into cat eyes while her lips curled into a big smile revealing her fangs.**_

_**Ravena Felidae's transformation was complete as she and the others fell through a glowing portal to FFW at the same time.**_

_**(Scene Change)**_

"Whoohoo! I never get tired of that Dive in Sequence!" Bella said stretching herself as all of Kurotsubasa were now online and standing outside their Guild. "So what's the plan guys, are we going to take on any jobs? Go hunting for some treasure?" The toon girl began asking.

"I think if you look around you'll see why we can't do that Hy-Nya." Ravena said with Punnya resting on her shoulder. She then pointed a finger up and the rest of Kurotsubasa followed it as they could see forms of battles taking place all around Tokyo City.

"I didn't think so many guilds would be in Tokyo City, and that they would have already begun to have battles." Illu said in awe at the displays of the battles held by the other guilds. "Usually there are hardly any actions in small towns like this on the first day."

Mukurowl hooted in agreement while Nyoka stuck her head out and nodded.

"That's because so many of them are interested in taking out the competition." Shadow said. "The fewer guilds there are in an area, the more easier it is for some guilds to keep and maintain their territory. It's better to have to deal with two enemies that might challenge you than have twenty guilds all after your head."

"U-Pyon!" squeaked Amaya in amazement poking her head out from Shadow's hood.

"Basically it's going to become a battle to see who is going to remain to keep going, there are about as many new guilds setting up as there are veteran guilds fighting to maintain what they have." Key said. "My only surprise is that none of them have even tried our area yet."

"Maybe they're just cautious; we did make a big impression in the Eclipse Tournament as well as in the Kick-Off yesterday. I wouldn't want to be the Guild to challenge us right out of the gate either." DB said. "Though, can't they issue a challenge online?"

"They can, but if they do it like that then we can decline the challenge." Key answered the question. "We might not have that much territory, but it is advantageous for us since we pretty much have the whole Market district."

"Sugoi, the whole district, usually any guild would try and stake claim on things like that. Is Kurotsubasa such a high ranked Guild that we can control that much area?" Illu asked curiously.

"Not really, we're just able to send any guild packing that even wants a chance to get any part of the area." Shadow answered. "Tokyo City never really had that many guilds in it to begin with, the only one I see sticking around until the end would be Aetherion and they don't seem interesting in challenging us yet."

"It's usually that way every year, but then again we could never official do Guild Wars until now." DB said.

"Huh and why is that nya?" Ravena asked.

"The rules of the Guild Wars say that the minimum number a Guild has to have to participate is five and since Bella's powers didn't really count all we've done really is observe." Key said. "Though since rarely anyone comes here, we were able to basically scoop up as much area as we could."

"Not like there was anyone around to offer a challenge anyway." Shadow said.

"Well, I don't know whether to take that as a surprise or maybe an insult!" A voice said from out of nowhere.

At that moment all of Kurotsubasa looked up at a nearby roof to see the last person they would expect. Striker, from the All-Stars, was standing up there addressing them and behind him was four others players who they all assumed were the members they met the other day. "It's been a while Kurotsubasa, hope you haven't forgotten our faces just yet." Striker said cheerfully.

"Didn't expect to hear from you so soon; what do you want Striker?" Shadow asked.

"Ouch, that's cold, just thought we come around and says hi before we get to what I want." Striker said as he made his way down with the others. "Guess it's time for introductions, we already know about you guys but you probably haven't heard of us."

Walking up next to Striker was an almost feminine looking man wearing a fighting gi that was white on the top but black was the color of his hakama pants. He wore traditional sandals with his clothes along with black and gold gloved armguards; he wore his long black hair in a top knot.

"I apologize if our _Idiot-of-a-Guild-Leader _came off as rude, but this is a meeting we all agreed to. I'm a member of All-Stars too…Akisame, at your service." Akisame said in a gentlemanly way of introducing himself before bowing in greeting.

"The way you cover for the guy makes me think you might actually be the leader. Hey, aren't you that 'Aki-Boo' that he was cheering on about the other day?" DB asked.

"Don't remind me," Akisame said with another member of their guild snickering while he blushed in annoyance. "We might as well continue with introductions…Pitch?"

"Right," The guy that was chuckling earlier said to the bishounen. Like the leader, Pitch was just as tall and looked a bit more muscular than both guys on the All-Stars. He wore a traditional white baseball uniform along with the undershirt and field shoes. Pitch wore a white baseball cap backwards where three spikes of hair poked out the front of the hat and strapped to his back was a large blue baseball bat. "The name's Pitch, nice to meet you guys in the game this time." He said.

'_I'm Valley-Belle.' _A tall woman with an expressionless face on the All-Stars held up a sign with those words. She was almost as tall as Striker but fell short a few inches. She had a lean body, wearing a red and white jacket and red shorts. She had on white wristbands, knee guards and shoes along with violet short hair.

"Wow, I've never met a sign speaker yet! This day just gets better and better." Bella said as she leaned closer to Valley-Belle and proceeded to poke the wooden sign until she was dragged back towards the others in Kurotsubasa.

After the spot of randomness died down the last member of the All-Stars cleared her throat as she walked up a bit, along with a white Usa-Manju on her shoulder. She was shorter than the rest of her guild-mates but she had fair skin, long pink hair, and sticking out of it where two long white rabbit ears. She wore a white sleeveless leotard with magenta swirling pattern with long white gloves with pink circular gems on the back of each hand. She also wears a magenta miniskirt with a white belt and white mid-thigh boots.

"And saving the best for last is I, Prima Diva, FFW's Number #1 Cutie Pie!" She announced confidently with a flourish of her arms.

"Chi-Pyon~!" The Usa-Manju on her shoulder squeaked who copied her master's flourish with her ears. Both then gave a wink of their red sparkly eyes that literally had star-shaped pupils.

"ANYWAY! I guess you have a pretty good idea on why we're here!" said Striker cheerfully popping in front of Prima and her manju much to their annoyance.

"HEY! I was shining my beauty here! _**Vous Imbecile!"**_ snapped Prima in annoyance at Striker who purposely gave a cheeky grin.

"And now it's my turn to shine!" he said casually with a flourish that mimicked Prima before.

"_**Aller au diable!**_"

Prima growled furiously prompting Striker to begin dodging her punches as she chased him around the two groups.

"WAH! AKI-MAMA! Primmy is trying to kill me!" yelled Striker out dramatically as he pranced about with long strides while Prima clearly had to run after him.

Akisame rubbed the bridge of his nose in irritation while a tick mark pulsed on his temple. "HORA! You two behave yourselves right now!"

"She/He started it!" accused the two childishly pointing at each other.

"I don't care who started it, I want you both to end it! Don't make me reduce your allowances!" snapped Akisame with such intensity that the two quickly stopped.

"Yes Aki…." They both said meekly like scolded children.

The whole of Kurotsubasa sweat-dropped heavily at the trio.

"_Are they always like that?" _whispered Key to Pitch who gave a simple shrug.

"_Yup, pretty much…."_ Answered Pitch with a sigh.

'_When Aki goes into __**Mama**__ mode, nobody dares to fight against him…'_ said the sign Val held up.

Punnya in the meantime had hopped off Ravena's shoulder and bounced up to the white Usa-Manju smiling with Amaya following behind her.

"Pun-nya~!" greeted Punnya cheerfully holding out her tail.

"U-Pyon~!" greeted Amaya as well holding out an ear, copying Punnya.

The white Usa-Manju looked at the two a bit with an indifferent look before turning her nose up at them. "Chi!" she said haughtily as she smacked the offered ear and tail away before hopping back to her master much to the shock of Punnya and Amaya.

Punnya frowned heavily until she heard sniffling and looked down to see tears welling up in Amaya's eyes; who being still a baby, evidently had her feelings hurt a lot more easily.

"_**U-PYOOOOOOOOOON!"**_ Amaya began to wail loudly at the top of her voice holding her ears to her eyes as tears began to flow like a fountain while everyone quickly covered their ears.

"Pun! Pun-nya! Pun-Nya nya! Pun-nya!" Punnya said quickly in comfort as she wrapped Amaya up in her tail and began rocking her gently like how a mother would to a crying baby as she nuzzled her face against Amaya, bringing her cries down to a silent whimper as the baby Usa sniffed a bit and nuzzled into Punnya's fur.

Punnya hissed threateningly at the other Manju before flying to Shadow and placing her back in his hood.

"Chi! Chi, Pyon!" Huffed the other Manju with indifference not looking the least bit sorry.

"Well that was rude, ever think of teaching her manners?" Ravena asked seeing as the white manju not only just snuff both Punnya and Amaya away, but also caused the latter baby manju to cry and she did look apologetic in any way, shape, or form. Punnya seemed to agree as she continued to glare at the manju as she returned to Ravena's arms.

"And what makes you think that it is Yuki-Chi's problem, your pets were the ones who thought of themselves as worthy of being in her presence. Yuki-Chi just showed them where they are in terms of status." Prima Diva brushed off Ravena's comment almost the same way that Yuki-Chi did with the others. She then felt something and frightened jumped back as the blade of a scythe was held out to her neck.

"I don't care what she did; all I know is that it was uncalled for, making Amaya cry." Shadow said as he hand gripped the scythe as he free hand went to sooth Amaya, who was still hidden in his hood. Before anything could escalate and anyone else could pull out a weapon Striker placed a hand on the scythe and pushed away from Prima's throat.

"Now now, I think it was uncalled for pressing that against Prima's neck." Striker said with a bit of humor in his voice. Both sides could tell it wasn't serious for the way he could just leisurely point the scythe away with no trouble. Striker's reward for his laughter was dodging another angry punch from Prima.

"You weren't the one nearly chopped into stem, though I see you did hesitate. Were you scared at the possibility of damaging the number one cutie in FFW?" Prima asked as her fear from before seemed to have vanished.

"Not really, between you and me I've met prettier girls." Shadow said causing the rabbit girl to falter a bit. He then placed his scythe away as he then turned to Striker. "Back to what you guys are here for, what do you want? I highly doubt it's here for a favor."

Striker's smirk then grew a bit more. "Well you can call it a favor, a favor that you can't say no too."

"Oh and why is that?" Shadow asked curiously, though a part of him knew what he was going to ask.

"Well you see our battle during the Kick-Off was one memorable battle I will tell you that, but I felt that it was unfair to actually call that our first official battle since we only did it for the event." Striker began to explain. "Besides, a part of me felt bad that it was only limited to just us two. It isn't fair to leave our guild-mates out."

"Now that you mention it, it wasn't fair for the only part that actually had FFW in it not have us be a part of it." Bella thought out loud as she pondered.

"Now's kind of too late to complain about that Bell, we did end up winning didn't we?" DB said.

"And you figured you wanted to fix that along with us having an official battle?" Shadow said, ignoring the conversation the two were having. He knew what Striker was planning on doing, by now he was just waiting for the man to just say it.

"Well if you're going to be blunt about it." Striker said silently to himself as Akisame then began to speak.

"Going straight to the point, we want to challenge your guild to a Guild War battle." Akisame said as he was done skating around the issue. He then threw something forward which Kurotsubasa's eyes followed as they now saw a new addition to the shop's sign. A large white star was planted over their Guild's emblem; the universal form of challenge for the Guild Wars. All eyes then went back to Akisame. "I believe that's all that needed to be said and done."

"Geez Aki, no need for us to get so serious right when we're just here to offer a challenge." Striker said as he then focused back on Kurotsubasa. "But he's right, if words didn't go through than placing that on your emblem will. We challenge you…Kurotsubasa!" He said triumphantly as he and the rest of the All-Stars stood waiting for a response.

Everyone was silent as Kurotsubasa began to talk amongst themselves. Each one of them had an idea what they wanted to do; however, the one who could make the final decision was the leader.

"What do you think Shadow, we can't exactly ignore this since they came up with a direct challenge and they did just place their mark." Key said as he weighed the options for all of them. "They sure must have planned this out since the battle yesterday."

"Yeah like attracting a crowd." DB said as he got everyone's attention on the streets that while a moment ago had only a few people passing through was now crowded with those looking at the two groups and talking about what was going on.

"All of that talk must have attracted them here, it may be just as DB said." Illu said as she recognized the technique. "The decision is on us, but they baited into bringing an audience as witnesses. Plus like Key said, they placed their mark on ours. We have to either accept the challenge or surrender." She explained.

"Stakes are really that high nya? Of course this is my first time actually being a part of one of these instead of just watching" Ravena said. "So what do we do?"

"Well surrendering isn't an option, especially after tagging another team's emblem." Shadow said. "So there is only one thing to do…" With that Kurotsubasa separated from their huddle as Shadow walked forward to Striker. He was aware of all the whispers going on around on whether or not they would accept the challenge. "Challenge accepted Striker…though you know with the rules you only get to choose the venue. We get to pick the actual game." Shadow informed him.

"Right, right" Striker said, happy that they accepted. "That is fine with us, though we may have a challenge in mind that you may want to reconsider. The battle will take place back in our town, Animetropolis; you know where the Sports Coliseum is right?"

"It's one of the bigger buildings there, we'll find it." Shadow answered.

"Right, we figured we would have the battle two days from now in the Coliseum, can't wait to see you there Kurotsubasa." Striker said as he and the others then turned and made their way down the street.

With All-Stars heading off, Shadow then gathered everyone else back into the base so that they could discuss in privacy. They all went upstairs in the meeting room where they could talk about what had happened.

"Offering a challenge right at our front door and baiting a crowd, and as a part of that, despite the Guild War's rules they want to propose a type of battle to us?" Key said as he was now at the Terminal. "There has to be something up about that."

"What do you mean, they challenged us right, so doesn't that mean they get to choose how we battle nya?" Ravena asked confused at the Beta's words.

"It's the opposite Ravena-chan, during confrontation it is the Guild that is getting challenged who gets to pick the game. That way it gives overall fairness." Illu explained briefly. "Say a very strong fighting guild challenges a weaker guild who couldn't win a straight forward battle. They can suggest a battle where the fields will be even or give them an edge."

"And because of edges like that it's usually why the challengers get to pick the field so that it at least evens things out for both Guilds." Shadow said. "Though there must be a reason why they would suggest a game; granted they seemed off but they didn't come off as having that bad of a motive."

"Well they challenged us and picked a Sports Coliseum right? Maybe they have some big extreme game that we can all play where it could be fair, or maybe they want to put on a performance. Those guys are athletes!" Bella suggested her ideas.

"Did Bella say something that made sense?" DB asked in surprised, only to dodge a stream of water from the transformed girl. "Whoa, hold the water pressure! Usually Bella you aren't the one thinking of why people want to fight you usually go in Omnitrix blazing!"

"**That doesn't mean even I can't come up with ideas!" **Water Hazard spoke before changing back into a pouting Bella. "Besides they don't seem like bad guys like Shads says and I doubt that Striker guy wants revenge for the Dome thing. He was having as much fun as anyone could."

"Still appearance or not, I still have to keep in mind they may be after the Wings. Since; in competitions like this, it would be easier for anyone to try and challenge me for it." Shadow said.

"That's right, if a Guild refuses a direct challenge not only do they lose territory but it reflects badly on that Guild. Especially in a public setting like what Striker did." Illu said. "Should we really go with their idea for a game? We do have a lot at risk?"

"Let's just see if Hy-Nya's idea holds some truth to it; find anything Ani-Key?" Ravena asked as she saw Key was searching through the Terminal for something.

"I think I do…check this out." Key the put up a visual of a large sports Stadium. "That is where they set the location. Coincidentally this is also their base; unlike others who want their locations secret they are practically advertised everywhere. An accomplishment considering what Animetropolis is." The Beta said.

"I've never actually been to Animetropolis. Could it be something like Akihabara?" Illu asked with eyes sparkling.

"Never had a chance to visit the real place Illu-tan?" Ravena smirked as Illu then remembered where she was and got embarrassed.

"W-well, Chocobo and the others would sometimes save money to go there during summer break. They always get me souvenirs but I've never been there myself." Illu explained. "And I always heard Animetropolis is supposed to be FFW's version. I definitely want to see it!"

"We'll have some time to sightsee, maybe after the challenge." Shadow said. "What's happening with the stadium Key?"

"A big sports event in two days…and guess who're on the roster for it." With a push of a button Key then pulled up the schedule for the location and saw that Kurotsubasa was scheduled to duel the All-Stars. "Either FFW updates really quickly…or they planned this all ahead." He informed them. "Even the game has been scheduled."

"And what kind of game is that?" DB asked his fellow guildmate. "Come on, out with it man, the suspense is killing me here."

Key looked at his guildmates before taking in a deep breath and exhaling. "They want us to partake in a Roller-Jam…"

Bella looked at the beta incredulously. "You're kidding right? They want us to skate?"

"Ano…What's a Roller-Jam?" asked Illu, a bit confused.

"It's like a race but on roller-skates," Ravena began to explain. "The goal is to grab the opposing team's emblem while trying to knock your opponents out of the race. Basically it's literally a rough and tumble sport to participate in."

"Sounds like my kind of sport!" said DB eagerly.

"Ditto!" cheered Bella.

"Skating! B-b-but I've never skated before!" stammered Illu nervously prompting Mukurowl to pat the girl's head comfortingly.

"Don't worry about it. Remember, here in FFW, as long as you can picture yourself doing it in your head, you can definitely pull it off," said Shadow encouragingly with a small smile, which placed the owl girl at ease a bit.

"Well what are we waiting for Nya?! Come Punnya! To the K-Cave!" declared Ravena prompting a swirling portal with two black poles to suddenly appear as the two ran towards the poles, jumped on them and slid down.

"Oh no you don't! I'm getting front seat this time!" declared Bella as she slid down the pole after them with the portal closing up after her.

The remaining members exchanged incredulous looks and sweat-dropped.

"I'm starting to think Bella's been rubbing off on Ravena and Punnya…."stated Key bluntly prompting the others to nod solemnly in unison.

(At the Van)

"Took you guys long enough," huffed Bella looking grouchy considering Ravena had beaten her to the seat once again.

"Not everyone can summon a portal as a short-cut Bella," argued DB while Ravena gave a peace sign and grinned.

"Come on kids, buckle up, it's time to go!" joked Key as he buckled himself into the driver's seat while everyone took their places while Shads jumped onto his bike and slipped on his helmet while Amaya hopped over to Punnya who wrapped the baby up in her tail for safety.

"To Animetropolis!" cheered Ravena, DB and Bella as engines began revving as the both van and motorcycle sped out and off.

**(Animetropolis)**

"Well, here we are guys." Shadow said as they were now walking through the large city. Compared to a small town like Tokyo City, Animetropolis was easily twice the size with many tall buildings and skyscrapers against Tokyo's small buildings.

"So this is Animetropolis, its much bigger than I thought I would be." Illu said in wonder as she began looking around. Her moving then caused Nyoka to wake up and look around for herself.

"Illu-sama, I don't see the big deal about this place. It's simply a much bigger settlement than the one we were just in." Nyoka said, uninterested.

"That's because we only just got here, we really have to see what this city has to offer nya." Ravena said eagerly. "One of the biggest areas in the Server, full of things like malls and shops; it would be a crime if we didn't enjoy everything it has to offer. I can't wait to see the magic shops!"

"Punnya!" Punnya reminded her.

"Right, we'll check out the snack shops too Punnya." Ravena said.

"Punnya!"

"Hey if the girls get to explore, then can I at least get to go off and at least find a pub!" DB argued seeing the two were already making plans.

"Before anyone goes and gets lost in the big city, we are here for a reason. We have to find a place to stay and at the same time find the stadium." Key informed them. "We're here a day early, but that doesn't mean we have time to go sightseeing."

"It's that we do find a place to stay as fast as possible before anyone notices us in town." Shadow said.

Bella then laughed at that notion as she began to walk further ahead. "Come on, that's just silly even by my standards. It's not like anyone would care if I yelled, 'KUROTSUBASA IS STANDING RIGHT HERE IN TOWN!' right? " The toon girl said.

Just as that was said, it was like all sound seized, they all stopped as the guild wondered what was going on around them. Before they could hear the whispering, they caught the wide eyed looks some of the people in the crowd were giving them as Kurotsubasa stood still, watching the players talk.

"_It's them, that's Kurotsubasa."_

"_I thought the challenge must have been a joke, but if they're in town then it must be true."_

"_I've only heard talks about these guys on forums; you mean they're the guild that showed up out of nowhere?"_

"So…No one would care, huh?" Shadow said as he sternly looked at Bella.

"Then again, I could be wrong…" Bella chuckled nervously as they could all hear the talking now elevate. None of the onlookers seemed to even care for whispering now.

"Well that just made our job a lot harder." Key sighed.

"Guess this must be how some web celebrities feel, though I won't lie and say that this is getting a little awkward having them talk about us like we aren't here." DB said with a bit of irritation in his tone.

"I-I'm sure they don't mean anything about it. Its harmless curiosity…but they don't have to stare so much." Illu said as she lightly pulled up her scarf to try and hide more of her face.

"Why don't we just find a hotel and lay low for a while until this event blows over." Ravena gave out her idea.

"Good idea, the faster we find one the better." Key agreed.

"It's irritating as hell but it's just gossip, I mean what's the worst that can possibly happen?" DB asked curiously as they all began to try and move out the spotlight. Suddenly they all stopped as they felt a rumbling of the ground. "Sorry I asked!"

"Not yet you're not." Shadow grimaced at the rumbling the ground was given.

"What is this? A tremor? An earthquake?" Illu asked startled a bit from the sound slightly increasing.

"No, something a lot more worse nya, it's something we have DB-chan and Hy-Nya to thank." Ravena said as Punnya then flew to her arms, having felt what was heading their way.

"I said I was sorry!" DB yelled back.

"I regret nothing." Bella chimed along with the vampire. "But seriously, what in toon's name is that if it's not an earthquake?" She asked as they now saw the crowd parting as the beginning of a dust cloud seemed to have formed and head towards them.

"The worst thing to hit FFW ever." Shadow said.

"Come on, now you're just exaggerating."

"Does it look like I'm exaggerating?"

"Ugh guys now might be a good of chance as any to run." Key said gathering all their attention as he then pointed back the other way. The dust cloud was now bigger, only now they could see what was actually causing it along with the vibrations.

It was a large mass of people, all running towards them. Men and women made the group, but the only thing they had in common were a few signs and banners, maybe a T-Shirt or two. Signs and banners with Kurotsubasa's Guild Symbol.

DB widened his eyes."Oh Fu-"

"FAN MOB!" yelled Key cutting DB off while prompting everyone to take off like a rocket down the street.

Kurotsubasa ran like crazy as they began to hear their fans' cheering coming closer.

"_SHADOW-SAMA!"_ squealed majority of the fangirls in the mob.

"_KEY-CHAN! COME BACK! WE JUST WANT TO KISS YOU!"_ Another group of girls called out.

"_DB WE LOVE YOU!"_ cried DB's fans. _"Sign my Boob!"_ one particular girl shouted.

Even the girls were not spared as their own mobs began adding on to the numbers.

"_ILLU-CHWAN~! KAWAII~!"_ cried one group.

"_RAVENA-TAN! NEKO-CHAN! POSE FOR US!"_

"_HYNA-SAMA!"_ yelled a group of girls excitedly.

Bella looked over her shoulder and frowned.

"Hey, how comes I don't have any guy fans?!" she lamented only to get looks from the others. "Never mind, don't answer that."

Suddenly out of no-where the group spotted another Fan Mob coming at them from the other direction causing Kurotsubasa to come to a screeching halt.

"Great! Now what nya?!" asked Ravena whipping her head back and forth.

"GUYS! Scatter!" commanded Shadow. The Guild did not need to be told twice as they broke off into different groups.

DB immediately darted down an alleyway with Amaya grabbing onto his head while Shadow and Bella ducked into the nearest mall.

Illu quickly transformed with Mukurowl, while at the same-time Ravena grew out her wings as the two girls took to the skies.

Just as Punnya was about to follow behind them she felt someone grab her tail.

"WAIT! TAKE ME WITH YOU!" cried out Key in fear considering the time he was kidnapped by TPB and Rina.

"PUNNYA!" mewed Punnya as she immediately transformed into her Nekomata form, grabbed Key by the collar of his coat and hoisted him into the sky, tossing him on her back in the process.

Key grabbed on tight as Punnya flapped her wings hard and flew off in another direction.

_**(Play K2G by PuffyAmiYumi)**_

Background music began playing in the air as the chase of the Kurotsubasa gang began underway.

_**(Key and Punnya)**_

_**Nagare nagare te kita mon da**_

Key and Punnya quickly took a turn around a tall building….

_**Kita kara nishi e kake nuke te kite**_

_**Tadori tsuita koko wa ittai doko**_

Only to suddenly appear again zooming in the opposite direction as a hoard of fangirls who had flying powers or flying items like magic brooms, clay birds, skyboards and the like came after them.

_**(DB and Amaya)**_

_**Karada wa yake ni karu kunaru**_

DB's fangirls stood in the middle of a street as they panned about for their target. Unbeknownst to them, DB and Amaya poked their heads out from around a corner and to see the fangirls had their backs to them. Carefully, DB tiptoed out slowly.

_**Too kude minna tema neki shiteru….  
>Hata mata koko wa tengoku ka chi no hate ka<strong>_

Suddenly the fangirls turned their heads and noticed him, causing DB to freak out as he dashed off in the opposite direction while Amaya wrapped her ears around his forehead and clung on for dear life.

_**(Ravena and Illu)**_

_**So kawaii hito yo kocchi e kite o kure**_

Back in the sky, Ravena and Illu flew as fast as they could away from their flying fanboys who were catching up them as they quickly flew into the clouds for cover. Their mob quickly followed suit after them.

The two girls and the fanboys occasionally poked their out of the clouds at random like gophers trying to catch sight of either party. Suddenly all the fan-boys poked their heads up at the same time and looked at each other when they heard a whistle calling to them.

_**Maa boku no hanashi o kikanai ka **_

The group turned their heads to see Illu and Ravena in front of a large cloud smiling and beckoning to them , the boys eagerly flew at them…only to phase through the girls causing them to smack face first into the hard surface of a force-field. The illusion instantly disappeared as the real girls high fived each other before taking off.

_**(Bella and Shadow)**_

_**Mata kawaii hito ga waraatte kureru nara  
>Saa itte miyo oka yume no kuni<strong>_

Back in the mall, it seems no matter where Shadow and Bella hid, their fans always happened to find them.

As the two turned a corner, the fangirls followed suit, running past a mannequin display, not noticing that the two very people they were chasing were posing among them.

Suddenly Bella sneezed, alerting the fangirls as they about faced and pursued them once more. Shadow quickly grabbed Bella, and dashed into the furniture department where they quickly dove into a closet.

"_How do they keep finding us?!"_ Hissed Bella in a loud whisper.

Shadow gave her a look. _"Gee I don't know, we might be able to hide properly if you'd just __**Kill the Damn Chase Music!"**_ he growled.

"_Ooh!" _Bella's eyes widened in realization as she then pulled out a pocket radio from her satchel.

_**Sakura mai chi- **__Click!_Went the radio as Bella quickly pressed the stop button, effectively shutting off the music.

"_Sorry….I thought the moment needed something!"_

Shadow rolled his eyes in exasperation when the two suddenly tensed up when they sensed the fangirls were nearby.

The two quickly held their breath and covered each other's mouths and stayed very still as they waited for the impending danger to pass.

**(Scene Change)**

"Well we managed to avoid that disaster somehow." Shadow said, mostly to himself, as he was now walking out the mall with his hood up so that no one would instantly recognize him in the streets.

"Seriously, why wasn't there a single guy calling my name in the crowd? I don't mind but I would have appreciated it." Bella thought out loud as she walked. Her disguise happened to be a large green overcoat and a fedora to match. The girl got many suspicious looks but so far no one seemed to pay too much attention to her.

"Maybe you just scared them all away, or maybe there were some in the crowd." Shadow said. "We can find that out later but right now we need to group back up with the others."

"Group up where, first we need to find a…" Bella then stopped as she noticed something ahead and walked away just as Shadow opened his menu to send a message to try and find the others. After a minute of waiting, and inwardly praying, he got several responses.

'_Me and Amaya managed to shake them off, right now we're ducked around a market. You owe me 100 munny for the carrots I had to buy her Shads.'_ DB's reply read.

'_I'm right now in the park with Punnya, no sign of the mob.'_ Key called in.

'_Illu-tan and I lost the guys at a billboard, right now we're hiding ourselves inside the cosplay crowd…did you know they had cosplay of some of the guilds? They even had all of us!'_ Ravena sent.

'That explains where they got some of their looks.' Shadow thought as he recalled some of the fans wearing things like replicas of their clothes. 'Good news, we weren't robbed. Bad news…I won't go there.' Shadow then began to type out his response to send to them.

'_Bella and I lost them and are looking for a spot to rendezvous. No luck so…'_ Before he could finish he was then grabbed by his arm by Bella.

"Hey Shads, I found a place that we could stay at!" Bella said as she presented the building to him. Outwardly it was a normal building, a town story building that was a soft pink color and looked very spacious. The problem came with a few of the signs placed on the building…

"Bella that hotel is…"

"I know, really cheap isn't it?! One whole night just 2000 munny is a steal." Bella said proudly cutting him off.

"Sometimes I question your sanity Bella." Shadow said as he held back and turned away from the building. "We're not staying there, come on we can find better places to stay for the day." Shadow then turned and walked away from the building while finishing his message.

"Wait, what's wrong with this place?!"

"Read all the signs and you'll know why!"

Bella blinked a few times and checked the building again. She didn't see anything wrong until she got close and read all the small print on the signs and posters hanging around it. "L-O-V-E, H-O….Oh….OH! So that's what he meant." Bella said softly before realizing she was falling behind and caught up to Shadow. "We can forget about that place."

"Yeah let's" Shadow said as they both then got a message from Illu.

"It's from Owlgirl; you think they might have found a place?" Bella said.

"After the running we did, I'm just about ready to leave this crazy town and camp for the night." Shadow grumbled as he then opened the message to read.

'_Everyone, Ravena-chan and I found an Inn we could stay at that's a bit outside of the main city. It's a historic style Inn that you can find outside of the stores. We can all meet there, at the Serene Garden Inn.'_

"Looks like they came through, let's go it would be faster if we just flew there." Shadow said as he began to hover and then float off to the eastern part of the city.

"Hey wait for me!" Bella said as she transformed into Jetray, leaving her coat and hat behind as she traveled after the guild leader.

**(Time skip)**

"I take back what I said guys, I rather have people talking about us then have them actually chase us." DB said as all of Kurotsubasa were gathered at the Inn. The Guild was able to get a room big enough for all of them and was now resting after their near brush with death. "I mean, seriously, where did they all come from?"

"People from the forums, I was just looking around and I found this on the boards." Key said as he pulled out his small terminal. All of them then came in close and looked at the title of the forum page.

"Kurotsubasa…fan…club?" Illu said.

"From the pictures they must have been following since the Eclipse Tournament nya, or maybe sometime before." Ravena said as she continued to look around. "Hey, what is under the thing that says art?"

"I rather not find out." Key said as he put the terminal away. "That chase alone is going to give me nightmares; I don't need to see anymore images with the event tomorrow." The Beta said as he slumped in his chair.

"Speaking of which, we found a place to crash for the night. Why not go out to the All-Stars base and check the place out?" Bella asked as she was now fully laid out on the nearest couch. "We came this early to check out the competition right, why not journey to their own turf?"

"That reminds me, how much territory do the All-Stars own?" Illu asked.

"Not much; it's really just all around their stadium, though they've become something like icons to this place that they have high influence all over the town. Most of the guilds here just run small businesses to attract and entertain crowds." Shadow answered. "The All-Stars just happen to be the most famous one of them all, which is why they were able to turn our Guild War into a spectacle and spread the word fast that we were coming." Shadow then stood up from his seat and stretched his limbs.

"Well it would be a good time to check the place out now." With that said he allowed Amaya to hop back on his shoulder.

"We're going right now?! We just finally found safe haven and you're throwing us back out there?" DB asked. "Are you mad?!"

"How about this, I'm going to check their stadium out. You guys can do whatever you want, rest here, go have a snack, visit some shops, but I'll at least check out the stadium." Shadow said.

"I rather check the place out, there's always time to see the sights later." Illu said.

"Count me out, I want to rest here and catch my breath." DB said.

"I think I'll stay here too, I'll check out the stadium on my own later." Key said. "Besides, I think Punnya's all out of gas…."

"Pun…" sighed Punnya in agreement lying almost deflated in DB's arms.

"Well I got a new town to discover and new pranks to try. I'll see you guys later." Bella said as she left the room.

"As much as I want to go and try and stop Hy-Nya, I think I'll just go with you guys and see the arena first before going after her." Ravena said. "Hopefully Hy-Nya doesn't get into too much trouble."

"Just as long as she doesn't level the place." Stated Shadow as he reached for the door when Ravena quickly put a hand on his and Illu's shoulder.

"Hold on, I think we should disguise ourselves if we want to avoid any more fiasco-nya," suggested Ravena.

"Ok, what do you have in mind?" asked Shadow quirking an eyebrow earning himself a grin from the cat-girl.

"A new spell I just learnt…." Replied Ravena as her eyes began to glow and her hands began to cover with magical energy.

"_**Beau Glamoras~!"**_ called out Ravena as her magic flew from her hands and enveloped the trio briefly before disappearing revealing them to have new appearances.

"Wow!" exclaimed Illu in awe as she looked in the mirror to see her hair had turned white while the colors on her jacket were reversed and her eyes became blue.

"Nice…" said Shadow when saw that a pair of sunglasses had appeared covered his eyes while his hair had become long and in a pony-tail. His hoodie remained the same but the emblem on his shirt was gone while his BlazBlue appeared like an ordinary arm.

Ravena's cat features had disappeared making her look like an ordinary girl while her jacket had disappeared while her hair became straight. "Glamour Spell, it's only an illusion but it will keep others from recognizing us."

"Good job, Rave, let's go," said Shadow as the trio made their leave.

After those words; Kurotsubasa separated again, this time with more in mind than avoiding hostile fans.

(Scene Change)

"So this is the Battle Coliseum….Sugoi ne…." commented Illu as she looked up at gigantic size of the place.

The stage followed the theme of the guild perfectly as it was a large open air arena with plenty of seats in the rafters for fans and many banner portraying various sports. The biggest banner was right above one of the openings on the field, a large red banner with a large white star and many smaller stars circling around it. It was the emblem of the 'home team'…the All-Stars. "Tou-san and Chocobo never took me places like these and I've seen them on TV, but being inside of one is a completely different feel. Even in FFW."

"Sports stadiums tend to do that, an extra way to pep up the fans by bringing them front row seats to the action." Shadow said as he began to examine the banners. "It pays well, since it probably helps pay for the place. Whether they live here or not."

"I guess that's where they're going to hang our banner huh?" Ravena said as she saw the large blank white banner on the opposite entrance of the stadium. "To think this place is going to be full of people, cheering fans from all over nya." The neko said in wonder.

"And all of them rooting for the home team." Shadow said as he continued his observations.

"I'm sure they'll be people cheering for us too." Illu said optimistically. The tide of fans that they had avoided also showed that they were known and liked by some people in the community. "Chocobo and the rest of Aetherion may be able to come if they haven't had a challenge yet, maybe Rose-san and Grim-san. Naenia-san would possibly be there to support DB."

"Who knows, days get busy and I'm not expecting much from the visitors side other than seats for other home fans to take." Shadow said. "There are banners for soccer, volleyball, baseball, and what looks like gymnastics and martial arts."

"Didn't Striker use soccer-balls against you during the last battle, maybe this must be their banners if the different colors mean anything." Ravena thought as she too took a second to look at the banners along with Illu.

"It must be their way of individualizing each member, Aetherion does the same thing but with our Guild's symbol. Each element represented each member, including me since one of the kanji reads off poison." Illu said.

"Hey how comes we don't have something like that for Kurotsubasa nya?"

"Our symbol stays how it is, though I've been meaning to update the shop but too many distractions keep popping up." Shadow answered.

"Now what's a bunch o' stragglers doin' way up in the stands? Don't you know that the stadium is closed for the day?!"

They all then looked down to see Pitch, Prima-Diva, Yuki-Chi, and Valley-Belle as they were all standing down in the center of the arena's floor. Pitch was the one who addressed them as he stood with one hand gripping the large bat.

"I know it must be hard to part with us, but the rules are clear. We need to have the place cleared and ready for the competition tomorrow. I know it must be a _**tragédie**_ to be away from _**mon **_cuteness, but you'll be sure to see plenty 'till then." Prima-Diva said, causing the other two to have sweat drop behind them.

'_Or maybe they are from another guild, hoping to leave their emblem here.'_ Valley-Belle rationally suggested with her sign as while Prima's idea was too extreme, she was right about the stadium being closed.

Shadow then held his hands up in mock surrender. "Ok, you caught us, we're new to town and we found a door that was open and just worked our way in." He said, trying to hide his sarcasm.

"We didn't see any signs, so we thought we have a look around." Ravena added with a fake smile.

Illu then gave a small bow. "We're sorry for intruding, now that we know we'll just leave out the way we came."

"I don't believe so."

The three All-Stars were surprised as Akisame then appeared out of thin air and in front of them staring at the intruding guests. There was a small smile on the bishounen's face, although the veins along his eyes and the milk white of the Byakugan's pupils threw off the cheerful look.

"I didn't think any of you would arrive soon, but after hearing the commotion through town I guess the rumors are true. You can all drop your disguises now." Akisame said as he deactivated his Byakugan. "You can put the bat away Pitch, we have to show Kurotsubasa some of our hospitality."

"Kurotsubasa?!" The three said as they looked back up.

Shadow then placed his hands down and then sat in one of the empty seats. "Looks like you caught us, but I didn't really expect to see any of you here. I may be right about you guys living here." Shadow then turned to Ravena. "You can drop the disguises now Rave."

"Roger," Ravena then snapped her fingers and instantly their image faded back to what they originally were, startling the All-Stars even more that the visitors were their opponents. Amaya then emerged from her hiding spot and went to her owner.

"Half of the team, and the leader to boot. What are ya'll doing up there anyway, trying to cheat a win out of us?" Pitch accused as he pointed his bat to them.

"We would never do that, we only came to see the stadium since we never been to Animetropolis before." Illu explained as to try and quell any flames before they could start.

"New to time, I see, that explains why you never heard of us nor were any of your men even captivated by my beauty. No way could anyone resist being mesmerized by me when they have only seen me once." Prima-Diva began her rant, causing a groan from the other members.

"Actually the others have girls in their lives and I just flat out not care." Shadow said popping her bubble. "In fact, in a cuteness contest I'd vote for Illu and Ravena anytime." He nonchalantly said, not noticing Ravena's tails puff up and Illu's face flare up or Prima visibly stiffen.

"U-Pyon!" Amaya also agreed as she bounced on his head and sticking her tongue out at her, loving the two more than she did the owner of the white Usa-Manju.

"No need for flatter Shads, though I think you might have broken Illu-tan." Ravena said pointing out the beet red girl.

"Ravena-chan!" Illu said in embarrassment while her face almost made a cherry envious of the shades of red she produced.

"_**QUOI?!**_ I am so much cuter than those two. I bet that mangy feline only looks that way because she still has another spell cast on her!" Prima said in frustration.

"NYANI?! First Off, I don't _**need**_ magic to beat you at Cuteness and Secondly, who cares about your stupid Cutie Pie title?!" Ravena retorted.

The two girls seemed to glare at each other as the others watched, some of them out of fear of getting involved. In the end, Akisame placed a hand in front of Prima startling her while Illu rested her hand on Ravena's shoulder getting her attention.

"Save animosity like that for tomorrow Prima. You'll have plenty of opportunity to present your title for the people tomorrow." Akisame said using a stern look to stop her from speaking again before turning back to Kurotsubasa. "You've gotten a good look at the stadium I hope; hopefully you didn't mind our idea for the challenge."

"You could have at least sent word ahead that our battle was going to become an event for the people here. That peer pressure crap only worked because of the large crowd, why didn't you try flying a large blimp over town for the challenge?" Shadow asked, not hiding his sarcasm this time.

"Well that was Striker's plan, but thank god they turned his idea down." Akisame said. "However the details are, you've arrived and the match is going off none the less. This stadium we've agreed to have as our challenge site, this will be a public match with Roller Jam as the challenge. Are these conditions acceptable" He formally asked them.

"Usually that's something that the Guild Leader proposes, I thought Striker was the leader?" Illu said as she now lost her full blush.

"That is true, but Striker is away dealing with some final paperwork for the Guild War. So in events like this I'm the next in charge." Akisame explained. In a blur, Shadow vanished from his seat and appeared in front of the All-Stars.

"Yeah those conditions are fine…we'll see you guys here tomorrow." Shadow said as he then looked back to Ravena and Illu. "Come on let's go, we've done what we came for."

Ravena and Illu looked a bit confused but nodded their heads as they made their way down to the field to join him as they all the left out one of the halls leading to the exit. Once Kurotsubasa was gone that left the All-Stars with themselves to speak too.

"What do you think that means, you think that someone like Kurotsubasa only came here just to see the sights? This wouldn't be the first time another Guild has tried to lay a trap for us in these competitions." Pitch said.

'_They didn't seem to be lying and those disguises might have been for themselves rather than us.'_ Valley-Belle wrote on her sign. _'What do you think?'_ She turned to the other two.

"I think I'm going to enjoy facing that cat in the Roller Jam tomorrow. That will show them who the Number #1 Cutie-Pie in FFW is." Prima said, lost in her own world.

"Ignoring that; I think that was all they came for, well the girls I mean." Akisame said getting their attention. "I think Shadow came here to do just a little more. He wanted to make this match truly an official Guild War battle for both sides."

"By getting the conditions from us" Prima asked.

"No, something more…obvious." Akisame said as he looked up. The others followed his gaze and their eyes widened on the change to a part of their stadium. Placed firmly on top the large white star on their banner was the emblem of Kurotsubasa.

**(Scene Change)**

"Well, we were able to see the stadium, if we just have to do a run around it that would be fine." Illu said as they made their way out, in new disguises thanks to Ravena's new spell.

"Nah that would be too easy." Shadow said. "Illu, how many Guild War challenges did Aeon actually let you participate in?"

"None…Chocobo was really protective. All I pretty much served as was medic for the Guild; he wouldn't even allow me to fight in the competition even though I'm technically a member. Most of those challenges were fights so I rarely seen ones like a Roller Jam." Illu answered.

"Yeah, most of the Guild Wars they even archive on the site were just full Guild on Guild battles. Not many really play the creative challenge route." Ravena said.

"Well, all that can be said is we're in for a surprise tomorrow when we get the real rules." Shadow said leaving them confused, he then noticed that they were walking around the area of shops featuring cosplay. "Isn't this place where you guys hid from the crowd, how'd you guys hide?"

"We did what anyone else would do and just fit in, the Glamour spell worked out well with the costumes we hid in." Ravena answered.

"Really, what costumes did you pick out?" He asked.

"Well…"

"L-let's not get into details Ravena-chan; we used what we needed to shake the crowd. That's all that matters." Illu cut her friend off.

"Nya, why not, I think you made a great Noelle!" Ravena said with a smile, only to take off as the beet red Illu chased after her. The girls chased after each other, leaving a confused Shadow.

"Noelle…Noelle, oh!" Shadow thought aloud as he got the reference, though the realized look was quickly replaced with a small blush. Sensing the change, Amaya looked down to see if something was wrong only for Shadow to dismiss the blush and rub the small bunny's ears. "Good thing those two were in disguise, no need to give their fans more of a reason to stalk them." Shadow thought aloud as he buried the images of the cosplay from his head and followed the girls.

**(Time Skip)**

"So you guys were able to get a look around?" Key asked as now everyone was gathered back in the living room.

"Yeah we did and we got a conformation from them about the game and everything. All that we need to do now is just show up." Shadow answered. "I don't think you'll be able to scope the place out now though."

"I won't need to, the stadium seems ordinary enough so I just decided to just research on the guild members instead." Key said. "Things like their powers, abilities, things like that. Just because it's a race on skates doesn't mean none of us can use our powers."

"Key's been slaving on his terminal trying to find answers, I've helped by going out and see if I could dig up some dirt myself. The people here have a lot to say about the All-Stars." DB also added.

"What did you get?" Bella asked from her spot. After her latest prank, which mostly involved a large paint bomb to go in the city's park, the toon girl decided to lay low in the Inn since she didn't have her usual hiding spots like she did in Tokyo City.

"When we pulled together all we had, several things, the one we all probably guessed, that their abilities are based around different sports." Key said.

"One way or another" Illu nodded with the others.

"But they have abilities that help that don't directly tie into their sport." Key then began to explain. "Such as Striker represents soccer but he uses things like super speed and wind/lightning based magic of some sort. Pitch has the ability to become a Pyronite, and other things like that. Like anything we shouldn't judge them by appearance."

"Speaking of which, Shads what did you mean by real rules nya?" Ravena asked.

"Just wait until tomorrow, we know it's a race but we don't know restrictions, what's the goal, etc." Shadow said. "We'll find that all out tomorrow, in the meantime let's all get some sleep." With that everyone separated into the two bedrooms for the males and females.

**(The next day)**

When day came to Animetropolis all the resident players instantly signed on to try and be the first to get seats in the large Sports Stadium. As people found seats and bought various things to enjoy the battle the Guild Wars soon got underway with everything set up in the arena.

Big screens had materialized above the stadium for everyone to see.

"_Hey yo everyone! Welcome to the Sports Coliseum in the wonderful city of Animetropolis! This city is big, crazy big! It give plenty of options for how to enjoy your time, only now all you got to be thinking about if the Guild War taking place right now! That's right it's your favorite host, DJ Plugman, hired just to commentate on this fight! So let's get things underway-"_

"_Not so fast!"_ Masukomi said as she appeared on the large screen as well bumping Plugman out of the shot. _"Don't think you can get away with not introducing me when I'm in the middle of a scoop!"_ She replied as she adjusted her glasses for emphasis_. "HEY EVERYONE~! IT'S YOUR FAVORITE REPORTER MASUKOMI HERE~! And CAM~!"_

"_Puu~~~~!"_ CAM appeared as it hovered next to Masukomi.

"_That's right CAM~! Time to call in the players for this battle!"_

"_PU~PUUU~!"_

Plugman re-appeared on screen as he dusted himself off before regaining himself_. "ALRIGHT YO! Let's call in the Home Team! Taking Risks, And Facing Forward; Give it up for the ALL STAAAAAARS!"_

Fireworks exploded everywhere as the crowd began cheering like crazy.

A blast could be heard, turning everyone's attention to the sky.

"_Here comes the first member! The Player known for her Divine Hand; VALLEY-BELL!"_

A pinkish purple streak could be seen streaking through the sky as a figure came flying downwards spelling her name out in the process as Valley-Bell landed in the middle of the arena and bowed.

Suddenly Flames erupted around the field as a Pyronite shot up in a pillar of fire.

"_Turning up the heat, we have the major Baseball Ace, holler out for the 'Fiery Slugger' PITCH!"_

No sooner the introduction came out, the alien landed next to Val and transformed back into Pitch who grabbed his bat and formed a fireball in his other hand which he tossed up and socked it hard, sending it rocketing into the air which exploded, spelling his name in the sky.

The crowd screamed in awe when a rumble could be felt that shook the whole stadium.

Boulders began flying into the sky in an elaborate formation as a girl was spotted flipping from one to another with amazing skill and agility while manipulating a white ball around her limbs.

"_Ladies, hang on to your Men, And Men to your Hearts! She calls herself 'FFW's No.1 Cutie Pie'! PRIIIIIMAAAA-DIVAAAAA~!"_

Prima took a graceful leap off a boulder with the white ball as she did a double flip somersault before landing daintily on her two feet. The ball came spinning towards her as Prima stuck out a hand and let the ball roll down her arm, manipulating it so that it rolled around her neck and down her torso before hip-bumping the ball into the air as it landed on her shoulder and sprung a pair of ears as the ball was revealed to be Yuki-Chi.

Prima and the Manju smiled as the bunny girl caused the boulders in the sky to explode in a shimmering formation of her name as she tossed her hair and struck a pose with Yuki-Chi.

"Prima-CHWAAAAAAAN~!" cried out her fans in the audience.

Prima and Yuki smiled as they blew kisses to the crowd. Suddenly, the lights in the stadium began to dim down as glowing balls of energy materialized and floated about the arena. Loud echoes of oohs and aahs can be heard from the crowd as the energy came spiraling down towards the center of the arena as they began swirling faster and faster into a sphere.

"_Up next is a Martial Artist re-known for his deadly skills and his healing abilities. He is the 'Healing Hand' AKISAME!"_

Suddenly there was a flash and a slicing sound was heard as the sphere broke apart to reveal Akisame as his name formed above him illuminating the stadium.

The crowd grew louder at the spectacular display when suddenly thunder clapped followed by flashes of lightning.

"_Oh Yeah! Appearing like a storm, with deadly kicking force, Let's make some noise for the 'Devil's Foot' STRIIIIIIIKEEEEERRRRR!"_

Screams of excitement escalated as seven colored streaks on which a close up on the screens revealed to be flying penguins came speeding out from the clouds while Striker was shown to be surfing down on them. The penguins did a nose-dive as towards the ground prompting Striker down jump off before directing the penguins to shoot back into the sky and write out Striker's name before disappearing.

"_Everybody! The All Stars!" _announced DJ Plugman enthusiastically as colored smoke exploded around the arena.

"Well they know how to make an entrance." DB said as Kurotsubasa watched the All-Stars' display as they arrived on the field. "If we're going to try an appearance how are we going to top that?" The vampire asked looking to the others.

"It's just something they do to appease the people in the stand; I don't think we need to worry about an entrance." Key said as he continued watching the footage from the stadium. "Then again, if we just walk it after that…it would be a massive blow to our guild's pride."

"Entrances don't make the guild, but it does establish them visually." Illu said. "More so for Guilds people don't know about."

"And that would be us." Shadow said.

"Well we defiantly need to blow these guys out of the water! Now just have to come up with a plan fast." Bella said as she sorted through her Omnitrix as she tried to come up with a plan for their entrance.

"I don't think we'll have much time nya, any thoughts everyone?" Ravena asked.

"Well I do have an idea; it requires us to all work together and some valuable time to plan." Shadow said as he looked to Bella. "First thing we need is time, Bella do you have something that can freeze time outside of this room?"

"I think I got something like that." Bella said as she then transformed into a large bulky mechanical creature. A flash of green light and they heard all sound stop except for the gears moving in the alien's body. **"Will this buy us enough time?" **Clockwork asked as he made sure all time was frozen around them.

"Yeah this is just fine Bella." Shadow said as he wanted everyone to gather close into a huddle as he began to discuss his plan. "We all have to be in perfect sync for this to work. Rave, can your magic work with all the elements?"

"Of course nya, though darkness works the best I can handle using any of the elements." Ravena said confidently.

"That's all I need to hear, darkness will work fine. Bella, you can pick any alien you want it just hast to not be too destructive to everyone in the building."

"**Come on, have some faith in me. Tell you what; I'll stick with a classic."**

"Ok then." Shadow then turned to Illu. "Do you have any illusions that can affect cameras Illu?"

"My illusions should work out fine, and I'm sure it will be able to affect everyone in the stands and the cameras." Illu said.

"I can definitely add the sparks to the entrance; I'm sure from the reaction the crowd likes fire." DB chimed in.

Shadow nodded and turned to Key. "Your keyblades will play a part as well as your twilight element. Are you good at separating them Key?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Key said. "So what do you have in mind Shads?"

Shadow then smirked. "Well they did have their big display but they did it just by having it all by themselves. We're going to make a big team entrance that will show them who Kurotsubasa is. Now first, Bella, do you mind if I borrow the Book of the Moon?"

**(Scene Change)**

"_Well everyone that was a spectacular opening from the All-Stars. Really you can't expect anything less from the hometown heroes."_ Masukomi said as the cheering for the All-Stars died down. _"However; we still have another guild to introduce."_

"_That's right, now it's time for the challengers! If you've never heard of them then you better crawl out that rock you live under; they're the ones steadily making a name for themselves all around FFW. Let's give a welcome to our dark horse guild…KUROTSUBASAAAAAAAAAAA!"_

After Plugman's announcement everyone turned their heads to the other entrance where Kurotsubasa's banner hung expecting them to walk out to the field as the opposing teams often do. Hardly any other guilds prepare entrances, they usually didn't have time or knowledge to plan ahead and none of them could live up to the All-Stars entrance every time. What they got out of the dark, shadowy entrance were two large peering red eyes startling them.

The whole stadium then darkened as they all noticed the sky. The day was gone and was replaced with a night sky with a large crescent moon. The eyes then vanished and a mass of darkness came pouring from the entrance and to the sky forming a large black bird that flapped its wings wide causing gusts of wind to flow all over the arena.

"_What the hell is going on?! Day suddenly changed to night and not this huge black bird suddenly took over the sky!_" Plugman then examined it closely. _"Wait that bird can't be…"_

"_It is...it's forming what seems to be Kurotsubasa's emblem! Could they possibly be involved with this?"_ Masukomi asked as CAM took the footage.

The bird then screeched as a portion of its shadow rose and formed a twin-tailed cat. The Nekomata roared causing the whole stadium to shake as an illusion showing Ravena and Punnya in action played as the two magically stepped out of the picture, gracefully taking a stand with Ravena's name spelling out above her before fading back into the bird. Punnya circled around Ravena as she pulled out her whips and snapped them a few times before smiling as Punnya landed on her shoulder.

The bird began to sing mystically as it continued to hold its wings wide as multiple feathers began to fall. A new image of Illu and Mukurowl in action began to play as Illu's name formed while the black feathers slowly faded to lavender as they began coming together to form Illu who spun her glaive around her torso as Mukurowl flew around her before landing on her shoulder as wind bellowed fiercely about her.

A keyhole soon appeared from the bird's chest and out of it two balls of light and darkness spiraled out and formed two blades.

Key was illusion sequence played out as well as said Beta appeared in the center of the spiral and grabbed his keyblades, showing off a bit of swordplay while letting the swirl fade out.

The bird then lowered its beak and allowed a torrent of fire to be released and as images of DB fighting could be seen appearing from the fire, from which the flamed DB stood and with a snap of his fingers the flames gathered around him and vanished as he twirled his guns and fired a few times into the sky.

The bird now landed and curled its wings gathered what seemed like green sparks of energy that began showing flashes of Bella shape-shifting while her name appeared. It released the ball from its wings that released currents of energy; from out of it Feedback sparked and stood proudly before changing into Bella who flourished out her arms with a big smile.

Finally, the bird let out a final cry as it flew back towards the moon. It held its black wings, creating the symbol once more, before it began to shrink. The moon also phased out and became full as the smaller darkness landed on the ground. An action sequence of Shadow played as the curtains of darkness faded showing Shadow and Amaya with a blue book in hand.

"Sorry for the wait, we wanted to make this perfect." Shadow then closed the book and the moon and night were soon replaced once again by the bright daytime as the Guild members took their places by Shadow as a close up of each member began showing up on the screens.

"To everybody here in this stadium…" Shadow began to announce as his scythe materialized as he began expertly spinning it about.

"_We Are the Black Wing Guild: KUROTSUBASA!"_ announced the entire Guild in tandem as they all pulled their fighting stances with their weapons ending it with an explosion which formed their symbol in the sky.

That spectacular display left the stadium and even Plugman and Masukomi briefly speechless before suddenly exploding into deafening applause for the Guild.

"_WHOO-HOO! AN AMAZING ENTRANCE KUROTSUBASA!"_ cheered Masukomi bouncing up and down while clapping excitedly.

"_HEY YO! COOL MAN! I HAVEN'T SEEN SOMEONE MATCH UP THE ALL-STARS IN ALL THE YEARS I'VE BEEN IN THIS JOB!" _cheered Plugman as he and Masukomi high fived each other.

Meanwhile the All-Stars stared open mouthed while Pitch absent-mindedly dropped his bat while Val held up a sign that simply said '_Wow…'_

Striker was the only one who was laughing in enjoyment as he applauded enthusiastically. "Haha! _**Incríveis!**_I like this Guild!" laughed Striker earning him a punch in the arm.

"_**Taisez-vous **__Striker!_ Don't cheer for the enemy!" snapped Prima whose nose began twitching.

"Aww~ you're little nose twitches so cutely when your angry~!" cooed Striker bending to Prima's height and petting the shorter girl on the head who growled audibly.

_**WHAM!**_ "AIEK!" cried Striker in pain as he hopped around the group holding a throbbing red foot while Prima tossed her hair as the others sighed and shook their heads.

(Scene Change)

A few minutes later it was finally down to the main point of the event as Kurotsubasa and the All-Stars stood facing each other as Masukomi materialized down to the field with CAM floating around her.

"Well you both certainly put on a show for us, but let's get to the reason why we're all here." Masukomi said. "All the conditions have been properly set, but for the crowd we shall have Striker explain the rules of the challenge."

"Gladly" Striker said as he and Shadow walked forward. "Well I guess we start by making this official." He then reached into the pockets of his shorts and pulled out a small silver pin shaped to look like the All-Star's symbol. "We're not playing for munny or territory; we're putting our emblems on the line."

"Gutsy choice, but what's the point of actually challenging us?" Shadow asked as he then pulled his own guild's emblem out as it was pinned to the inside of his jacket. "Really there are other people who need less reason to call us out, so why'd you do it?"

"I told you before; the fight during the Kick-Off was one of the best I ever had. However; the fact that it was so short and we couldn't fight to the best of our abilities left a bad taste. Plus the fact that not all of our guild got to participate." Striker began explaining. "You were right when you said other people need less reason, but I need to make sure you would accept our challenge."

"Hence the upfront confrontation." Shadow guessed.

"That and this, I needed the best way to get you fighting at one-hundred, and this was the best way." Striker said. "From all the things people say about you, the higher the stakes the more serious you are."

"Well this is a serious challenge you just put up. If we end up losing you could choose to disband us." Shadow said to a few surprises.

"Nya, disband?!" Ravena asked.

Illu nodded her head. "That's why betting emblems are the highest stakes a guild could make. Not only does the losing guild give up munny and some territory, they also have to follow one order from the winning guild."

"And the most common one would be to disband that guild permanently." Key said.

"That's right, course that would be too harsh for this competition." Striker chuckled. "Let's say this, if we win our request would be…"

"Let me cut you off right there…because I don't even see us losing." Shadow said, cutting Striker off.

"My, you seem to be very arrogant, thinking your guild has a chance of winning." Prima said.

"Right back at'cha, name the game." Shadow said.

Striker wasn't even shocked or surprised but he just kept a grin as he acknowledged Shadow's words. "Gladly, the game is Roller Jam. On skates, we all race our way through Animetropolis to get to the emblems." As he spoke both emblems floated up and close to each other forming a ball of light around them. "First person on any side to grab it wins."

"Sounds simple enough, we accept." Shadow said straight and to the point. "Not like we can back down now after all the work we did on that opening."

"I just hope you guys didn't wear yourselves out." With that both leaders walked back to their guilds. "Ok, we're ready to start!"

"_All right you heard the man! For those of you still star struck, here's the name of the game…a Roller Jam Race throughout the Anime-skyscape. First person to grab both emblems win, this might not be a battle but don't expect this just to be a simple race."_ Plugman said.

"That's right, especially with the return of a fan favorite! Ladies and Gentleman let me be the first to announce that the GW phase system is now back in FFW!" Masukomi said causing several cheers and roars from the stands.

"GW phase, that's something I've never heard." DB said.

"Just stand tight and watch, the phases were what really made these Guild Wars fun. I'm glad their back." Shadow said. "Now all I'm to tell you is stay calm and don't lose your cool."

"Why's that?" Bella asked.

"You're going to find out, ready to start?" Shadow asked Striker.

"That's my line, let's do this thing." The soccer player said back with a grin.

"_There we go folks, now it's time to start this battle up! All-Stars vs. Kurotsubasa; 3…!"_

"_2!"_

"_1!"_

"_**Guild War, Let's Go!"**_

After the two leaders called out to the other they all began to feel the rumbling of the ground. A bright light soon enveloped everything before they all soon felt themselves shoot up into the air as the floor raised high into the sky. As the guilds looked out they can also see several other skyscrapers in the city rise up along with them, making what almost seemed like platforms.

"Nani, nothing like this ever happens when Aetherion begins a battle." Illu said as the platforms still rises into the skies.

"Because two years ago they took it out when the guilds became too numerous and it began to slow the game's progress down. I'm getting more excited now that I get to feel all this again." Shadow said as they all felt the floor come to a halt. Soon Kurotsubasa's outfits then glowed before they changed into something new.

For the boys, their outfits became sleeveless blue shirts with Kurotsubasa's symbol on the front, black pants and skates. They had padding on their elbows and shoulder while a helmet rested on their heads.

"This part was something I'm not always fond of." Shadow said as he felt his helmet move as Amaya popped out his head wearing her own smaller version of the helmet. "Feeling safe up there girl?"

"U-Pyon!"

"All right that's good." Shadow said as he saw DB and Key both take off their helmets.

"Kyaa!"

They all then turned their heads to why they heard the shriek from one of the females and got a clue why she screamed. The girl's roller jam outfit was of the same design but a more form-fitting dress with a more purplish hue than the guys.

Illu was blushing furiously as she wrapped her arms around herself in an unsuccessful attempt to cover up while Ravena on the other hand twirled around excitedly checking herself out.

"New outfits? Loooooove it~! Nya~!" exclaimed Ravena excitedly as her popped out of her helmet.

"Punnya~!" mewed Punnya with the same enthusiasm as she hovered next to Ravena with a matching helmet.

Mukurowl and Nyoka also appeared sporting similar helmets as they patted a still blushing Illu comfortingly.

Bella groaned as she looked at her outfit. "Seriously?! I don't do dresses!"

"I think you look kinda good nya."

"Shut up, Kitty…."

"Well I guess I can assume you guys are ready?" asked Striker adjusting his helmet.

Like Kurotsubasa, The All-Stars also wore their own uniforms. The guys wore red and white sports jackets with a white shirt inside a white version of the All-Stars symbol to left of the jacket along with long white pants with a red stripe running down either leg while the helmet was white and bore a red version of the All-Stars helmet.

The girls wore the same helmet and a long-sleeved sports shirt designed similarly but with a slightly magenta hue. Instead of long pants, Valley-Belle had mini shorts designed with a similar fashion to the boys but with a visible white belt. Prima on the other hand sported her magenta skirt over the mini-shorts. Naturally, all basic skating gear was in place except the All-Stars sported red and white ones.

"Chi-Pyon!" squeaked Yuki-chi as she hopped onto Prima's shoulder sporting the team helmet.

Soon they all noticed a light source from a distance and saw the prize miles away on top one of the taller skyscrapers. Before any of them could start they were greeted with an image of Masukomi before them.

"Not so fast, first we have to add two bonuses to this challenge." Masukomi said. "The first addition is no abilities that go outside of the skating, so no flying will be allowed for the remainder of the challenge. Also powers such as levitating and super speed will be limited to short bursts; have to make this long enough for the crowd to enjoy it."

"Fine, what's the next little addition?" Pitch asked getting impatient.

"The final would be the assignment of ride classes. Those would be Speed, Flight, and Power respectively; each one has their perks to get you around this large obstacle course. A class has been assigned to all of you base on your stats, be sure to check your skates to know what's what!"

Following her advice, everyone took a second to check out their skates and saw that some of them were different. Shadow, Key, Striker, and Valley-Belle all had a small blue gear representing speed, Ravena, Illu, and Prima all had yellow wings representing flight, and finally Bella, DB, Akisame, and Pitch all had red comets symbolizing power.

"It's up for you guys to find out what each one does, with all of that said." CAM then floated by her with its eyes glowing red. "On your mark…"

Everybody began finally adjusting their gear and bracing themselves.

"Get set…"

The Pets all got comfortable hanging on to their respective masters.

"GO!" announced Masukomi with CAM's eyes now shining green as the hologram vanished. Both guilds instantly raced off from the start point to the many skyscrapers below.

"_Aaaand they're off with Kurotsubasa taking the lead!" _began the play-by-play by Plugman.

"_That's right Plugman! But will they stay that way for long?" _added Masukomi.

**(With Kurotsubasa)**

"So what's the plan besides just heading straight for the goal, it can't be as easy as just going a straight line." DB said as Kurotsubasa stayed group together, a small distance ahead of the All-Stars. "I say instead of worrying about finishing we try and at least distract the All-Stars."

"Shouldn't we stay focused on the goal; we'll have to deal with them eventually." Key said.

"Yeah, eventually, which is why we have to watch out," warned Shadow. "All we know about them are their original powers and whatever Key was able to dig out."

"Don't forget, this is FFW we're talking about, nya! Who knows what this race might throw at us!"

Bella nodded in agreement. "Kitty's right. We have to expect everything!"

"Not to mention the possibility of them trying to knock us out of the race," pointed out Illu as she glanced over her shoulder with Mukurowl flying next to her.

At that moment she caught Striker's eye, who winked at her causing her to blush as the All-Stars all exchanged knowing and began to smile deviously.

"Let's show these Black Wings what the All-Stars are all about!" commanded Striker suddenly. "All-Stars, Move out!"

Suddenly as if a button was pressed, the entire Guild shot forward towards Kurotsubasa.

"See ya at finish line~!" said Striker as he, Akisame and Pitch easily weaved through the group.

"WHOO-HOO~!" whooped Prima as she and Val double-flipped over the group and landed perfectly skating backwards.

'_Excuse Us!'_ Val's sign said as she turned and skated away while Prima and Yuki-Chi teasingly blew a kiss at them and sped off.

Punnya and Ravena growled audibly in annoyance. "That's it, she's going down…." Hissed Ravena while Punnya hissed in agreement.

"_And the All-Stars have now taken the lead as they are approaching the Rider Lanes!" _Plugman pointed out.

Sure enough, up ahead the track suddenly split into three separate winding tracks all marked with their specific Rider Class symbols.

Naturally, the All-Stars broke apart into their respective lanes, all well ahead of Kurotsubasa.

"Guys, we have to close the gap! We're losing ground!" exclaimed Bella as they were fast approaching the three lanes.

"Any ideas?" asked Key.

"Kurotsubasa!" called out Shadow catching their attention as their leader smirked. "Show em' what you got!"

"YEAH!" cheered the others as they split into their separate lanes.

(Flight Lane)

Even though Prima and Yuki-Chi were well ahead up the Lane, she was surprised to look over her shoulder and see Illu and Ravena catching up with her already.

"Not bad _**mon ami, **_I see you actually made it," said Prima with a mocking smirk.

Ravena narrowed her eyes before exchanging glances with Illu. The owl girl took one look at her friend and nodded as she quickly grabbed Ravena's hand. Ravena's eyes flashed a bit as the girl spun Illu around once before using her demon strength to fling the girl forward.

"You might as well give up if you are gonna challenge-"

_**WHOOSH!**_ Illu and her pets then shot past the bunny-girl at an incredible speed.

"Me? What just happened?!" exclaimed Prima in shock.

"I gave her a head start nya! See if you can keep up!" said Ravena as she skated past Prima but not before she and Punnya both pulled an eyelid down and blew raspberries at Prima and Yuki before speeding off to catch up with Illu.

Prima's and Yuki's noses began twitching visibly in annoyance.

(Power Lane)

After the lanes divided; DB and Bella found themselves behind Pitch and Akisame as they all skated along the building's surface. While not far behind, the two All-Stars weren't leaving much room for the two to pass.

"They got us in a blockade; we can't even really get as much speed as the others." DB pointed out. The power skates couldn't reach the speeds the others were going for but compared to them, their skates were the most balanced as they made their runs and hops off buildings with better ease. "There has to be a way to get past them!"

"I would try something but most of them would involve either flying or breaking the course." Bella said as she tried to way her options. "I do have one plan though…"

"Does this involve destroying property in some way?" DB asked.

"Nope, it involves us pulling ahead! Follow my lead Dee!" Bella said as she quickly shifted through her selections and began her plan right as she was engulfed in the Omnitrix's light.

"What do you think they're up to Aki?" Pitch asked as he looked back for a bit, confident of their lead. "You think they have somethin' planned?"

"Even if they did, it would be wasting their time. We could have already found a course to the finish line and go there but our jobs is to be walls when necessary." Akisame said as he too looked back. "Those two are easily the ones to focus on for right now, let's keep them back here and out of the others hair."

"If you say soo-whoaaa!" Pitch stammered as he almost lost his balanced. "What the hell's happening with the ground?"

"The ground?" Akisame asked as it started getting harder to control his movements. His eyes then widened when he saw a layer of ice slowly spread across the building they were riding on. "They're trying to wipe us out!"

"How can they, they're way behind…"

The sound of flames interrupted Pitch as DB soared over them and landed beyond the ice before taking off. After that they saw Bella who was literally sliding on the ice as she waved at them before taking off after her teammate.

"Of course they do realize…**this means war."** Pitch said as his form was engulfed in flames as he assumed his Pyronite form. He then exhaled a row of fire that completely melted the ice. **"Hey Aki, how about we show 'em a little heat of our own?"**

"You do know we'll have to stop to make that combination work." Akisame reminded him.

"**Hey even if we stop, it will put 'em dead in their tracks and out of the other's way right?" **Pitch then caught site of something up ahead. **"If we time this right, we can keep 'em out of the race long enough for the others to win."** Pitch then stopped and waited as Akisame decelerated.

"Then we have no choice then, this really doesn't work will without Striker here but we can improvise." Akisame stopped and then shifted himself into a stance, soon the Byakugan became more pronounced as he focused his chakra. "Here we go!"

"**Hakke Kusho!" **With a strong thrust of Akisame's hand sent out a large blast of pressurized air that was aimed directly at their opponent's backs.

Pitch then inhaled deeply and this time added his flaming exhale to the wind creating a large funnel of flame spiraling towards Kurotsubasa.

Bella and DB were still going until just before their jump another skyscraper launched up and blocked their way up, before either of them could think of a way around it they then saw the reflection and turned around to see the blaze heading towards them. DB and Bella, after transforming, braced themselves as they were blasted into the building that had just appeared. Pitch then turned back to normal as he and Akisame inspecting the hole in the wall.

"Think we took them out?" Pitch asked, as Akisame searched for them with his Byakugan.

"Not likely" Akisame said.

"**Hey where do you get off?"** Both of them saw Bella as Heatblast walk out of the burning rubble. **"I'm the one who gets to throw balls of fire at people, I'm not about to let you steal my thunder-um…Fire!"** The pyronite said pointing at Pitch.

"Save that ranting for later Bella." DB said as he walked out after Heatblast, still brushing the debris off his shoulders. "You guys must not know us, because if you did you know that killing us with fire is next to impossible."

"Oh we weren't planning to kill you. Then plan was to keep you two away so that you won't cause trouble for our team." Akisame explained as he shifted back to his Jyuuken stance. Pitch followed his example by pulling out his large bat.

"Well you got our attention, we'll just make sure you don't regret it." DB said as he pulled out his guns.

"**If you're back here keeping us from helping our friends out that leaves you guys stuck here too!"** In another flash Bella changed directly from the burning Pyronite to a Necrofriggian. **"Maybe I should leave you guys as icebergs and we'll join back up with the rest of the gang."** Big Chill suggested.

"Please, don't think of us as pushovers." Pitch said eagerly while gripping his bat. "You guys won't be going anywhere for a while and that's if we feel generous enough to not end this thing quickly."

"Then by all means…" DB then aimed his guns at the two. "Let's start this thing!"

**(Speed Lane)**

"You two enjoying the view from back there?!" Striker called back as he and Valley-Belle kept pace and maintained the gap between them and Kurotsubasa. "Would it help if we go a tad bit slower?!"

'_I don't think you should pester them.'_ Valley said with her sign as she was mostly silent as her leader threw taunts at the ones trailing behind them.

"Oh don't be like that Val, there's no way those guys can pass us. The only one on this lane who can possibly fly is Shadow and flying is forbidden in the race. Plus I don't see any of us slowing down anytime soon!" Striker said as they began to gain speed. "Better start flapping them wings Kurotsubasa!"

"Wow, so this is how it feels from the other side. Guess this is one reason why most of the people I fight get pissed off." Shadow said as he calmly skated holding a hand to Amaya to keep her secured. "Still I usually don't keep going like he does."

"Really, you think your words are the only thing that pisses some people off?" Key asked sarcastically.

"Hey, Words hurt, especially online, but let's focus on the task at hand." Shadow said as he tried to formulate a plan. It was true they couldn't use their powers to fly, but that didn't mean they couldn't use their powers at all. "Hey Key, think any of your magic can slow them down enough for us to pass them?"

"It would take some concentration for me to try and set a spell up and that would give them too much of a lead. These skates seem to build up speed and maintain it easily but if I stop for a second it would take forever to build up speed again." Key answered back. "Got any ideas?"

"Maybe, but it involves being reckless."

"Regular Reckless or Bella Reckless?"

"A bit in-between but this should work; I just need to ask you something."

"You already did but shoot."

"How good's your throwing arm?"

(With Striker and Valley-Belle)

"They're whispering something back there; maybe they finally have something in mind. I like winning and all but it would be too easy if it ended without us getting into some kind of battle." Striker said.

'_Careful what you wish for._' Valley replied as she wanted them to remain focused on the goal. She then looked back and wide-eyed as she and Striker separated to avoid a spinning black blur.

"What the hell?!" Striker called out at the projectile flew passed them missing them entirely, it was moving too fast for them to process what it was, and all they did hear was the shaking of chains. What got their attention next was the shadow as it grew large and out of it burst Shadow who then grabbed the object in his hand.

"Great throw Key." Shadow said as the Infinity keyblade vanished from his hand. "Now to take care of you two." A snap of his fingers and the two All-Star members soon felt the force of gravity slam down on them, unprepared they came to a dead stop as the floor cracked under them. Shadow then continued on as Key circled around the gravity around the All-Stars to join him.

"I'll admit I didn't see that coming." Striker chuckled as he slowly got to his feet, struggling against the increased gravity. "Oh come on, don't give me that look." He said as he saw the large frowning face of Valley-Belle.

'_You were the one who didn't want it easy.'_ Her sign replied.

"Yeah because I didn't want a dull race, but if you want to finish this so badly…" Striker then helped her up to her feet. "I'll get a few friends to give us a push." Taking a gulp of air he then placed two fingers in his mouth and blew a loud calling whistle.

"_**KOTEI PENGUIN 7!"**_

(Shadow and Key)

"Looks like there are two paths that we can take." Key said as they kept going to the next building. They both spotted a long blue strip that seemed to lead further to another part of the halfway point. "How do they expect us to skate on that small railing?"

"Maybe we're supposed to grind it; we might as well try it." Shadow then focused behind him. "Here's the plan, Key grind on the rail and go on ahead."

"What, we don't even know if grinding will work and what are you going to do?" Key asked.

"Greet our company." Shadow said as he stopped at the edge of the building he was on. Amaya adjusted herself from under the large helmet and she two spotted the rainbow streaks quickly making their way towards.

"U-Pyon?"

"How will I stop it? No clue Amaya." Shadow answered back as he readied his scythe. "I'm all ears if you have a suggestion."

"U-Pyon, Pyon!" Amaya hastily jumped up and down.

"Try that trick; we haven't tried anything like that yet. If you're willing to try then go ahead," Shadow said. "First, a diversion…"

"U-Pyon!" Amaya's eyes then glowed soft white as Shadow focused his soul's energy to his scythe. Shadow then flung the full arc of Witch Hunter towards the two All-Stars.

"Pulling out the big guns huh? Val go up!" Striker said as he mentally had one of his penguins fly a bit up in front of Valley Belle.

Valley nodded and jumped, she then landed on the yellow penguin and used it as a platform to flip and land behind Shadow and continue with the race. Striker then stopped seeing as the other penguins couldn't fly past a semi-transparent barrier in front of Shadow.

"I expected that scythe swing, but barriers are a new trick for you." Striker said referring to the trench Shadow's Witch Hunter left on the ground. The Kotei Penguins all stopped their flight and landed beside him before vanishing.

"You can think this special girl for that." Shadow gestured to Amaya as the glow then left her eyes and with it the barrier also vanished. "I thought I could stop you both though, guess I was mistaken."

"If anything I was able to keep Valley going after your friend and the girls seemed to be busy with their little fight." An explosion later and they turned back to see some of the skyscrapers now had smoke trailing from their rooms. "And it looks like Aki's plan is working too; I should do my part as well…"

"And that part is?" Shadow asked curiously.

"Keep you occupied; that gravity power of yours is too big of a factor." Striker said. "So I figured I should knock you out of the race."

"Well good luck with that, I'd love to see how you accomplish that but I got a race to get back to! **Gravity Control!"** Shadow then focused gravity down on Striker again, this time instead of seeing Striker fall he held up on his feet. The leader of Kurotsubasa didn't waste time turning around and leaving Striker under the crushing darkness.

"Didn't I tell you my job now is to keep you occupied?" Shadow suddenly heard followed by a snap.

"_**Decoy Release!"**_

Shadow didn't even see the punch that landed against his cheek sending him down and rolling against the roof. He got up after checking on Amaya's safety to see Striker was now standing before him.

"See you may have that gravity of yours, but I think my speed makes up for that fact. Plus you're not the only one who can use a little magic." Striker then gestured to the clone that Shadow hit that then vanished in thin air.

"Now no hard feelings, but I'd like to have you out the way for a while." Striker then raised his leg and slammed it hard shaking the whole building. Cracks formed under Shadow as he now saw the ceiling give way and once it collapsed he immediately was falling along with other large chunks of rubble. Striker quickly moved from the collapsing building to another and gave it one more look before heading forward with the race.

While Shadow was falling he noticed Amaya's trying to save them both. "Amaya, if you try to fly us out you'll get us both disqualified." He told her as he studied the pieces of the skyscraper falling along with him.

"Good thing I have another plan, hold tight!" Quickly Shadow-stepping on one of the pieces, he then lightened gravity around himself to make larger leaps and used the rubble as platforms. He then leaped higher and higher until Shadow and Amaya both jumped safely out and on another building.

"That was close." Shadow said as he noticed he was falling behind. "Amaya, are you ok."

"U-Pyon!" The manju called from under the helmet.

"That's good, off we go." Shadow then sped off to rejoin the pursuit.

(On the Flight Lane)

"_**BUNNY KICK!" **_

Illu and Ravena quickly jumped into the air just barely avoiding Prima's attack as the lane that they were on began to crumble.

Prima's eyes began to glow as she began picking up large chunks of boulders and formed a new path for her to skate on that around the falling girls and to the next path.

"_**Au Revoir, Cheries~!" **_mocked Prima when Yuki suddenly widened her eyes in fear.

"CHIIIIIIII!" the Usa-Manju squeaked/screamed alerting Prima to turn around and scream too as a long white hissing snake lunged at them and wrapped her body around Prima's waist.

"_**NON!**_ A SNAKE! EW! EW! GET IT OFF ME!" squealed Prima as she screeched to a stop and tried to pull the snake off.

"How rude, insolent child! Illu-sama! Ravena-san!" called the enlarged Nyoka as she tugged on her tail that was shown to be wrapped around the two as she pulled them on to the new path before releasing a slightly traumatized Prima and recoiling back to Illu.

"Good job Nyoka!" praised Illu as Nyoka shrunk back and coiled around Illu's waist.

"Thank you."

"HEY GIRLS!" _**BOOM!**_ The two suddenly heard followed by a loud explosion from one of the lower lanes as a smoke cloud arose while two blurs blasting out from it.

"WHEEEEE-HOOOOOOOO!" cheered Bella as she and a burnt out Pitch who got blasted into the sky came down and tumbled on the lane before Ravena and Illu who screeched to a stop.

"THAT WAS NUTS~!" cheered an overly excited Bella as she sat up with her helmet crumbling to dust while her hair stuck out in various directions before she shook her head and smoothed it down.

Illu, Ravena and the pets all exchanged incredulous looks with each other before smiling and shaking their heads.

All of a sudden, a pink plasma blast hit the ground behind them just barely missing them as they quickly turned around to see a fuming mad Prima speeding up from a distance with a look that screamed murder.

"I got it!" volunteered Bella as she grabbed Pitch's smoking form and threw it at Prima who simply punched Pitch out of the way and charged full speed ahead as the baseball player disappeared in a flash signifying his retirement from the race.

"Uh-oh….STEP ON THE GAS GIRLS!" yelled Bella as the girls took off.

"_Wow….in an unexpected turn of events, it looks like the All-Stars has lost one player in this race as Pitch gets booted by his own team-mate!" _noted Masukomi as the announcers sweat-dropped watching the Kurotsubasa girls fleeing from an enraged Prima.

"Prima! We're supposed to knock THEM out the race! Not one of our own!" yelled Aki while blocking DB's katana with his own chakra katana as the Strength and Flight Lanes converge back into one.

"Butt out Pretty Boy!" snarled Prima making Akisame frown while DB whistled.

"Girls, huh?" stated the vampire as he struck below only to blocked by Akisame who sighed as he shook his head.

"Tell me about it…" sighed Aki deflecting DB's blade before slashing at the boy who was narrowly able to avoid it.

"AKI-BO-BAKI~!" called another cheerful voice that created an audible groan from the said martial artist as he and DB looked overhead to see Striker on a lane above them waving enthusiastically with Shadow and Amaya visibly in hot pursuit.

"GUYS!" called out Key from up ahead who jumped down to join the group followed shortly by Val. "HEADS UP!"

Val suddenly up a sign that read _'Caution: Ramp Up Ahead' _in bold red letters_._

Sure enough, everyone gasped as the lanes suddenly steeply curled upwards causing everyone to involuntarily get unexpected hang-time as they all shot into the sky.

Being of the Flight class, Prima, Illu and Ravena all shot up higher than the rest as they screamed.

"YOU GIRLS ARE GOING DOWN!" screamed Prima.

"BRING IT-NYA!" retorted Ravena while Illu sighed and shook her head.

"AKI-DARLING!" called Striker happily as he literally swam in the air towards Aki and glomped him happily.

"B-BAKA! LET GO!" as the two began to involuntarily spin.

Meanwhile Val, Key and Shadow were sitting cross-legged in the air while they sailed through the air as she pulled out a packet of gum and offered one to the Beta.

'_Gum? It's Spearmint.'_ Her sign read as she unwrapped one and popped it into her mouth.

"Please and thank you," said Key politely as he took one and did the same while Shadow politely put a hand up and declined.

"YAHOOO~!" cheered DB as he spiraled in the air past them.

"I LOVE THIS PLACE!" cheered Bella spiraling by as well.

After a bit of hang-time, gravity finally took over as the group all began their descent back to the ground where a large half pipe with big random boulder and pillars scattered around awaited them.

Bella, DB and Akisame landed first being of the Strength Class followed quickly by Striker, Shadow, Key, and Val as they all began jumping, weaving around and punching through the obstacles.

Illu landed neatly and went ahead before Ravena and Prima who were having a heated exchange of insults.

"CHEAP HUSSY!" spat Prima.

"PLAYBOY BUNNY!" shot Ravena back.

"WITCH-BITCH!"

"HOOCHIE-MAMA!"

"CHESTY!"

"Ara-nya, Jealous much, Mole-hills?" retorted Ravena with a smirk making an offended Prima gasp as she felt her own chest before growling.

"_**BRÛLER EN ENFER'**__** VOUS CHAT SALOPE!" **_snarled the Bunny-Girlwith her fists a blazing with pink plasma energy. (Trans: Burn in Hell you Slutty Cat!)

Ravena smirked as her fists began glowing with magical energy. _**"**__**De même salope!**__**" **_(Likewise, Bitch.)

Yuki-Chi glared and squeaked in anger while Punnya growled and hissed in return.

"Whoa, you can sense the tension right here folks and I, along with most of my male viewers, can't wait to see those two go at it!" Plugman stood up out his seat while Masukomi just shook her head at her fellow commentator.

"Need I remind you this is a race, not a chance for perverts like you to view female players." Masukomi said disapprovingly as she adjusted her glasses.

"Hey I'm a hot-blooded male and if there are two things that will get me excited, its blood and some skin! And not enough blood has fallen in this battle for my taste!" Plugman said.

"Sometimes I want to just rip that tube off your head just to see the true you under there…." Masukomi muttered as she turned her attention back to the action. "Ooh! CAM you may want to stay sharp for this one!"

"Pu-Puu-PUU~!"

(Race)

"Think we should get in the middle of that?" Key asked Shadow as they both saw pink plasma and shadow magic be thrown around the track at the two females still continued their bout. Amaya has since hidden herself more under Shadow's helmet as to not watch the violent scene.

"By all means Key go ahead," Shadow said. Even if the two were tearing up the course around them with their stray blasts, trying to tear the two apart would be suicidal.

"Yeah I think I'll pass." Key said.

"I don't blame you." Shadow then looked out and could see the final stretch coming which first started with two tunnels. "Right now let's focus on ending the race; we can pull them apart later." Seeing everyone go through the right one, he decided to take a chance with the left one.

"Don't think I didn't see that one sneak!" Striker was about to pursue until Akisame grabbed his wrist.

"Leave him, that path is the longer of the two and the walls are two thick for him to interfere now. You can have your fight later, but we finish this race now." Akisame lectured him.

"Man, you never let me have any fun." Striker pouted.

Akisame clicked his teeth in irritation before kicking Striker into the correct tunnel. He gave a final glance at the left tunnel before racing off; following the trail of destruction the girls were leading.

"It seems that Kurotsubasa's Shadow seems to have split from the path in favor of the left path, but all that does is add a few more extra miles to his ride. Bad choice to make coming into the end and too late to fix that mistake!" Plugman said.

"For once we're at an agreement, in this final length where every small thing determines whether you succeed or fail it's a terrible time to make rash choices." Masukomi said. "He'll have to hope the others in Kurotsubasa can reach the end goal."

"Provided those girls don't tear the place apart." The TV-headed man muttered.

(Scene Change)

"Did Shadow really go down the wrong tunnel?" Illu asked Key as she looked back past Ravena's and Prima's stalemate to see that Shadow and Amaya was no longer on the same path as theirs.

"That would be a yes, but if I know Shadow, he's got something planned I just know it,' reassured Key with a smile.

"Yeah! Have a little faith Owl-girl!" chimed Bella.

Illu looked at her friends and smiled.

DB grinned as he looked back at his group, when suddenly his skate hit a small piece of rubble that rolled on to his path, sending the vampire into an unwanted stumble.

"Hey-Wo-WOAH!"_**CRASH!**_ Went DB as he collided with Valley-Belle causing the two to tumble over each other with DB ending up getting his face cushioned by something soft.

The vampire's eyes popped open as he quickly sat up upon realization as he looked down to see Val all red in the face with a crazy flustered look on her face.

"Oh god! I'm so sorry! I'm Re-!"

"_**KYAAAAAAAAAAAA…!"**_ screamed Val shrilly as she quickly raised a glowing hand.

_**WHA-POW!**_

The All-Stars flinched while the Kurotsubasa members quickly ducked as DB was sent spinning off into the distance in the opposite direction with blood streaming from his nose as Val gave the vampire a powerful slap across his face in her panicked state.

Val stood up shakily with an arm across her chest panting hard and her face still red as she put down her outstretched hand.

Striker whistled as he placed a hand over his eyes to gauge the distance of which DB flew. "I think that's a new record, Aki-Bi~!"

"As expected of 'Divine Hand' Belle…." Sighed Akisame.

Meanwhile, Plugman and Masukomi sweat-dropped to see DB flew across their view before he flashed and disappeared to show that he was out of the race.

"W-well! I guess now we know why they call her the 'Divine Hand', huh Komi-chan?" asked Plugman to break the awkwardness.

"No kidding….." replied Masukomi bluntly. "Well I guess that evens out the field a bit as now Kurotsubasa is down by one player as well!"

(Race)

"Yuki! SUPERBALL MODE!" commanded Prima turning to her Usa-Manju.

"PUNNYA!" called Ravena to her pet.

"CHI!/ PUN!" both responded at the same time as they both bounced up with Yuki folding her ears over herself into a tight ball while Punnya became the Punnya Cannon as both girls aimed at each other.

Yuki's form began glowing with pink energy while magic began gathering around the mouth of the cannon._** "Yuki-Chi…/Punnyanko Echo…."**_

Ahead, The All-Stars and Kurotsubasa widened their eyes when they noticed what their respective teammates were going to do.

"BAKA! Prima don't!" yelled Akisame in warning.

"NO RAVENA! STOP!" yelled Key as well but their warnings came too late.

"_**METEOR!/ MYSTIC CANNON!"**_ cried both girls as they launched their attacks at each other.

A loud explosion rang out as both attacks hit each other dead on. Prima, Ravena and their pets cried out as they both got blasted out the race.

Meanwhile, the collision of the attacks was so strong it resulted in creating an explosive shockwave that began destroying the racing track heading straight for the others.

"_Uh-OH! It looks the resulting impact of that last attack is starting to destroy the race course! The Players better pick up the pace if they want to stay in the game!" _pointed out Masukomi excitedly.

"RUN!" cried Bella as everyone began skating for their lives to get away from the oncoming shockwave. Bella quickly transformed into XLR8 and sped ahead with Key trailing behind by hanging on to her tail while Mukurowl pulled Illu forward as fast as he could by hanging on to Nyoka who in turn had her tail wrapped around Illu's waist.

"_**KOTEI PENGUIN 7!" **_called Striker as he whistled loudly, summoning the penguins once more as they pushed Aki, Val and Striker forward as fast as they could.

(Elsewhere on the track)

At that moment, Shadow who had taken a separate track that lead down a different route felt the strong rumble of the explosion.

"What the heck was that?" he asked out loud when Amaya suddenly sensed oncoming danger.

"U-PYON!" she squeaked loudly in warning alerting Shadow to turn.

At that moment the rumblings increased immensely as Shadow saw in the distance that the lane he was on was slowly crumbling away.

"Shit….HANG ON AMAYA!" commanded the boy as he too began picking up the pace.

(Back to the others…)

"KYAAAAAAA!" screamed Illu as she unfortunately was not quick enough to escape the destruction as the ground beneath her gave way causing her, Muku and Nyoka to fall.

"ILLU! /OWL-GIRL!" Cried Key and Bella as they watched another team-mate fall out of the race.

"VAL!" cried out Striker and Akisame simultaneously as they too lost said player who fell off the track just seconds after Illu did.

Unfortunately, the crumbling ground was still following them giving them little time think as the remaining members tried to pick up the space as both teams ended up almost at the same pace.

"There's the finish line!" pointed out Key.

Sure enough, in the far distance, the glowing sphere that contained the Guild Emblems could be seen.

Bella and Akisame were trying to speed up but due to them possessing the Power Skates made the feat nearly impossible. With the cracks almost grazing their heels Bella and Aki exchanged looks and nodded in agreement.

"Key, you're gonna have to make us proud!" said Bella transforming back to her original form as she grabbed Key's arm.

"Win this Striker!" said Aki as he began gathering energy into his palms.

"HIYA!" went Bella as she flung Key forward.

"_**HAKKE KUSHO!" **_yelled Aki fiercely sending his Guild Leader into a crazy speed off as with a powerful palm thrust.

The two did it just in time as the ground gave way causing the two to fall and get zapped out the race.

(Elsewhere)

"_And both Guilds loses more members in quick succession as we are down to Shadow and Key from Kurotsubasa and Striker from the All-Stars!" _announced Masukomi.

"_But who will win this race?! Is it the Unbeatable All-Stars?! Or Underdog guild Kurotsubasa?!"_ added Plugman.

"WOAH-OOF!" went Bella as she was suddenly teleported and landed on a seat in a private spectator box. The muffled screams of the spectators could be heard penetrating a large glass window.

"Welcome to the party," greeted DB cheerfully.

Bella looked up in surprise to see DB, Raven, Illu, and the pets all back in their normal attire as she broke into a huge smile. "YOU'RE ALL ALRIGHT!" she cheered as she happily pulled them all into a group hug.

"RIBS-NYA!"

"BELLA-CHAN! AIR!"

"OK! There go my Vertebrae!"

Bella smiled sheepishly as she let them go. "Sorry! Where is this place?"

"This is our special Spectator Stand where we can wait out the rest of this race," explained Aki who also appeared in his regular attire as he smiled and bowed in greeting. Next to him was Val who bowed and smiled while Pitch gave a two-finger salute to them. Meanwhile, a pouty Prima sat in her seat as she flipped her hair at them while Yuki who was on her lap did the same.

Just then, the audience screams were getting louder calling both guilds' attention quickly to the window as a projection of a close-up of Key and Striker racing nose to nose with each other was broadcasted on it like a large TV screen.

"_It looks Kurotsubasa's Key and the All-Stars' Striker are matching up at the same pace as they can be seen visibly coming within distance of the goal!" _exclaimed Plugman loudly.

"_Oh god this is getting intense! Everyone's on the edge of their seats!"_ followed Masukomi excitedly.

"Come on Key! You can do it!" cheered on Bella.

"Ooooh! I can't watch!" said Illu nervously as she covered her eyes.

"Show 'em watcha got Captain!" cheered Pitch loudly while Val nodded and waved pom-poms.

(On the race track)

"Not bad for keeping up this far in the race, though I can't say the same for your fearless leader!" said Striker as the two boys turned a curve.

"Well, see you at the finish line!" he chirped cheerfully as he suddenly bolted off way ahead off the Beta.

Key frowned a bit at first when and was about to follow suit when he suddenly sensed something as a small smirk played on his lips.

"Hey Striker!" called Key suddenly, alerting Striker to turn around.

"Don't under estimate Shadow!"

Before Striker could contemplate what Key said, a figure jumped high over the Beta prompting surprise gasps from everybody watching except for the Kurotsubasa members who smiled.

"_With a giant leap, it looks like Shadow has finally appeared!" _cried out Plugman.

"_Yeah but it looks like he's a bit too late as Striker is now a few meters away from the goal!"_ added Masukomi.

(With Shadow and Amaya)

Shadow looked down from the air as he allowed his gravity abilities to give him a little more hang-time.

"Are you sure about this Amaya?" he asked, turning to look at his pet who sat on his shoulder.

Amaya looked at Shadow. "U-Pyon!" she squeaked with a determined look as her whole body began to glow.

"Then go for it."

(Back on the ground.)

Striker grinned as he stretched his hand out beginning to reach for the emblems as the distance grew smaller when suddenly at the last second, he felt a rush of wind graze the left off his face as out of the corner of his eye a black blur shot out. In a blink, the sphere containing the emblems disappeared much to the shock of everyone.

In a flash, the entire race track disappeared and all the members found themselves on back in the arena just as confused as everyone else watching.

"_What the-?! What just happened?!"_ exclaimed Plugman in shock and confusion. _"I don't get it, who won?!"_

The All-Stars and the members of Kurotsubasa all exchanged confused looks with each other as the confusion spread out throughout the stadium when suddenly Masukomi appeared on the field with CAM.

"Everybody calm down! CAM will give us the final shot!" announced Masukomi into her mic as the stadium quieted down as CAM's Gem began to glow as the final freeze-frame was broadcasted on to all the floating screens. What everyone saw resulted in loud gasps.

There, clear as day, was a close-up of Striker's hand and a small black Usa-Manju grabbing the emblems in her mouth.

"Amaya?!" exclaimed the rest of Kurotsubasa save for Shadow who smiled proudly as Amaya hopped back on his shoulder as she opened her mouth and rolled out her tongue to reveal the emblems resting on the tip.

Everybody's jaw dropped while Masukomi quickly readjusted her glasses.

"Well…I guess this means…._**WINNER: KUROTSUBASA~!"**_ cried out Masukomi happily.

There was a brief silence before the entire stadium exploded in huge cheers as Kurotsubasa's emblem was projected in the sky with the words WINNER written underneath it as fireworks and confetti began exploding everywhere.

The girls all bounced up and down happily squealing in excitement while hugging the guys who were also cheering loudly as they all group hugged around Shadow and Amaya both who blushed and smiled awkwardly.

"PUNNYA~!" cheered Punnya proudly as she scooped the Usa up in her tail and planted multiple loving kisses on Amaya's head before tossing her up and down in cheer with Mukurowl fluttering next to Punnya as Nyoka who had shrunk down to ride on the owl's head smiled as she rubbed Amaya's head with her tail.

"Hold on, how any of that counts?!" Prima then stormed over sharing her angry look with Yuki. "The rules were that the first person from either team to reach the emblems wins, a manju being thrown into them shouldn't count!"

"Nya, way to be a sore loser Hussy." Ravena said with a smirk.

"You want to start again Slutty Cat?!" Prima then turned her attention on Ravena. Before the two could go at it again they were then interrupted.

"Yes the rule was that the first member of either team to reach the emblem would be named the winner…" Masukomi said while adjusting her glasses. "However, as you saw, pets were allowed during the entirety of the race and they are a part of the team as much as their owners are."

"If they weren't, you and the cat would have been disqualified for destroying the final lap of the race." Plugman added causing both girls to look embarrassed and turn away.

Prima looked like she had more on her mind but a hand then landed on her shoulder and she turned to see it was Pitch. "Come on Prima it wasn't all bad! Besides, they won fair and square in the end. Besides we've got bigger things to worry about."

"Huh?" Prima asked confused.

"This was an emblem battle…so like, the future of our guild is on the line." They both heard the silent voice of Valley for the first time, who still had a tinged of pink on her cheeks from the incident before.

"Val is right," Akisame said as they all saw Striker walk up to Shadow who had both emblems in hand. "Whatever happens now depends on the decision Shadow makes. He could be holding a grudge for how you and Yuki have treated his manju." He said as he saw the two rabbits' ears rise up in alarm.

Striker, meanwhile; had already handed the bag of munny over to Kurotsubasa. "Well there's your munny, and the Admin might have already taken care of rankings now. So what's your judgment?" He asked seriously, Striker was always serious about his guild. "Though before you say yours, I've got something to say…"

Shadow nodded as he waited for Striker to continue; what surprised him was the large grin that overtook Striker's face.

"Man, that race was close to the wire, I seriously thought I was going to take it until that little blur you got there went flying past me!" Striker said with as he had his arms behind his head with a smile. "Though a win's a win, no matter what, I already told you the emblems was only so you could be serious in something outside of a fight but I was never going to disband you guys."

"Then, what would've been your judgment?" Illu asked confused.

"Oh that... I would've just made you guys walk out the city wearing our emblem and colors. You know, home team stuff like that." Striker explained causing Shadow to sweatdrop. "I mean no offense really."

"Hard not to take offense to that." Shadow then sighed and tossed something to Striker. The Guild Leader laughed a bit before catching the object and saw that it was his guild's emblem.

"Hold on, you still have to pass…"

"I was getting to that." Shadow said as he began to explain. "You weren't the only ones to have fun. It was a good match and it's nice to know that there is a guild out there where their idea of a battle isn't an all-out slugfest. However; I would actually want to challenge you in an actual fight. So my judgment is, for your guild to stick around so that we can have that battle."

Striker then smirked and nodded his head as his grip tightened around the emblem in his hand. "Sounds good…until that time then." He then offered his free hand out. Shadow then accepted it and shook his hand. "You know, all the things people said about you…I didn't expect you to let our guild walk away."

"Like I said, better a guild like the All-Stars to have around, than to have some battle hungry maniacs tear this city apart making their way to us. I think I can rest easy if you guys stayed the strongest guild here." Shadow said.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!"

"Exactly what I said."

"Were still in arena, we can have that fight now!"

"Eager to lose again, and stop goddamn shouting when I'm right here!"

"Looks like those two are starting to get along." Key said as he watched the two square off.

"At least your leader is more levelheaded; it's going to take me forever to get Striker calmed down enough to get back to our headquarters." Akisame sighed as he held the bridge of his nose.

"Well, I guess this is a happy ending eh?" Bella smiled.

"Speak for yourselves, I completely wiped out first! I hope Naenia wasn't watching that somehow." DB said sadly.

"I-I'm sure Naenia-san will know it's an accident." Illu tried to reassure him.

"At least you didn't wipe out completely first. I got incinerated earlier." Pitch said.

"Hey don't hate the Hyna, hate the game!"

"Can I hate both since the Hyna includes everything in that small watch of yours?" Pitch then calmed down. "It's fine, all I know is try Heatblast again in my game and you won't stand a chance." He said confidently.

"A little blazing baseball action, I'm game." Bella smiled.

'_Like, is she always this crazy?'_ Valley raised her question against the two pyromaniacs.

"Hy-Nya actually was pretty mellow today nya." Ravena answered her question. "Though can I ask if a certain rabbit has always been so…obnoxious?" The cat asked.

"Why don't you just admit the truth, the whole battle you've been jealous of me and my beauty. There is a reason I'm the number #1 Cutie-Pie." Prima said smugly.

"You may want to think that over, yesterday we were being chased around by a whole bunch of fans and I think some of yours jump ship nya." Ravena said causing the bunny-girl to stumble a bit.

"**Oui**, you're jealousy knows no bounds if you think you can take my cutie-pie title!"

"The way those guys were acting, you can have them."

"Well, I guess everything works out in the end." Illu sweatdropped seeing some of the conversations go on.

'_We should really break this up soon.'_ Valley offered her suggestion.

"Good idea."

(Scene Change)

"See, I told you guys it would pay off to sneak inside." A voice spoke, hidden amongst the crowd of people.

"Our first time watching a Guild War and it turn out to be Kurotsubasa; I'll be the first to say it works out even though we had to run past a troop of Guards to get here." Another voice spoke as replays of the final stretch of the race still played out.

"…"

"Yeah we did see the building Bella blew up, it's on the highlight reel." This time a female voice answered. "Still I didn't know Illu had a giant snake with her, I wonder where it came from?" The person asked.

"Who cares, that last beam attack Ravena did was amazing! I didn't know magic could be used like that, and with manjus too!" A second female voice shouted in excitement.

"Mi-Nya!"

"I know, I can't wait either!"

"Then are we still going on with the plan?"

"Of course we are! We'll meet back at Tokyo City to get everything ready, man I'm so excited I could just…!"

"…?"

"Where would I even find sparkles and pop rocks in FFW?"

"All right you two, let's just all agree to meet at the base tomorrow ok."

"Fine, let's go, I don't want to run into those Admin guys again on the way back."

_(Scene Change)_

"Whoo, am I glad that Cast decided to post us here for this Guild War~!" exclaimed Rina cheerfully as she leaned on the railing of her private Admin stand. "Not bad for Kurotsubasa's first war~!"

Rina smile as she turned to her left to look at a player dressed as Taokaka from BlazBlue but with a slightly longer coat who was applauding.

"Oh come on, why are you still wearing that mask, Cheshi? You're off duty aren't you?"

The Taokaka looked at Rina with her trademark grinning mask. "Sorry, Ms. Rina, force of habit," apologized the player sheepishly as she removed her mask although her hood obscured the top half of her face. "But can we at least stick with my codename until we're back at HQ?"

"Fair Enough, ICDD Agent Ter- I mean _**Cheshire Cat**_," chuckled Rina.

The Agent smiled and shook her head as she looked at a certain cat-girl in the Guild. _'You've really haven't changed Abby…..'_ she sighed internally with a smile.

_(Scene Change)_

Meanwhile, in the lower part of the city, a beautiful black horse stood waiting impatiently outside a hostess club. Inside, a young man wearing a mask and a black Don Juan outfit smiled as he watched the conclusion of the Live Battle on a TV screen with a couple of gorgeous women hanging on to his arms. When the shot suddenly focused on to Kurotsubasa, his eyes widened when he laid eyes on a certain feline smiling with her Guild Mates.

"Hmm…she looks familiar….maybe I should pay this 'Kurotsubasa' a visit…."he contemplated to himself as he stood up much to the disappointment of his 'escorts'.

"Oh…Are you leaving already Prey-sama~?" pouted the two woman. Lovely gifts appear

The man smiled charmingly as he held up both palms facing upward. _**"Ylevol stfig raeppa," **_he chanted as two velvet jewelry boxes appeared in his hands. "Alas, I must leave fair ladies, but please enjoy these gifts as a token of my apology~!"

The women gasps as they took the boxes and opened them to find they each got a beautiful jeweled necklace with matching earrings.

"Lovely gifts for even more lovely women~" said the man blowing a kiss to the girls as he made his leave.

"KYA~! PREY-SAMA~!" squealed both girls in swooning as they passed out happily.

Outside, the horse snorted irritably as she saw the man emerge.

"About time you Lobox…" said the mare in a Scottish accent obviously not pleased as the man mounted her.

"Temper, temper Fraulein," said the man playfully as he stroked her mane. "We're heading to Tokyo City."

"Any particular reason?"

"Just to sights~"

The horse huffed as she rolled her eyes. "Aye Laddie…I've heard that before…." She muttered as she took off galloping.

_(Scene Change)_

"Well, well, didn't they exceed my expectations." A woman said as she stood in the higher sections of the stadium. "The way they were playing, it was almost like their first time in a Guild War. Though, I suppose, they did make it out in the end. I wouldn't want anything to happen to Kurotsubasa…yet." From behind her, she felt a presence hidden within the shadows of the walls.

"You were supposed to be running surveillance on this town." A voice spoke to her.

"I am, though I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see the area's guild; especially after I learned of their opponent." The woman smiled.

"It's been four years since you saw him, so I'll give you leeway this once. Also, since; the All Stars just lost a competition they aren't allowed to be challenged for two days."

"Not that it matters; wouldn't we just crush them all the same in a Guild War battle? Though, this city is a bit too…bright and open. I doubt we could make movements here without drawing attention."

"Is that how you feel?"

"Yes, a small outpost to gather some gossip and information is all that really needs to be here, and even that's pushing it slightly." The woman explained, though her eyes never left the guilds down in the arena.

"Very well, then I'll task you with that. Having some of your members stationed here would make gathering information quicker. Especially, branching out and planning spots in the nearby areas."

"I understand." She said. "But I still want to have the freedom to scout Tokyo City solo."

"Four years and you've been waiting; now that you've found him you look ready to go charging in the stadium after him." The voice ended and she presumed that the owner left only to be met with a small chuckle. "All right…though you'll have to go through Kaoru first, and even then she'll probably send you with backup."

"Not that clown again, I could cover more and gather less attention on my own."

"Somehow I doubt that."

"Hmm, it's not my fault the guys can't keep their eyes off me."

"I meant the massive bundle you carry will cause heads to turn."

"And a large grinning black and orange court fool won't?"

"Touché"

"Still you'll have to follow procedure and get permission from Kaoru before you run off on your own."

"Fine, the match is over so I'll just go."

"I'll see you back at the base." With that, she felt the presence fade and the only thing she could feel were small wisps of smoke. She casted a final look down to a member of Kurotsubasa before she vanished in a scarlet light.

(Time Skip)

"Well, our first Guild War of the year and I say it was a success." Bella said triumphantly as Kurotsubasa was packing their things to head back to Tokyo City. "Maybe we should visit again sometime. Those All-Stars really know how to have a fun challenge."

"I rather not, I feel comfortable in the normal chaos our small town has than the crazy fanmobs that this city has." Shadow said before letting out a sneeze.

"Are you sure you're ok Shadow-kun, you've been sneezing since we left the stadium." Illu asked.

"I'm fine, maybe there's someone out there talking about me." Shadow said. "Anyways, let's go. Who knows what other crazy guild will come for us after that fiasco."

"Well besides a few things this place was actually pretty fun. I wouldn't mind coming back now that fans aren't an issue with my Glamour spell." Ravena said.

"Yeah, one day was not enough to see everything. I haven't even been able to check out any the pubs in town because of that mob." DB offered.

"Sounds like things to do on our free time. There are some interesting shops that I'll need to come back and check out." Key agreed.

"You guys have fun with that." Shadow said.

"Oh come on sourpuss. You're telling me you didn't see one thing interesting our whole time here?" Bella asked.

"Nope, too busy surviving to browse through anything." Shadow answered. "But when we were on our way to the stadium the first time I was able to pick up something for Amaya." The baby's ears perked up as Shadow pulled something out of his jacket pocket. From a bag, Shadow held out a white pastry ball.

"U-Pyon?" Amaya took a sniff of the treat and nibbled on it. The manju's eyes then widened as she continued to finish off the pastry with renewed vigor.

"Wow, what was that you fed Amaya-chan?" Illu asked.

"A pastry they sell here called creampuffs. It's a sweet snack that people and manju seem to like; I bought a bag for Amaya to see if she would like it. Guess I know she does." He then petted Amaya as he pulled out a second creampuff.

"Punnya~!" Punnya's eyes pleaded to Shadow.

"Sure, there's plenty for you too Punnya." Shadow said as he fished out a creampuff for the neko manju to eat.

"You don't know how Punnya is with sweets; she's almost like a black hole nya." Ravena said.

"Punnya!" Punnya hissed at the taunt before she took the creampuff and swallowed it whole. "Nya~." She called out as she clearly enjoyed the treat as shown by the sparkles in her eyes.

"Guess I'll probably have to find that store and buy some creampuffs soon. With the way Punnya eats, I hope it isn't expensive." Ravena said.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they must sell these in Tokyo City and if they don't I'll point out the shop for you." Shadow then turned and helped pack the final supplies into the van. Before any of them could get inside they were greeted with the site of the All-Stars walking towards them.

"Skipping town so soon and here I thought we might get the chance to show you guys around before you took off." Striker said nonchalantly.

"Actually, Striker had something to say before you left so he wanted to catch you guys beforehand." Akisame clarified.

"Aki-Bou, why did you have to do that; I had my whole idea planned and everything!" Striker was then hit in the gut by an angry Prima.

"Just hurry and get this over with." The girl said.

"Fine, here…" Striker then sent a message straight to Kurotsubasa. Soon they all heard a small ring as they checked and saw the additions to their mail.

"What are these for?" Key asked as he read through the message. They were all given five new contacts in their list.

"So we have an easier time keeping in touch. I want to be able to reach you guys when we're ready for another challenge." Striker said.

"Persistent aren't you?" Shadow said sarcastically.

"Oui, I rather not give out my information so willingly. Though I would want that rematch, especially to prove my title." Prima said.

"I already said you could have it nya." Ravena said. "It's such a tacky title anyway."

"You take that back!" Prima screamed as she was held back by Pitch and Akisame.

'_Prima's mood aside, we would like to challenge you again in the future.'_ Valley's sign read.

"What Val said" Pitch said as he struggled to keep Prima in place.

"So think of it as a gift. Don't be strangers; you know where we live and vice-versa." Striker said as the All-Stars left.

"See, didn't I say those guys were friendly?" Bella said.

"Let's just go home before more surprises show up." Shadow said as they all began to board for their ride back home.

(Elsewhere…)

On a nearby building rooftop, Whisk grinned as he watched the entire race projected live. Excited giggling and clapping could be heard as girl wearing eccentric harlequin inspired Lolita clothing bounced a bit on her seat on the building edge.

"Uwah~! So this is the Guild Luci-Mina's Queen is so interested in~!" chirped the girl excitedly as she twirled the umbrella she was holding.

"**How dare they steal all of Lu-Mi's Queen's attention for themselves!"** she suddenly growled menacingly as her cheerful demeanor instantly turned dark and murderous.

"Calm down Lu-Mi, you'll get your chance with them," said Whisk patting the girl's head.

Just as fast she had switched to a dark personality, the girl instantly reverted back to her cheerful demeanor as she curled her hands before like paws and barked. "Hai~ Whisk-sama~! Arf~! Arf~! Lu-Mi is a good girl~! Arf~!" yapped Lu-Mi excitedly.

With that, Whisk placed his hands into his pockets as he turned and walked off. "Come on…Let's go."

"Arf~!" yipped the girl happily as she trotted after the boy obediently.

**TBC…**

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><p><strong> Got to see a lot of action and seems a lot is popping off behind the scenes. If you're wondering what the cliffhanger means then I guess you better be wait for the next chapter to be released. Until next time everyone.<strong>

**-Shadowlight0982 out.**


	29. Chapter 24: Our names are Kotsubasa!

**A special night for a couple of chapters; yeah that's right two. Since tonight is the festive night of Halloween me and a certain catgirl we all know and love sat down and prepared these two pages of story for ya. Enjoy because it includes some surprising tricks and some amazing treats. Keeping it short because you all should know how the story works now and I've actually on the move a lot while writing. This chapter was finished a while ago but was held for reasons you are about to see now. Enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Shadow yawned and stretched as he lay down on a grassy river-bank under the shade off over hanging foliage of a tree behind him. Amaya yawned as well as she wrapped herself up in her ears as curled into the crook of Shadow's neck.<p>

Things have been surprisingly peaceful considering they just had their first Guild War and few days ago with a Guild from Animetropolis called the All-Stars. It had been a huge deal considering it was broadcasted live and everything.

"Oh well, might as well take this opportunity and have a little R&R," said Shadow turning over to Amaya who was lightly snoring.

At that moment, a young boy who had spotted Shadow some distance away smirked as he made his way toward him, gliding on a pair of Air Treks.

(Scene Change)

The others members had also gone off to do their own things as well.

In Downtown Tokyo City, Illu and her pets were checking out a shopping list of some new items she wanted. On the East side, DB was out on a date with Naenia at a pub. Bella was heading uptown to a new Prank Novelty Store that had recently opened up. Key currently was with Rina attending the monthly Administration-Beta mixer meeting while Ravena and Punnya were in the middle of a meditating session near a forest just a little out of town.

Seemingly unknown to them, each member was being watched afar.

A single girl trailed some distance behind Illu. Elsewhere, a boy stood in an alley across the street form the pub where DB had entered with his date as he readjusted his sun-glasses. A silhouette looked down at Bella's happy skipping form from a rooftop while another boy sat in a tall tree just outside the Admin building waiting patiently. Peeking out from behind a tree, a pair of white ears twitched as a figure poked her head out and spotted Ravena.

(Scene Change)

Back with Shadow, everything seemed fine as the figure slowly advanced on Shadow's sleeping form. The person's right arm suddenly glowed and transformed into a black curved scythe blade as he raised it high, the sunlight glinting off it before bringing it down on Shadow.

_**SHING!**_

(Downtown)

The girl continued to trail Illu when the she suddenly turned a corner. Not wanting to lose her, the girl quickly followed after Illu only to see a large empty lot.

At first the girl looked around in confusion, until she heard a flutter of wings behind her, alerting the girl to turn and see Illu with a tip of her glaive just inches from her nose.

Illu widened her eyes once she saw who her stalker was. "Uso, You're just a kid!"

Sure enough, Illu's stalker was none other than a young girl of 11 years of age. She had fair skin and long periwinkle colored hair tied back in a ponytail with a white ribbon with her fringe and bangs held back by a pair of Aviator goggles like a hairband.

The girl's clothes consist of white gloves, a violet tight sleeveless top, cream-colored cargo shorts with belt, and black ninja shoes. Hanging off the back of her belt were three hollow white tubes with gold accents.

Instead of looking scared, the girl beamed brightly as she stared at Illu in awe before squealing in delight, startling Illu and Mukurowl visibly.

"WOW~! I can't believe it! It's really you, Illusionist Owl! You look so much more beautiful in person!" squealed the girl bouncing up and down.

Illu looked a little confused as she lowered her weapon at the child who was clearly having a fan-girl moment. "Um…Thank you? Why were you following me?"

The girl finally stopped as she suddenly looked serious. Without warning, she suddenly pulled out the tubes and swiftly joined them together before swinging it hard at Illu.

(East Side)

DB walked out the pub with Naenia hugging his arm as the two strolled down the street.

"He's beginning to follow us, DB," whispered Naenia looking into a small ice mirror.

DB didn't have to look behind as he could hear the footsteps walking in time with them. "Maybe you have a little admirer Naenia," he suggested with a wink.

Naenia chuckled a bit in amusement. "Maybe, but I don't think that's the case this time, Sweetie," she said giving DB a kiss on the cheek. "Go easy on him ok, Hot-Stuff?"

"I'll try Babe," replied DB with a smile as he and Naenia parted ways. DB smiled a bit before his expression turned serious. "Mind telling me what you want?" he asked as he turned around to face the boy that had followed him.

He looked around 12 years old. His skin was pale which is further enhanced by his shoulder-length jet-black hair tied up in a short pony-tail. For his clothes he wore a white short-sleeved button shirt under a black vest with gold buttons and red cargo pants with black shoes and a brown holster belt. He was also wearing a wireless black and red headset and sunglasses that obscured his eyes.

The boy grinned revealing a sharp set of fangs. "I don't expect you to remember me but no matter," replied the boy as he adjusted his shades, a pair of red glowing eyes being visibly shown through the lens. Suddenly, the boy whipped out a pair of Dan Wesson 8 co2 revolvers from his holsters as he fired at DB.

(Scene Change)

"Ah Marx's Joke Shop; my home away from home!" Bella said as she stood outside of the new shop that had opened up. "To think it was rare to find one of you and now you're practically in my backyard; somebody pinch me!" The toon girl jumped around happily, attracting many stares from the players walking by.

As if to answer her requested; Bella was instantly flattened by a large chunk of rubble that seem to have come from the sky.

Up, on top of a neighboring building; stood a large four-armed giant that soon vanished in a red light showing a boy. The boy had on a black beret, where long, messy, turquoise hair fell down framing his face. He had brown eyes, a one-piece army green jumpsuit, brown utility belt and black combat boots. On top his left wrist was a small green watch with a familiar symbol.

The boy seemed to look down at his work and scratch the back of his head embarrassed, thinking he had overdone it. Just then, green slime shot from out the cracks and onto the roof in front of him, collecting into a large green humanoid.

"**You know, when someone asks to be pinched they kind of mean the hands type not the giant rock from the sky." **Goop explained before turning back into Bella who had a grin on her face. "But still, nice set up. What do you call yourself kid?"

The mysterious kids eyes seemed to widened in excitement before shaking his head and vanishing in a green light. The answer to Bella's question was a tall warrior made of purple crystals, with hands and a face made of a lighter magenta crystal. The one eyed alien then shifted into a fighting stance.

"Want to play that game? Ok I'll bite, but I have to warn you nothing beats the classics." Bella then transformed into a large alien made of cyan blue crystals, two large spikes sprouting out his back and green eyes. **"All right little buddy, let's play!"** Diamondhead's hand then shifted into large blades.

(Admin Base)

Key let out a soft whistle as he walked out the large base and into the residential district of the town. "To think today's actually been peaceful. We actually didn't get another challenge yet, possibly because of what happened back in Animetropolis." He pondered as he continued walking; while the Beta was distracted with his thoughts, he wasn't distracted enough to notice a signature trailing him through his powers. After seemingly walking into a dead-end alley, Key then teleported in a flash of blue light.

"Oh bollocks, where did he go?" A boy with a noticeable British accent seemed to walk out of the shadows and inspect the area for any kind of exit. He wore a black and silver baggy outfit, with many zippers and extra leggings. He had black shoes, gloves, a hood attached to the jacket over his outfit, and a silver necklace with a crown on the end. The boy had blond spiky hair and blue eyes that searched the alley thoroughly.

"He just completely vanished; I wonder if it's…" Hearing a sound he turned around and saw Key standing behind him.

"I was honestly expecting another guild to be tailing me but you don't look familiar or belong to any guild I know of. So how about you explain why you're following me?" Key asked as he waited patiently, with his hands in his pocket.

"Really I was only just keeping surveillance; I wasn't thinking of trailing you forever." The boy then took a bow. "I'm sorry if I was intruding on something."

"You really weren't, I was only just getting out of a meeting." Key said, 'Though it would had gone better if I didn't have to deal with RoM.' He kept that thought to himself as he thought back to the meeting; luckily Rina was able to calm him down before he left. "So, why were you running surveillance?"

"I wanted to test something against you." Holding out his hand and in a flash of light a keyblade appeared. Key's interest went up a bit seeing the boy hold the Kingdom Key in a battle ready stance. "I request a battle with you, Keybladedude!"

"Well you're polite I'll give you that. If only everyone else who attacks out of the blue had your manners." Key then held out his hands and, in bursts of light and darkness, Infinity and Oathbreaker. "Fine, I accept your request. Are you ready?"

"Y-yes!" The blond seemed too had been lost in his own world seeing Key summon his keyblades but he then charged forward with a lunge of his weapon.

(Tokyo Outskirts)

"What's she doing, she hasn't moved from that spot in like forever," A girl said in a loud whisper as she watched Ravena and Punnya from behind. She had been waiting for an hour for either to make a move and so far all she has seen was small breathing showing the two were alive.

"Minnya…" A small neko manju mewled out as it was on the same boat as its owner.

"I know, I thought she was probably readying up some kind of spell, but she's done nothing but stay in that pose. It's time to add some magic into the mix." The girl reached into a small pouch she kept at her side and pulled out a card as she grabbed for a small Star key hanging on her neck.

"Minnya~"

"I'm not going for anything big. Just something to help speed this waiting along." The girl promised as the card began to glow.

(With Ravena)

"Nya, it's been ages since I meditated for that long! We've come a long way since we first met each other and began learning, huh, Punnya?" The catgirl smiled as she stood up and stretched.

"Punnya!" Punnya flew in agreement. "Nya?" The manju's eyes then caught something shining in the distance.

"Hmm?" Ravena then turned Punnya's direction. Both girls saw a white light and a large gust of wind flying their way. Punnya then got behind Ravena as she calmly held out her left hand towards the wind to block it.

"**Mao-Mao-Maomoru!" **she chanted instantly conjuring a barrier and blocked the wind as it sent grass flying around her. Once the gust faded, Ravena allowed the shield to drop.

"Either the wind has it in for us or somebody tried a sneak attack…" Ravena commented as she observed where the wind came from.

"Punnya nya nya!" Punnya fluttered as she pointed her tails towards where she saw the glow originate.

"Yeah you can come out! The windstorm kind of blew your cover!" Ravena yelled, trying to coax the person out of hiding.

"Then I guess we have no other reason to hide!" Out of the brush jumped out a girl and a small white manju, surprising Ravena and Punnya slightly. "I thought you were sleeping so I thought a quick gust would wake you up!"

The girl was a pretty young thing of 11 with a bubblegum pink bob haircut adorned with a large white ribbon at the back of her head. She wore a pale pink scrunchie-choker around her neck that matched her white frock with white and light pink layers making up her skirt. On left leg was a long white boot with a yellow star on the foot while a frilly white garter can be seen tied on her thigh with a fluttering pink ribbon that trailed a little in the wind. Her right foot had a matching ankle boot with a shorter pink ribbon.

Her right wrist bore a gold bracelet with a round pink gem while in her left hand was the Star Cardcaptor Staff. White cat ears twitched a bit out of her hair as a sleek white tail waved around behind her.

Ravena whistled a little. "Oh…A Cardcaptor…..that's new~!"

"Punnya…." Said Punnya nodding in agreement.

"So you blocked my attack. I should expect nothing less from Ravena Felidae! And that is why….!" declared the girl haughtily jabbing a finger at the older cat-girl. "I CHALLENGE YOU!"

Ravena tilted her head and smiled as she grew out her wings. "No thanks, I don't fight kids~!" she answered cheerfully before flying into the sky.

The younger girl faulted a little when she suddenly puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "I AM NOT A KID!" she screamed to Ravena in the sky as she stamped her foot. "FIGHT ME RAVENA! NOW!"

Ravena frowned as she looked over her shoulder at the kid. "Yeesh, what a brat-"she was saying when suddenly she heard a rush of wind coming at her from behind.

Quickly, Ravena and Punnya twisted their bodies just narrowly avoiding the sharp blade of a sword.

"FIGHT ME RAVENA!" declared the girl who held a sleek decorated claymore in her hand as a large pair of white wings flapped a little keeping the girl afloat in the air with Ravena.

"No."

"OH! WHY NOT?!"

Ravena sniffed a little as she raised her eyebrows a little recognizing the magic scent. 'Aera magic…She's not just a cat-girl…this kid's an Exceed…' she noted before narrowing her eyes.

"First off, you have to be more polite," replied Ravena folding her arms. "It's a shame a young Magical Girl like yourself can't even use the basic magic word; Please."

The Exceed girl's face went red a bit until Ravena narrowed her eyes. "Secondly…" she said as she summoned her whips and cracked them in the air. "Children should not be playing with sharp objects!"

Steam erupted from the child's face in anger as she screamed and waved her sword that glowed and transformed back into her Star Staff as a card disappeared back into a pouch on her hip.

"I AM NOT A KIIIIIIID!" she screamed as she pulled out another card and threw it into the air, tapping it with her staff.

"_**ARROW!"**_ she called out.

There was a flash as the card transformed into a smallish pink girl, wearing a bluish-purple outfit consisting of shorts, top with long back tails, long gloves, and long boots topped with balls on the foot, with a pudding basin haircut, a red circular gem on her hair, and two long pigtails held by balls holding a small bow that she aimed directly at Ravena.

"FIRE!" commanded the Exceed girl.

Arrow narrowed her eyes as a volley of arrows materialized and flew directly at Ravena.

(Back to Shadow)

Shadow jumped back a few steps after dodging another wild swing from a scythe blade that grew out from the leg of his attacker.

"Not bad Shadow! You're as good as they say!" said his attacker cheerfully spinning back onto his feet.

Shadow quirked an eyebrow at his 'opponent'. It was kid, probably around 12, who visibly resembles Shadow himself save for the Byakugan in both eyes.

He wore a plain black long sleeved Shirt under a Dark blue sleeveless hoodie and khaki cargo bermudas with Air Treks modeled like Shadow's shoes. He also had on black, metal-lined gloves along with black and blue elbow and kneepads.

"Hey Kid! Don't you know it's rude to disturb a sleeping someone!" chided Shadow. "And you woke up Amaya!" he scolded holding up the little Usa-Manju who began sniffling at being suddenly woken up from nap.

"U-U-U-UPYOOOOOOOOOOOON!" she began wailing making the two cringe.

"There, there! It's ok! It's ok! Shh…It's ok I'm here…." Said Shadow as he bounced Amaya a little and scratched her ears calmly as the baby stopped crying and smiled a bit at Shadow before nuzzling against his face and jumping into his hood.

Shadow smiled a bit before turning back to the boy with a dark look on his face.

"Lets make this thing clear, Kid," Shadow began to say, anger radiating a bit off him. **"Nobody. Makes. My. Amaya. Cry."** He growled.

The boy seemed a little taken aback as he swallowed a little in fear. Quickly he covered it with a brave smirk. "Ha! You don't scare me!"

"You will be…" replied Shadow as they both took their stances.

"_**BYAKUGAN!"**_ they both cried out activating their respective kekkei genkai as they launched themselves at each other.

(Downtown)

_**CLANG! SHING! SHANG!**_ Went Illu's glaive as she deflected Mira's staff multiple times.

'She's quite good,' noted Illu avoiding the last swing.

Mira widened her eyes in awe as Illu gracefully dodged her last attack by back flipping some distance away. "I also knew you were graceful in battle but seeing it first hand is even more amazing~!" she swooned. "I want to see more!" she exclaimed suddenly pulling apart her staff as she swiftly slid the pieces back on to her belt.

Just then wind began to pick up as it swirled around both girls.

"You use Wind Dragon Slayer Magic, right ?" asked the girl.

Illu nodded, a little suspicious until she saw the wind turn black as it swirled around the younger girl's limbs.

"Then it's only appropriate that I use **Sky God** Slayer Magic!" she declared as she began running at Illu with two streams of black wind aiming at her.

Quickly Illu began concentrating.

"_O swift wind that dashes through the heavens!...__**VERNIER!**_" she cried as her whole body glowed as she manipulated her body past the Sky God Slayer pushed her into her own attack.

"KYAAAAAA!" screamed the child as she suddenly found herself sucked into her own whirlwind and shot far off into the distance a sparkle twinkling indicating her distance.

"That went by quick, Illu-sama," noted Nyoka sliding out from Illu's scarf. "But who was that child?"

"I don't know Nyoka, I don't know…."

(East Side)

Shots flew everywhere as DB rolled a bit before returning fire with five shots. His opponent smirked as his eyes glowed red, the bullets slowing down in his vision.

"Fast Tempo….five beats," said the boy to himself as he began bobbing his head to an invisible beat.

DB's eyes widened as he saw the boy began to dodge the volley of shots as if he were dancing to a hip-hop beat. The vampire soon released his gun to pull out his sword to deflect a bullet aimed at his chest. The boy then stopped firing but still nodded to the rhythm in his head.

'Well this kid's got style I'll give him that.' DB then sheathed his sword and pulled out his other pistol. "Mind if I ask you something short-stuff?"

"Only if you won't call me that again." The boy answered, having read DB's lips before he could take out his headphones.

"Well I don't exactly know your name; you pretty much interrupted me while I was out with a special…friend." DB chuckled a bit.

"That…is true…" The boy rubbed the back of his head as he thought back to his approach. 'Then again this wasn't exactly my plan to begin with.' He thought to himself. "My name is Beat-Boy; it's just I really wanted to see what you could do."

"Hence causing a shoot-out in the middle of town." DB pointed to the few bullet holes that lined the buildings around them from Beat-Boy's shooting. "I'll tell you that you've been going about this the entire wrong way."

"Huh, how so?" Beat-Boy asked confused.

"See, usually I wouldn't even bother fighting with a kid; I've gotten into my share of fights but never with someone who's head doesn't even reach my shoulders." DB said. "That being said, you're going to have to do something big to even catch my interest."

"Catch your interest?" Beat-Boy said confused.

"Yeah, anyone could try shooting a gun at me. You wouldn't be the first to try. Unless you can try something I haven't seen, I'm just gonna walk my way out of here." DB said in a bit of a bored tone.

"Interest huh…" Beat-Boy then rose up his guns, though this time they were both glowing a bright blue light. "Then I'm sure to have something that will get your attention! **Gun Magic: Blast Bullets!**"

Two large balls of blue flames then scorched through the air as they rushed to their target. The balls of fire formed on large bullet of flame only for it to stop midair an inch from DB's face and just stayed there to the boy's confusion.

"Blue flames, haven't seen this in a while." DB commented as he felt the intense heat of Beat-Boy's attack. "Well you got my attention, but…"

"But?" Beat-Boy wondered.

"I'm still not up to fighting a kid so…" The flames then turned from azure blue to burning orange as DB took control of it. "Try again when you're a bit older."

DB then sent the fireball back towards its wide eyed sender, causing an explosion that sent a char-covered Beat-Boy flying into the distance. While DB looked at the trail of smoke he wondered what he done to be sought after by the young player.

(Tokyo Rooftops)

A sharp punch and the young Chromastone slammed into another building, causing more players and NPC's to leave the area. The silicon alien slowly stood to his feet as Diamondhead walked towards.

"**You know, this would be a lot more fun if you would chat just a bit."** Diamondhead commented. The alien was then met with a torrent of flames as the alien had changed to HeatBlast in order to enclose the older warrior in a prison of flame.

The pyronite ended his flame and saw nothing but the blacked street. He looked around for his opponent only to be met with a flying fist from the ground. HeatBlast rubbed his chin confused as he now saw a clown-like pirate coming out the ground and reattaching his arm.

"**Note to self, never change from diamond to Chop-Chop underground. Now let's try this again…um, who are you?" **Buggy asked, replaced his ruined and burned glove with a new one.

Once again Bella got no answer, but what she did get was the alien's eyes widening a bit in awe.

"**Come on kid use your words, you aren't shy aren't you?"** Suddenly the clown's face then changed to that of concern. **"Oh my gosh you are shy aren't you?"**

This time she actually heard the boy talk as he began to snicker loudly at Bella accusation. HeatBlast tried again to hit his target with a fire ball only for the clown to jump back out the way.

"**Ok, so you're not shy." **The clown said, somehow able to get that from the mute. **"But I still would like it if you spoke up."**

HeatBlast seemed to smirk as he slammed the large symbol on his chest to transform once again to the small Sonian alien, Echo-Echo. The alien then replicated itself around Bella.

"**Guess I really should have chosen my words wisely."**

In unison, all of them released sound waves that brought the pirate to his knees as he covered his ears. Buggy continued to stumble around as the repeated sounds continued assaulting his ears. He then reached for the symbol on his chest and set a combination before transforming. All of the Echo-Echo's stopped when they saw the new form was no longer affected by their sonic screams.

"**Ok, you guys seriously gave me a headache." **The monotone voice of Ultimate Echo-Echo spoke to all of the clones as he began to levitate. **"My head is still ringing, so the least I can do is spread a little of it around." **He then pulled the speakers off his body and have them all circle around the clones.

"**Wall of Sound!"**

The disks then emitted high frequency sounds that blast all the clones away using shockwaves. The Echo-Echo's all collided into each other coming together and transforming back to the unconscious kid. Bella transformed back and saw the beret fall off the child showing long hair and she then began to panic.

"Oh no, I hurt a girl! An innocent little girl; I can't believe it!" As Bella continued running around in hysterics she never noticed the 'girl' open their eyes and dusted off the debris from the battle.

"I can't believe I committed such a horrible deed! What a horrible person I am, to even go so far!" Bella then felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see the kid smiling at her.

"Thank toon you're all better! Now I feel even less worse about beating up a little girl!" Bella sighed in relief.

The kid smiled before shaking his head.

"What…then that means…you're a, boy?" Bella asked confused.

The boy nodded his head, with his smile still present on his face. He then began waving good bye as he then vanished with a puff of smoke.

"That was a shadow clone pop just now. So he was never really here." Bella then crossed her arms and pouted a bit. "The little sneak," Still a smirk soon overtook the girl's pouting face.

(Scene Change)

"Ah!" The boy cried out as he rolled along the ground. The large curved blade vanished in light as it turned into his arm as he began to rub his aching head. While he recovered Shadow just stood in place.

"You know I really should be smacking you around a bit more for making Amaya cry, but the more I do, the more I remember I'm just fighting a brat." Shadow then sighed as he put his scythe away.

"Hey I'm not a brat! You just got a few lucky blows in but don't act like you already won!" The boy yelled as he got back on his feet.

"Whatever kid, I'll say this one more time. Turn around and roll out of here, or I can give you the express way back." Shadow said.

"Hah, like I'm going anywhere! My goal is to defeat you, so I'm not going to run away! No sir!" That was the boy's response back as he prepared himself.

Shadow then sighed; he would be more impressed with the boy's determination if he weren't so annoying. Amaya then snuck herself out his hood and on his shoulder looking at the boy confused.

"U-Pyon?" The Usa squeaked out.

"Just a kid who doesn't know when to quit." Shadow said.

"Hey don't ignore me! I'm going to defeat you, so my guild will become the best in the world!" The boy shouted.

'A guild huh?' Shadow thought silently.

"**Zero-G!"**

The boy raised his arms and anything that wasn't attached to the ground began floating into the air as gravity began to disappear. Shadow used his own powers to keep him still while he kept a steady grip on Amaya so that she doesn't fly away. Shadow almost sighed again but he noticed that his 'opponent' was floating ever so slightly.

"Hey kid, word of advice…"

"Huh?"

A black wind then began to swirl around Shadow's right hand. "Whenever you use gravity, make sure you weigh yourself down first." The scythe user then sent a gale that blew the boy up and into the sky thanks to the lightened gravity. After the kid disappeared Shadow then set the gravity back to normal.

"I've been attacked by many things, but never a kid." Shadow said out to himself.

"U-Pyon" Amaya hopped up to his head.

"Hopefully no time soon." Shadow said and then yawned. "Come on, let's go finish our nap back home."

"U-Pyon~" The manju yawned in agreement.

(Downtown)

CLANK!

The metal of the keyblades collided with each other as the two fighters met in a stalemate. Key was able to knock the weapon out of the boy's hand and got him on the defensive as he backed up and let the Kingdom Key reappear in a flash of light.

"I know you can do much more from your fight back in the Eclipse Tournament, but I can hardly keep up with you now." The boy rubbed his sore wrists from repeated use of his weapon.

"I can't, in all honesty, go all out against you. I don't need to add beating on a kid to my conscious even if I agreed to this duel." Key explained.

"I see, well I haven't even used all my abilities myself." The boy said. "But there is something of yours I would like to see."

"And that is?" Key asked.

"Your Forms; like the ones you used back in the tournament. They were so awesome and powerful…I've never seen a type of power like that; even the power I have doesn't even compare that much to it." He said sparkled-eyed.

"My forms?" Key said in surprise. "And why would you want to see them."

"Like I said, I want to be able to test myself against you and I won't even be able to gauge myself properly unless I fought against you in your form!" The boy explained.

"Properly gauge yourself, you wouldn't be able to say that unless you had a similar type of power." Key deduced.

"Eh-heh, guess I kind of let that slip." As he scratched the back of his head a yellow screen appeared in front of his face pulling him back to reality. Quickly skimming he then sighed and then had the screen disappear.

"Guess I'm going to have to cut this short." The boy raised his hand and a ring began to glow a bright light causing Key to cover his eyes. When the light faded Key saw that he was now alone in the alley.

"This day just gets better and better." The Beta said.

(With Ravena and Punnya)

"THUNDER!" cried the girl activating another card.

Ravena yawned a bit as she easily dodged the other girl's attacks one after the other.

'Nice attacks….Lousy aim though…she's wasting so much magic….' Ravena thought inwardly as she flew out of the way of an attack from the girl's Thunder Card.

'_**Dee-Dee….This is boring….Can't we just blast her and be done with it?' **_complained Felis irritably.

'_Tempting but no…'_

"STAY STILL AND GET HIT!" screamed the girl in irritation.

"Why don't you try the Shot card?" suggested Ravena smirking. "You know the one that relentlessly attacks until it hits its target-Oops!" went Ravena suddenly covering her mouth in mock surprise.

Just then the little girl smirked. "Oh yeah the Shot Card…" she said slyly. "Not so smart huh?"

"Oh dear….I've said too much….What will become off me?…." Said Ravena in a blunt voice obviously feigning regret.

Apparently the girl did not notice Ravena's feint as she pulled out the Shot Star Card and tossed it to the sky and tapped it with her staff.

"_**Aim at Ravena, SHOT CARD!"**_ she commanded as the card glowed and literally shot straight for its target.

Ravena simply side-stepped in the air letting the Shot sail past her as it doubled back to aim at Ravena from behind. The Nekomata didn't even try to move as she simply smiled. "And in 5…4…3…2…1…"

_**ZAP!**_ Suddenly just inches from Ravena's back, the Shot Card flashed and returned its pouch.

"Huh?! Wh-wh-what happened?" asked the girl in confusion.

"Seriously? It's obvious, you're out of gas kid," pointed out Ravena. "If I were you I'd land the plane now."

"Huh?" asked the girl in confusion when she looked over her shoulder and saw her wings vanish. "Uh-oh-KYAAAAAAAAAA…!"

Ravena and Punnya exchanged looks as they watched the girl plummet down screaming but then shrugged as they folded their own wings and began falling too.

"This is what happens when you use magic recklessly~" said Ravena in a sing-song voice reclining in the air smiling as she ended up next to the girl who flailed about in panic.

"Punnya~!" agreed Punnya when she noticed a white ball shot out from under the girl's hair.

"No need to help Punnya, she looks like she's got this," said Ravena smiling dismissively as Punnya nodded and went after the ball.

"NO! NO! I DON'T GOT THIS! HELP ME!" screamed the girl in panic as she flailed about.

"What's the Magic Word~?"

"NOW!"

"Bzzt! Sorry wrong answer~nya!" replied Ravena as she looked down. "Wow, look how fast the ground is approaching~!"

The girl widened her eyes and looked down to see it was true as she now looked more terrifies than ever. "KYAAAAA! PLEASE! OK, PLEASE!"

"And…~?" Ravena pushed a little further.

"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY, OK! PLEASE HELP MEEEEEEEEEEE…!" screeched the girl but it was too late as she was about to meet the ground in a few seconds.

At the last moment, a dome of energy appeared on the ground catching the child as she bounced on it like a trampoline once in the air as Ravena caught her by her collar and set her down gently while the dome disappeared.

"Now that wasn't so hard now was it?" asked Ravena.

When Ravena got no response she turned the girl over to see that she had passed out from the shock. "Ha, what do you know? She fainted-nya!"

"_**And they say I'm the Evil One…"**_ smirked Felis shaking her head.

Just then Punnya came fluttering down to her Mistress with her tail curled up.

"Hey, Punnya! I was wondering where you were-nya! Watcha' got there?" asked Ravena as Punnya landed on her shoulder.

"Punnya~" said the Neko-Manju as she uncurled her tail to reveal a small white ball.

At least that's what it looked liked until it opened a pair of red eyes and popped out cat ears and a tail.

"Minnya…" it mewed a little nervously.

"Aww~ A Manju kitten~" cooed Ravena as she stroked it while Punnya groomed it a little. "Where did you come from Sweetie?"

"Mi!" it mewed as it hopped off and landed on the passed out girl's chest.

Ravena knelt down next to the girl as she gently stroked the kitten. "Don't worry, she's just exhausted, she'll be fine dear," said the Nekomata with a smile as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small vial of blue liquid.

"When she wakes up, tell her to drink this, it's liquid mana, it should restore her magic a little faster," instructed Ravena as she was about to get up to leave when she remembered something and tapped on the girl's card case.

The cards began glowing in response as they all flew out and floated in front of Ravena. "I know you guys chose her for a reason, watch over well ok?" said Ravena with a smile.

The Cards all seem to nod in response as they flew and formed a protective ring around the girl while Ravena and Punnya flew away.

(Back at the Kurostubasa Base)

"Hey guys, you won't believe what I ran into on my run today!" Bella called out as she walked inside seeing the other members of the guild gathered in the café.

"Does it involve getting attacked by some unnamed munchkin?" DB asked.

"No, I got attacked by a- Wait, How'd you know?" Bella asked surprised.

Key came up and decided to answer. "Apparently we've all been 'attacked' by child players. For some reason, they've been scouting us since we got back." The Beta explained the situation.

"So any clue who these kids are?" Ravena asked. "I don't think any of us did anything to warrant them coming after us."

"I agree, in fact the one I fought sort of stared at me with…"

"A sparkly look in their eye?" Bella guessed.

"I guess that's one way to put it." Illu answered. "It was like the look you would expect someone to have when seeing a person they idolize."

"So you're saying these kids are…fans of ours?" DB asked and then turned to the silent leader, lying in his seat. "What's your take on this Shads?"

"All I know is the one I dealt with came out of nowhere talking about beating me for no reason. He did mention something about a guild." Shadow said.

"Are you sure?" Key asked.

"He said something about his guild becoming the best in the world, or something like that. I mostly drowned his yelling out." Shadow then lay further back staring at the ceiling.

"Then these children are all part of a guild nya? That goes to show you that go to show you how many different kinds of players there are." Ravena thought aloud.

"I didn't think there would be people that young who aren't NPC's." Illu said.

"Well the age limit for FFW is 10 and upwards, so they must barely qualify to play. Or at least the youngest members that is." Key explained as he pulls up a screen and began to search. "It's going to take a while to find a guild like that, since we don't know anything about them."

"Would it be faster if you knew some names?" DB asked.

"Yes, immensely" Key said.

"The kid I met said that his name was Beat-Boy; will that help narrow it down?" DB offered the name of his challenger as he saw Key's hands move along the screen.

"More than you think; the long lists of names have now shortened into one." Key's expression then turned surprised when he saw the final result. "Well this is certainly…interesting."

"Hey don't keep us hanging Key, who are these guys?!" Bella asked impatiently.

"Hold your horses Bella; I'm going to project it on the wall so that you all can have a look for yourselves." Key then moved the display on the flat wall so that they could all see the guild page. On the wall the last thing they all expected to see was a simpler 'cartoon-ized' version of their own guild symbol.

"That emblem, even if it is different its looks exactly like ours." Illu was the first to announce. "Even their names are almost the same…Kotsubasa." She read out the guild's name in slight confusion and interest.

"Guess this would explain why I had to deal with a magic using Exceed girl. I mean look of them all nya, it's like looking into a time mirror!" Ravena said as she looked at all the members. "Even the one in the middle looks like a Mini-Shads!"

"Whoa, I like my mini-me more and more." Bella then turned to Shadow who was now up. "Can we keep them Shad?!"

"They're not pets Bella," Shadow sweat-dropped as he read off the guild's information. "This is the first time I've heard anything about protégés; they sound more like a fan group than an actual guild."

"Well it says here that they're legit, though it looks like they haven't been active for much too long." DB pointed out.

"So they're a newer guild; that must explain why we've never heard of them." Illu then looked at the screen in worry. "Still, new guilds are usually the first targets in Guild Wars. And since their site almost says that our guilds are related…"

"Some guilds might go through them to get to us; especially when they're using an emblem like that." Shadow then stood up. "I guess we've got no choice, we have to find them before any other guild does."

"Come on, are you sure we can't keep them? We can feed them, keep them safe and warm. Oh; they can probably be our little sidekicks!" Bella said with much excitement present in her voice.

"You seem almost too excited Hy-Nya." Ravena chuckled at the girl's plan. "Well we better get on the hunt for them; Ani-Key where are they located?" The catgirl asked.

"It says that they're in Tokyo City, and it looks like their guild is…" Key was then interrupted when they all heard a loud knock on the café's front door.

"Well that saved us some time." DB joked as they all stood and went to the door to answer. Kurotsubasa then gathered and waited a bit before opening the door and stepping out and were immediately met with a large amount of smoke. Illu was able to quickly remove the smoke with Mukurowl's help and they all saw the members of Kotsubasa coughing on the ground.

"Shade you idiot, you added too much gunpowder again!" The small catgirl yelled out as she tried to remove the excess smoke from her lungs.

"Minnya!" The manju also complained having to deal with the heavy smoke.

"I wasn't the one who was in charge of the props this time! Cadet was supposed to be one who was supposed to be the one to supply the smoke today!" The now named Shade coughed out.

*cough* "…" *cough*

"Angel, Shade, you can both quiet down. What happened already happened!" Beat-Boy said, being one of the first to recover from the smoke debacle.

"S/HE STARTED IT!" Both kids pointed to each other.

"I DON'T CARE WHO STARTED IT, I'LL PUMMELL YOU TWO IF YOU BOTH DON'T SHUT UP AND END IT!" The other girl of Kotsubasa yelled raising a fist, having Angel and Shade cower before nodding in agreement.

"Yes, Mirage"

"Guys we might as well look sharp we kind of blew our entrance a bit." The last member voiced as they all saw the confused looks from Kurotsubasa.

"Change of plans then!" Shade then stepped up to his feet. "Mirage, time to roll with Plan B!"

"We should've gone with this one before than have a ton of smoke blasted in my face!" Mirage yelled again as the air then picked up and Kurotsubasa's vision all turned black.

"Nya, what kind of trick is this now?" Ravena asked as she looked around.

"This is a minor illusion Ravena-chan nothing harmful; it's mostly used just to have people see and hear a certain thing, kind of like a detailed show." Illu said as she could easily tell what the minor illusion did.

"The thing is what are they trying to show us?" Shadow asked as they all soon lights shine down and brightened a small stage in front of them. Soon they all heard what could be described as a 'Super Sentai' intro theme as silhouettes appeared on stage.

"KOTSUBASA ROLL CALL!" called out Shade suddenly as a spotlight shined on him first.

"**I Am The Leader Of Kotsubasa; The Guild That Will Surpass Kurotsubasa**!..." he called out doing dramatic arm gestures before striking a pose with a fighting stance as his name flashed behind him._** "SHADE!**_"

The next flash appeared on the boy to his right wearing the Kingdom Hearts outfit who whipped out his Keyblade. **"The Genius Mind Of** **Kotsubasa!...**_**"**_ he cried out performing some fancy swordplay and striking a pose with his name flashing in the background as well._** "SORA!"**_

The next spotlight went on the headphone-toting boy who whipped a small mic box and began beat-boxing. **"Check it yo! The Rhythmic Fighter of Kotsubasa!..."**he started as he suddenly got down and did a back-spin that transitioned into a head-spin before flipping himself back on his feet as he pushed up his glasses and posed with his name in the background. _**"BEAT-BOY!"**_

The next one who was introduced was the one Bella fought as he began transforming into multiple aliens. **"The WildCard Hero of Kotsubasa!..."** Beat-Boy began introducing for him as the boy reverted to his original form and also struck a pose, his name flashing. _**"CADET HERO!"**_

The spotlight was now appeared the Exceed girl who had activated her Star Staff. **"The Magical Maiden Duo of Kotsubasa~!..."** She called out as she expertly twirled her staff around striking a typical magical girl pose and winked.

"_**ANGELKITTY AND MINNYA!"**_

"Mi-minnya~…." Mewed the kitten shyly appearing on the girl's head as their names flashed in the background.

Wind began to swirl around the final member as the spotlight was now on her as she swiftly pieced together her staff and spun it around. **"The Sky Warriors of Kotsubasa!...**_**MIRAGE …**_**"**began the girl going through elaborate staff-play before pointing to the sky as thunder rolled as a large figure swiftly flew down from the sky and landed behind Mirage revealing to be a Hippogriff as it stretched its wings and screeched loudly.

"_**AND HIPPO!"**_ completed Mirage as their names in the back-ground while she struck a pose.

"_**WE ARE THE PROTOGES OF THE MOST AWESOME GUILD EVER, KUROTSUBASA!" **_all the members introduced as they spun once and assumed new final poses.

"_**WE ARE KOTSUBASA!"**_ They announced as colored smoke exploded behind with their symbol flashing over-head.

DB and Ravena whistled a bit while the others just stared save for Bella who was the only one clapping enthusiastically.

As quick as it came; the stage and theatrics then disappeared leaving a proud standing Kotsubasa in front of the base, if their looks spoke anything about their pride in the entrance.

"So what do you think; we've spent weeks getting that entrance ready and I say we got something special." Shade said confidently. "I can tell you must be frozen in awe…"

"More like frozen in trying to figure out what I just saw." Shadow said, bursting the kids' bubble and causing them to comically fall to the ground. "Well you've introduced yourselves and know who we are, so what do you want?"

"Ah come on Shads, we let them do their whole intro. We can be patient and here them out." Bella said.

"Why don't we all go inside nya; it's probably better to talk indoors and not have to worry about the people staring from across the street." Ravena said pointing out to the number of people staring at the two guilds.

"Right," Shadow then relented. "Come inside…and try not to touch anything." He said as they went inside the base.

Once inside all of Kotsubasa oohed and ahhed the interior of the base, eyes moving all over to take in their idol's base. Before any of the more excited ones could take off to explore, Kurotsubasa suddenly pulled them away.

"It's not necessarily safe to wandering on your own. Especially with some of the things we keep around." Illu reasoned with them.

"That also goes back into when I said **don't touch anything**." Shadowwarned as they all sat down. "So what's this talk of protégés come from; today was the only time I've ever really heard of your guild." He asked as he wanted to be somewhat professional with them.

"Well we haven't been a guild for that long," Beat-Boy began explaining. "We were already friends who met and partied up together often. When we saw you guys fight at the Eclipse Tournament…"

"You guys were awesome! The way you guys fought and took down all of those other players and even that evil guy at the end; we wanted to be more like you guys." Mirage continued on as Hippo went to stand in one corner as Punnya flew up to him and bowed.

The Hippogriff was as large as the stories say. Large and majestic, with blue-grey feathers with a white speckled chest and a silver dappled horse body along with piercing eagle eyes.

Hippo tilted his head at the Neko before he bowed back, allowing Punnya to sit on his head and apparently started a conversation.

"So I came up with the idea to form a guild where we would be your protégés." Shade said as he then pointed to Kurotsubasa. "Proteges who would one day be even stronger than their teachers!" The boy's words would've had more merit if he wasn't suddenly pulled into hug.

"Nya, he's even more like a Mini-Shads! I almost agree with you about keeping them Hy-Nya!" Ravena said as she held a bright red, chibified, Shade close to her chest. Illu giggled a bit at her friend's behavior though she did have a small blush appear.

"Ravena-chan, I don't think he can breathe." Illu pointed out as she helped Ravena deal with the nosebleed, comatose, kid.

"Looks like he has about as much luck as you do with girls Shads." DB snickered.

"Shut up you jinx" Shadow said back and turned back to the resolved situation and saw Shade now recovered. "So you want to be stronger than us, how are you going to manage that?"

"Isn't it obvious, by beating you guys of course!" Shade proclaimed.

"That was the reason we all tried to attack you in town. We thought we could plan an ambush and have you guys submit, but it turns out the plan didn't go so well." Sora said as he and Cadet were the ones who had to carry their injured friends.

"…" Cadet then made an excited look and balled his fists and punched the air.

"Right what Cadet said; it's time for students to become masters!" Angel chimed in.

"Only you guys aren't even students." Key said to them. "We didn't agree to naming any protégés and right now there are a few people who would target you just for saying you are related to us."

"Please, we can deal with any problem." Shade continued to bolster with confidence. "You guys just have to worry about our challenge!"

"Challenge?" DB asked.

"A Guild War, us versus you!" Shade declared.

"Denied." Shadow crossed his arms bringing the boy's plan to a halt.

"What, but why?!" Shade asked as he and Kotsubasa were curious to know why their challenge was declined.

"We've just come back from doing a challenge so we're kinda enjoying a peaceful break until the next big guild comes along and tries to offer a challenge." DB said.

"Also, We really have no reason to face each other." Illu also added.

"And I don't know about everyone one else but I think we can all agree that if given a choice, we don't fight kids." Ravena said with the others nodding in agreement.

"Hey we aren't kids!" Angel's tail stood up in irritation as she was reminded of her battle earlier stamping her foot in irritation. "We're players too and we've got our own guild! We take quests and battle monsters, all sorts of stuff! We're more than ready for a Guild battle!"

"And that battle won't be with us." Key said.

While the banter went on, Amaya had poked her head out from Shadow's hood and peeked out. Suddenly she caught the eye of another baby manju, a Neko, who blinked at her with curiosity.

The two hopped off their respective owners and shyly made their way towards each other.

"U-Py-pyon~" greeted Amaya shyly holding out an ear.

The other kitten hesitantly tapped Amaya's ear with her tail before curling it with the Usa. "Min-Minnya~…" replied the kitten just as shyly as the two smiled at each other.

"Look…we'll write off your protégé thing as an act. So just go home; you guys have only just become a guild right well take the time to enjoy it more than trying to start a fight." Shadow said.

"What are you scared, scared that you wouldn't last against a bunch of 'kids?'" The junior leader taunted.

"Don't play a game you can't win brat." Shadow waved him off.

"Hah, Kurotsubasa is many things, but I didn't expect you guys to be cowards! Isn't the rule that once a challenge is announced in person you have to accept?" Shade said.

"No, in mail or in my face we can still deny a challenge." Shadow said as he then flicked Shade's forehead. "Take the chance and go home kid; you aren't ready for a Guild War."

The little leader rubbed his forehead a bit before growing angry. "We aren't kids! We're as good as any other guild under the sun!" The rest of Kotsubasa added to that as they repeated tried to challenge the older guild.

"As fun as our little battle was, I think I'll pass." Bella said; the thought that she had almost hurt Cadet before still swam in her head.

"Like I said, we need R and R between battles and right now its rest time." DB said.

"Really new guilds should further try to identify themselves. If you all practice your techniques and train for a year I'm sure you'll be more than ready." Illu said. She didn't want to give in to the challenge but she didn't want to be negative about it.

"No. Fight. Children; plain and simple." Ravena all but repeated her earlier answer.

"Punnya!" Punnya mewled in agreement while Hippo snorted a little.

"Hey! Whose side are you on Hippo?!" demanded Mirage frowning at her Hippogriff in irritation, only to get replied with a small screech.

"Fighting another guild is not what I had in mind for today. I got things that need to be done and fighting would just eat up more of my time." Key said.

"There you go, it's unanimous." Shadow said as he picked up Amaya who was talking to the other small manju.

Kotsubasa was about to protest again when Cadet moved forward and smiled before starting an imitation of a chicken in the middle of the two guilds. "…" The boy kept his grin.

"Cadet is right; you guys are probably too chicken to fight us anyway." Shade said. That final talk caused them all to suddenly start rising in the air, all of them outlined with a thin blue aura.

"Well I think we're done talking." Shadow said as his hand was also covered in dark blue energy.

"Go easy on them Shads." Bella said seeing him lift them off the floor.

"I will; I'm just giving them a little shove out the door." Shade then threw his arm and all of Kotsubasa were quickly out the door and piled up outside by the gravity technique.

"First lesson, learn to take no for an answer." Shadow's voice called out to them as the door then shut when he suddenly turned and found himself staring in the fierce glare of Mirage's Hippogriff who snorted at him.

"Pardon me," replied Shadow politely as he bowed and opened the door.

Hippo nodded as he casually walked out while Minnya who was riding on his back looked up at Amaya who waved sadly with her ear while the kitten did the same as the door closed behind them.

"Little harsh don't you think Shads?" Ravena asked.

"It's for their own good; from the way they acted, I'm just glad no other ruthless guild preyed on them already." Shadow explained. "I may have been rough but I know they'll be back. It's better if they focus time on us than on a guild who have no conscious to PK'ing pre-teens."

"I see, so you're keeping them safe in your own special way." DB said. "I didn't think you would, doesn't that go against your 'not a hero' trope?"

"Shut up" Shadow said as he looked away.

"Big brother Shadow-kyun looking out for the kids; makes me wonder how you'll act when Amaya-chi gets older." Ravena added to the teasing.

"Shut up I said," Shadow avoided eye contact as he began to blush.

"I still say we should keep them." Bella said adamantly.

"Forget it, Hyna!" the rest of the gang yelled making Bella shrink back a bit.

(Outside)

"Well…that went well…." Said Mirage sarcastically as she got up and dusted her clothes as she got a nudge from Hippo followed by a small whinny.

"Yes Hippo I'm fine," replied the girl before putting her hands on her hips and frowning as she faced the hybrid creature. "A Big Help you were! What happened to intimidating them?"

Hippo snorted, shaking his head and rolling his eyes as he turned away.

"…."

"Shut up, Cadet!" snapped Mirage making the boy put his hands and exchange a questioning look with BB.

"What do you mean, 'What's with her?!'? She's_** your**_ cousin!"

"Now what are we gonna do, Shade?" asked Angel after cleaning herself off as Minnya hopped back onto her shoulder.

Shade sat cross-legged on the ground as he stared hard up at the Guild Symbol on the door with a determined look on his face.

"Sora, pull up whatever you got on Kurotsubasa!" commanded the boy to Sora who saluted.

"Aye, Sir!"

"We're gonna get a Guild War with them no matter what!" declared Shade as the rest of the members nodded in agreement.

(The Next Day in the Real World)

Leon was sitting in the common room looking up stuff on the Net on his laptop when a ring from his PT sounded alerting him of a new entry in the forums.

Quickly he logged onto to the main FFW website and looked at the forums before widening his eyes.

"Uh…GUYS!" he suddenly called out to the rest. "You might wanna look at this!"

In a matter of minutes the others soon crowded around Leon as he showed them his discovery.

"You've got to be kidding me…" groaned Shawn.

There on the forum page were several threads and posts with the same repeated message from a familiar Guild; Kotsubasa.

_**BATTLE US!**_

_**BATTLE US!**_

_**BATTLE US!**_

_**BATTLE US!**_

_**BATTLE US!**_

_**BATTLE US!**_

Line after line it just kept saying the same message.

Kurotsubasa all exchanged looks with each other silently as they all nodded to Leon who began typing.

(In FFW)

Several alerts sounded out at the 'home base' of Kotsubasa, which really just a large tree-house in the forest.

The Kotsubasa members eagerly pulled up their message only to find that they all got the same response.

_**NOT! A! CHANCE! **_ Were the big red letters shown in reply to every single one of their posts making them groan in disappointment.

(The next day in FFW)

There was a knock on the door of the Kurotsubasa base as Ravena went to answer it.

"I got it-nya!" she called out before opening the door before suddenly being greeted by loud party wheezers and confetti explosions to the face.

Beat-boy, Cadet and Mirage stood there smiling as Cadet suddenly transformed into Echo-Echo and sat on BB's shoulder who suddenly began beat-boxing a funky beat as Echo-Echo began providing back-beats.

Mirage bobbed her head a little as she began bouncing to the beat.

Mira:

_**Hey there member of the Black Wing Guild,**_

_**just listen to this rap please if you will,**_

_**We got BB busting out a funky tune, **_

_**and Cadet's Echo-Echo will be joining in too!**_

_**I'm your pretty little rapper best known as Mira~!**_

_**And we're here to challenge you to a big Guild War!**_

"_YO!"_ went BB and Mira as the trio struck a Home-boy pose while Ravena just stared blankly at them.

"_**That's a cute little rap you got going on, I'll admit it was creative and a little fun, But listen here Cadet, BB and Mira, Our answer is still No! Denied! No Way! See Ya~!"**_ rapped Ravena in reply as she smirked and clicked her fingers as a portal appeared under the trio, sucking them in and transporting them back to their base as Ravena closed the door behind her.

"That was fun~!" she said giggling before walking back inside.

(A Week Later)

"I know I made a deal about not fighting kids, but they are really pushing me to the breaking point." Shadow said in irritation. All through the week the guild had to deal with constant attempts from Kotsubasa to receive a challenge. It seemed every time they denied one, five more offers continued to pop up. "There's a limit to how much I can take."

"They're just kids being kids; they want what they want and they won't take no for an answer." Bella said. "If it's really such a big deal, why not just accept their challenge?"

"It's just as what Shadow said last time Bella; as long as they keep worrying about challenging us they aren't acting as targets for other guilds." Key said. "We want to keep them from attracting too much attention."

Illu nodded her head. "The threat of disbanding is there for all guilds in the Guild Wars. With every battle there is a chance that the loser will be forced to break apart and when a guild is disbanded they can no longer run under that name, a dead guild. Kotsubasa sound proud of their guild and it would be cruel if another guild took it away from them."

"I can tell that some of the other guilds around aren't going to be as friendly as us. So we keep them distracted with us, while making sure no one else challenge them." Ravena sounded out the plan.

"Well even if we are doing this for their safety, they didn't have to try the constant challenges. You know one of them tried to follow me into a bar; caused a ruckus right in the center. I was lucky to get him out alive." DB said.

"Not to mention their pranks, I had to avoid a whole arsenal of water balloons and cream pies just to get to town and back." Bella said as she remembered. "Do we really have to keep the tough love act going?"

"Either until the threat passes or until they get the message." Shadow answered. "The number of guilds in Tokyo City has dropped and they have avoided being prime targets because maybe they're hard to find. It won't always be that way."

"Their area has to be known to all and there will be guilds that will search high and low for a potential target." Illu said.

"Well hopefully they aren't accepting any challenge. You said there were only two ways for a guild to be challenged officially right?" DB asked Shadow.

"Yep, the only ways are for the leader of the challenged guild to accept or if the challengers place their emblem upon the other guild's symbol." Shadow explained.

"The ultimate form of challenge." Illu said.

"So it looks like the little tykes only know about the first one. That's good; all we really have to do is just keep declining them right?" Ravena said. "I'm sure we can handle any other guilds that come charging through the area."

As Kurotsubasa continued to talk they weren't aware of an object fall out of an open window. The miniature creature ran out of the guild's base and out into the district where it ducked into an alley…right in front of Shade.

"Hey Cadet, did you find anything out?" Shade asked the small transformed Cadet.

The small alien, Greymatter, nodded his head before changing back into Cadet. The shapeshifter then began to explain what he had heard when he began spying on Kurotsubasa.

"…"

"Is it really that simple, we tag their emblem so they'll have to accept?" Shade asked hopeful at learning the new information.

"…" Cadet then pointed out to the large emblem posted above the guild's door.

"Then let's go tell everyone else; tomorrow we get the battle we've been waiting for!" With that the two then hurried themselves off back to their base to plan out their next challenge.

(The Next Day)

"Are you sure there is supposed to be something for us here Key?" DB asked as Kurotsubasa was gathered waiting outside of the guild.

"It's what the message sent to us from the site said; I know I sent you all a copy of it." The Beta answered him.

"An offer we can't refuse, think it's another attempt from Kotsubasa?" Illu asked out of curiousity.

"With all the plans they've come up with it sounds like it nya." Ravena agreed.

"Punnya!" Punnya chimed with her.

"I don't know, after a whole week this seems kind of…weak on their part." Bella said, thinking back to the other attempts the younger guild made during the week.

"If it is, we'll just give them the same answer as always." Shadow said as Amaya sat perched on top his head. The guild wasn't surprised to see Kotsubasa appear to meet them outside their front door.

"I didn't think you would answer to my message, but it was a good thing you did." Sora said, revealing that they were the ones that called for the meeting.

"Well speak of the little devils and they appear; though really only sending a letter was kind of lame after all the other events you tried." Bella said causing them all to face-fault.

"Hey the message was truthful; we are here to offer you something you can't refuse." Mirage said as they all got back to their feet. The only ones not affected by Bella's blunt response was Hippo who just stood by his master and Minnya who had hopped off Angel before she fell.

"Ok I'll bite, what's this little offer you got for us nya?" Ravena asked.

"The offer is that you're going to accept our challenge!" Angel said pointing at her idol.

"No thanks, what else you got?" DB asked.

"Speaking of what else, you haven't brought the lead brat with you this time. Did he finally take the hint?" Shadow asked seeing that Shade was not amongst the group.

"…" Cadet pointed to their base as if to answer his question.

"That's right Cadet, the only way to see me is to look up!"

Following the voice they all turned to see Shade was standing on top of Kurotsubasa's base with a proud look on his face. "We told you this would be an offer you can't refuse and I got the best way to show you!" He then jumped down and slapped something on the large banner that hung over Kurotsubasa's door; all eyes could see that he had placed a sticker that looked like a small black wing over their sign.

"You don't have any idea what you just did do you kid?" Shadow asked.

"I know exactly what I did; if we couldn't get you to accept the challenge directly then we had to do it another way!" Shade said with a proud grin.

"An ultimate challenge, one that no guild can ignore" Illu said still looking at the small sticker. "You do realize what that means…don't you?"

"It means that now Kurotsubasa has to accept a Guild War between us." Beat-Boy said.

"Oh there's much more than that." Shadow said as he turned to face Shade. "You wanted a challenge, guess we've got no choice now. However, you just made this an emblem battle. Hopefully you know what those are."

"Of course, we did see your battle against the All-Stars a week ago." Shade said. "We each offer up our emblems as prices right, and the loser does whatever the winner wants! So the losers have to disband and admit that the winner is superior, those are the conditions!"

Shadow then shrugged his shoulders. "You keep saying you aren't kids, so I'll take it that you all thought this through." He then got serious. "Fine then, the game is All Out battle, no tricks, no games. Guild vs Guild and winner takes all."

"Now that's more like it!" Shade said getting excited. "The battle field will be in the forest outside of Tokyo! Six versus Six!"

"Ok then, let's make our way to the battlefield then." Shadow said as they all began to make their way with Kotsubasa leading the pack.

"Are you sure this is all right Shadow? We can't let them win, but with those conditions they'll end up getting dissolved." Illu asked, a bit unsure about the battle.

"It was inevitable either way Illu; we'll worry about the outcome later." Shadow said as they continued on their way.

"I almost pity their naivety…."Muttered Ravena under her breath as the group soon arrived at the battlefield.

"Take care of the babies would you Punnya?" requested Ravena who nodded as flew over to Shadow and Angel to collect Amaya and Minnya respectively as she held them in her tail and flew to the sidelines.

Ravena nodded to Shadow who returned the gesture as the Guild members took their places on either side of the field as tensions ran high.

"Ready?" called Shadow to the opposing Guild.

"You bet!" came the reply from Shade who smirked confidently.

"3!" began the countdown from Shadow.

"2!" followed Shade.

"**1!" **they yelled together.

"_**GUILD WAR, LETS GO!"**_ commanded all the players at once.

In a flash, the ground began to rumble as both Guilds were lifted into the sky on a large floating platform. High above them, both emblems were projected along with the words, **KOTSUBASA VS KUROTSUBASA **flashing across the sky.

"HI~ EVERYBODY DID'JA MISS ME~?" a cheerful voice piped up as a familiar reporter and floating Mokona popped up on the field between the two Guilds much to their sudden surprise.

"Masukomi-san? What are you doing here?" asked Illu in surprise.

"I'm doing my job Sweetie~! As with every Guild War, it's my duty to perform the play-by-play no matter where it's held~!" the reporter explained as her glasses gleamed. "Plus, NO way in heck am I missing out on a major scoop like this~!"

"Puu~PUU~!"

Everyone tilted their heads a bit in confusion.

"Wait, if you're here, then what about the other battles going on now?" asked Mirage out of curiosity.

"Shadow Clones," replied Masukomi cheerfully pushing up her glasses.

"Pu-pu-pu-Puu~!" said CAM as if reminding the reporter.

"Of course CAM! Without further ado~! Let's get this PARTY STARTED!" cheered Masukomi excitedly as she jumped up and back-flipped to a special floating booth where Punnya and the babies were.

In a swift move, Masukomi took a seat and pulled out a microphone as CAM began recording.

"Hello FFW! Your No.1 Reporter Masukomi is here reporting to you live from the Forest just outside of Tokyo City where a new Guild is about to take place! The name of the game is an All-Out Battle between the rising star Guild Kurotsubasa and Kid Guild Kotsubasa!"

"WE ARE NOT KIDS!" yelled Shade and Angel irritably from the field.

"BITE ME!" retorted Masukomi as turned her attention back to CAM.

"ANYWHO~! Let the match Begin on my mark!" announced Masukomi pulling out a bell.

Both Guilds began to brace themselves as they readied into respective fighting stances. The air was still as tensions grew with a major staredown.

Punnya and the babies looked on and swallowed a bit when suddenly-

_**DING-DING! **_Masukomi sounded the bell.

In that instant, that was when the battle began. Gunshots rang out as DB and BB withdrew their weapons and began at each other as Shade transformed his arm into a scythe and lunged at Shadow who deflected the blade with his own scythe causing sparks to fly.

Two different colored flashes illuminated briefly as Cadet now transformed as Wild-Mutt snarled loudly as he body-slammed into Bella who had transformed into Hyna-Wolf as the two canid creatures began snarling and clawing each other.

The sound of metal rang out as Sora began swinging his Keyblade at Key who blocked with his own before dodging.

Up in the sky, wings and screeches could be heard as Illu and Mirage chased each other above the field riding an enlarged Mukurowl and Hippo respectively. At that moment, Ravena flew past the two maneuvering while dodging fire blasts from Angel who pursued her while blasting fire at the Nekomata with her Firey card.

"And they're off; looks like instead of any effort to try and team up a strategy, Kotsubasa branched out and separated into their own battles! Let's see if this guild's got some skills." Masukomi spoke into the mike.

(Shadow/Shade Battle)

Shade had now activated his AT's and was using them to add speed with his kicks; his large black scythe blade extended out his leg. Shade use his own scythe's blade and pole to deflect the boy's slashes. Shadow made a move to back away only to find he couldn't as he looked down and noticed the black threads holding his feet in place.

"**Shadow Pull Jutsu!**" Shade announced with a smirk as sparks of light lit up in his hand. "And now you're mine; **Soul Wavelength!**" Grabbing onto his own shadow he sent the sparks through the threads tying Shadow down.

The sparks streaked quickly across their path before the connected shadow then shot up into the area creating a spike where the energy began to gather. Shadow looked confused at the shadow's movement only to Shadow manipulating it, sending the current through the ground.

"Interesting trap you set up; I know there is a lot you can do with shadows, but to send your soul wavelength through them." A smirk ghosted it's way on Shadow's face. "You've really planned it out and it was a flawless execution; you've been practicing."

"Of course; those days when we weren't trying to get you to accept we went through hours of training, more than we ever did! We wanted to make sure we were ready for this battle!" Shade said getting pump.

"Well it shows in fact…" Shadow then slid into a proper stance with his Byakugan fully activated. "Show me what other tricks you've came up with Kid."

"I'll make you eat those words!" Shade said as he rushed back into the fray blade ready.

(Key/Sora Battle)

Blades clashed again as Key and Sora held onto their stalemate. After the clang of their metal they slid their weapons apart with Sora raising his ring and Key raising Infinity into the air.

"**Faith!**"

"**Regulus Impact!**"

Two columns of light burst forth from their respective items and pushed the fighters back from each other. Key now saw the large lion's head heading towards him; he responded with slamming OathBreaker into the ground and a pillar of dark flames absorbed the light based move.

"You really are the Key of Twilight; user of not just light but darkness as well." Sora said in response to the technique.

"One cannot be without the other; that's a lesson you learn quickly if you choose to wield a keyblade." Key said as he held his weapons proudly. "Like you I started with just a Kingdom Key and furthered my path. That's the start of how you learn…"

"Just like the forms" Sora said.

"You can blame your namesake for that." Key said joking about both of their favorite series.

"Well he had a good sense of forms when he got his." Sora smiled as well before holding his hand as it started to glow. "But Kingdom Hearts isn't the only place that I learned moves from." Just as he spoke three golden screens appeared around Key before they exploded in a bright light.

Sora relaxed his guard only to be shocked as Key suddenly appeared in front of him. Seeing the Beta already had his weapons primed he moved to defend only he was too slow as he received two strikes from the twin keyblades. As Sora righted himself he noticed a red outline fading around his body.

"What magic is that?" Sora asked.

"That spell, would be one you call **Slow** and I had to use its opposite **Haste** to avoid your archive magic." Key eye's then flashed and Sora saw the outline appeared again. The blond moved to defend only to see his body move as if through water. He turned up to see Key already before him with a gold outline around his form.

(DB/Beat-Boy Battle)

Both fighters rushed around each other as their guns fired, littering the ground with bullet holes and casings. DB was enjoying himself as the battle continued while Beat-Boy bobbed his head to the music only he could hear.

"I know you can hear me under those headphones. Those must really give you an edge in fights like this." DB complimented him as they both took a reprieve from the shoot-out.

"It helps getting rid of distractions; you can do wonders listening to the beats of your soul." Beat-Boy said.

"Couldn't have said it better myself; well I know your guns are special but if they only shoot fire then you'll need another weapon soon." DB said bringing up their last confrontation.

"These guns of mine do more than just shoot fire, just watch!" Beat-Boy's yelled as he then shot his guns in unison. **"Tornado Shot!"**

The two shots merged into one as they then wrapped themselves in wind. Soon a large tornado beamed through the air towards DB. The vampire smirked before jumping to the air and was expecting another shot of wind only to see Beat-Boy aim straight up.

"**Sunlight Shot!"**

The release of light was enough to blind DB temporarily as he wasn't expecting it; he could feel parts of his beginning to burn but he began to regenerate just as quickly. DB landed on the ground and wiped his eyes enough to clear his vision and see his opponent now holding a shotgun.

"I've heard some of your music, but let's see how well you dance!" The boy smirked.

"**Bullet Storm!"**

DB's eyes widened seeing the barrage of magic shots sent his way.

(Bella/CadetHero fight)

The two beasts kept clawing and swiping at each other after they separated from their tumble ball moments ago. The two feral fighters roared at each other as they began to circle around. Wildmutt chose this time to lunge only for Hyna-Wolf to knock him aside with a wide swing.

The vulpamancer rolled a bit only to transform into a large blue lizard and released a chilling cloud from his mouth that froze Hyna-Wolf solid. Articguana moved closer to observe his ice breath's work only for the ice to shine green and for it to shatter. Its green eyes looked up to see Bella free and now taking the form of…

"**Let me tell you something little lizard; no one puts Rath inside of an ice cube without expecting a beatdown!"** The biped tiger roared out as he made his way to the lizard.

Cadet responded by changing as well and now was in a grapple between Rath and his Four-Arms form.

"**You think Quad-Hands is gonna help you; let me tell you something junior. I eat small fry like him for breakfast!"** Rath said as he pushed his strength against the red skinned humanoid.

Four-Arms appeared to struggle but then smirked as he made a hand sign with his two free arms. Instantly two more Four-Arms appeared behind him with rasengans ready in their hands; Rath was then hit by a barrage of rasengan as the sphere sent him spiraling away into the ground. Dust flew as Four-Arms then changed into XLR8 and cleared the dust and saw Rath was not in the crater he made.

The raptor scratched his helmet in confusion, not noticing the trap until a hand broke out the ground and pulled him down to his neck. XLR8 moved and moved as Kakashi then dug his way from underground.

"**Always expect the unexpected my cute little genin."** Kakashi playfully said as he read his favorite book.

Cadet then changed back and was now able to climb out as he took a second to catch his breath. He then gave the jounin a closed eyed smile as he materialized more clones around him.

"**Shadow Clones again, you got Rath with that technique but you forget I do have experience with this jutsu."** Kakashi said, though he became full alert as all of them opened their eyes to reveal red pupils with two black tomoes in each eye.

"**This battle just got a whole lot more troublesome."** Kakashi pulled up his headband and revealed his own Sharingan.

(Illu/Mirage Battle)

The aerial battle continued with Mira directing Hippo to try and strike while Illu had Mukurowl evade their efforts. Mirage had used her staff to try and hit them with a spear of air only for Mukurowl to once again evade it.

"I won't let keep dodging forever; **Sky God's Boreas!**" Mirage then sent out a black whirlwind towards them. Illu was prepared to avoid the spell only to see the whirlwind trap them, limiting their mobility.

"Looks like her plan wasn't just to attack you, but trap us so that we can no longer dodge." Nyoka pointed out as they started at the cyclone swirling around them.

"This doesn't remind me at all of how she first attacked, could they really have learned so much in only a week?" Illu then tensed up as she saw movement from behind the storm. "Muku-chan, dodge right!" She ordered and the large owl veered out the way of a large wave of air that was aimed at them.

"Above!" Illu called out as another portion of the whirlwind branched off to attack them. Soon now blades of wind came from all directions; after a while Illu looked down to Nyoka who nodded and proceeded to transform.

"I haven't used this sphere much; Kagutsuchi-san please give me strength." Illu prayed as bright ribbons wrapped around her form.

"Did we get her Hippo?" Mirage asked from outside the cyclone having used Sky Dragon's Claw multiple times to attack the group from the air.

The Hippogriff screeched a reply as he didn't lighten his guard for a moment. Mirage's answer came when a large blast erupted out of her attack. Mirage was about to order an attack only to see that no one was riding on Mukurowl's back; the confused girl looked and was too late to see the sword that was coming down her way.

"**Ignition Break!"** Illu called out her attack as her new long sword lit aflame. Mirage quickly used her staff to try and make a wall of wind and an explosion had both girls flown back. Mirage had got Hippo steady in the air as Illu was then caught by Mukurowl.

Mirage took a minute to admire Illu's new change. The hybrid now sported heavy black and spiked armor that covered most of her body. Parts of Illu's thighs were visible and showed she also had on dark green shorts; also Illu's face was still visible as the helmet piece remained open and over her long hair. In her hand was a large custom broadsword, the Masamune.

"Sorry Muku-chan, the armor isn't too heavy is it?" Illu asked in concern while Mukurowl showed no problem supporting her in the air.

"So that's one of your dress-spheres, even in armor you still look elegant and feminine." Mirage stated as she the armor wasn't that bulky the way it formed around Illu.

"Really I don't like using this sphere since it puts me in a position I'm not usually comfortable in; however," Illu then placed her other hand on the Masamune and arced it. "This sphere allows me…to fight along the front with my friends!"

Mirage was in awe at that statement before she reminded herself she was in a battle. "Right, but how are you going to be able to dodge now that you're in heavy armor? Not even your owl can fly you as fast as before to dodge me now!" To make her point, Mirage then began sucking in the air around her.

"**Sky Dragon's Roar!" **Mirage's cheeks puffed out and she released a large tornado blast towards Illu.

Instead of dodging Illu mentally told Mukurowl to hover still as she held her sword in front of her. As the blast met them Illu's sword then began absorbing the attack into itself.

"**Magic Break!"** Illu called out as the wind was completely swallowed up by the sword. Illu then swung at the air releasing a shockwave that Mirage had Hippo quickly avoid. "With this sword I might be slower…but your magic is now useless."

Mirage clenched her teeth as she began focusing her power into her Hurricane Tact. "You forgot something, my element is the sky and guess exactly where we're fighting?!" Soon wind traveled along her staff and formed a visible blade creating a scythe for the girl as she brandished it before her.

"_**Hurricane Tact, Weapon Mode! Kamaitachi vr.1!"**_

'So she can materialize the wind into a solid construct. Her skills have improved since last time…though she is still a reckless child.' Nyoka spoke telepathically.

'Reckless or not; this battle will go to who can make better use of the sky.' Illu thought back as she readied her sword once more. The fighters then had their pets charge forward letting their blades clash.

(Ravena/Angel Battle)

"Come princess, ya gotta do better than that if you wanna hit me~!" teased Ravena as she easily maneuvered around Angel's blasts.

Suddenly Angel smirked as she sudden call-whistled. All of sudden, Ravena felt her arms being gripped as she looked to her sides to a red and blue hulking spirit on either side.

"Zenki and Kouki?" asked Ravena in surprise before smiling, sincerely a bit impressed. "Ha, so can you use other magic besides the Star Cards."

"You ain't seen nothing yet!" smirked Angel as she kept her Star Key and held up her bracelet making Ravena widen her eyes in recognition at the artifact.

"No way! That's the Magical Bracelet!" exclaimed Ravena in surprise.

"Then you should know what it does!" stated Angel as the bracelet began to shine as a sphere popped out and entered Angel's body, making her glow.

Transformation Music began to play as Angel's body began to grow into that of a young woman as her hair extended out and turned blond. Her dress disappeared and was replaced by blue and white tunic/dress of sorts with a red mantle and shoulder armor along with red and white ankle boots.

"_**With Love,"**_ began Angel now with a more mature voice as jewelry such as winged diadem, a brooch, choker and bracelets with the Magical Bracelet on her left wrist. _**"Courage….and Hope…"**_

"_**I give you, Magical Princess Holy-Up!"**_ finished Angel with a pose and a smile in her new form.

"Akazukin Cha Cha…. She really has a thing for the classics doesn't she?" muttered Ravena while Zenki and Kouki nodded in agreement.

"_**Magical Serene Arrow~!"**_ called Angel summoning a golden bejeweled bow and drawing back the arrow at Ravena with a confident smile. "We're done here…."

Ravena narrowed her eyes as if to challenge her.

"_**MAGICAL SHOOT!"**_ yelled Angel firing at Ravena who kept her head down as the glow advanced on her.

Unknown to Angel, Ravena gave a small smile as the arrow seemingly made contact and exploded. As the smoke clouds rose Angel was smiling at her successful attack only for her eyes to widen seeing as the arrow remained embedded within a magic barrier.

"Like I said, it's going to take more than that if you want to beat me!" Soon two large tails wrapped around the summoned demons and held them high in the air as they released Ravena. The nekomata then used her tails to throw the oni at Angel only for her to change them back into spirits.

"Oh I got more; I haven't even gotten close to showing you what I got!" Angel said as she used her bracelet again to transform.

"Like I'm going to let you change without attacking nya!" Ravena took a step only to feel a sharp pain as holy energy appeared around her. As she looked around she soon saw that she was surrounded by a large ring of purification beads.

"**It seems that the girl has learned her lesson a tad bit, or at least she's learning better ways to manage her magic." ** Felis said in annoyance to the holy energy conflicting with their demonic energy.

'Well I kind of did give her a chance to Felis.' Felidae thought back as the transformation died down.

Angel's form this time looked close to her original only she had fairer and light skin and black cat features with a large red ribbon and golden bell on her tail. Short bubblegum pink hair and pink eyes replaced her features along with a shoulderless pink dress with pink lace chocker and armbands as well as red gloves and boots.

"What better way to finish off a cat, Mew Ichigo!" Angel announced her new form as she struck a pose. _**"For the People's Protection of the Earth, I will serve you nya~!"**_

From her tail she summoned a weapon to her hand, the Strawberry Bell. It was a pink heart shaped ring with a green top and gold ribbon with a bell attached to the center.

"This will take you out for sure! Ribbon Strawberry Surprise!" A blast of light fired out directly towards the paralyzed neko.

"It looks like there are more to these kids than meets the eye. Will the black wing's reign end or will they finally take off the kiddie gloves?" Masukomi asked seeing how the battle continued.

(Shadow and Shade)

"Kiddie gloves, what does she mean?" Shade asked as he gathered his breath after his continuous assault. He had stopped using his blade in exchange for his chakra blades and his clothes showed ruffles and scratches from the battle. Shade looked to Shadow who still haven't received a scratch yet.

"She means exactly as she said." Shadow then sighed. "Do you really think any of us would seriously use our full power?"

"Full power…" Several explosions went off and cause the two guild leaders to watch as their teammates battle. "You guys aren't fighting as hard as we are?! How can you not be going all out?!" In his rage Shade rolled forwards with blades of chakra ready.

"Simple…" Just before the blades connected Shadow then vanished. Shade stopped himself and looked around not feeling something appear directly on his shadow.

"If we went all out this battle would've been over to fast."

Shade froze hearing Shadow speak directly behind him; he turned to try and land a slash only to feel a palm press into his side and arm causing him to drop one blade. As Shade stumbled he barely got his remaining blade up to guard Shadow, now using the fallen chakra blade.

"Now you're using my weapon?!" Shade then winced feeling the pain the suppressed chakra points.

"Well I needed to distract you somehow." Shadow admitted.

Shade wondered what he meant until he saw Shadow's free hand which grasped his scythe. In a second the blade grew white and transformed into the signature Witch Hunter.

"Might want to brace yourself kid, this is going to hurt." Shadow then slashed the Witch Hunter downward, blasting Shade away with the shockwave. Seeing Shade off on the ground he then called out to the others. "This challenge has gone on long enough; start wrapping it up everyone!"

(Bella and Cadet)

"So we can finally stop playing around?" Kakashi then closed his book as he observed the battle field around him. The clones have been reduced down to a single Cadet whose focus was on the jounin with his own spinning Sharingan. "Well Cadet, at least that's what Bella said you're name I'm afraid I'll have to wrap this up." A flash later and then Kakashi was gone.

Cadet scanned around for any movement just as the air behind him distorted. The young teal head boy was too late and turned to see the punch from Tobi that sent him sprawling across the stage. He tried to stand up to see the Uchiha gone but a hand phased from the ground and then threw him away further.

"About time Shads called it, even though I was having fun." Bella said as she changed back.

(Key and Sora)

Within another stalemate Key used his higher strength to push Sora away. The young fighter was about to bring out his regulus again when he then felt more power coming from Key.

"You wanted to see a forme right; well to make this fight end quicker I'll show you one." Key then closed his eye as he focused his powers. Soon a brilliant light erupted that made even Sora wince and turn away to avoid being blinded. When Sora was able to look again he stood frozen at Key's new look.

Key's outfit had changed, mimicking that of a sage or a priest and was white with gold trim in contrast to his signature black coat. The Beta's appearance had changed as well now having crystal blue eyes and blond hair. In his hands, Infinity still remained but in his other hand stood the new keyblade, OathKeeper.

"_**Bow before the light; Holy!"**_ Key aimed his keyblades and they fired beams of light at Sora, though his eyes also shined a dull grey color. Sora made to move again only for a new grey outline to form around him except now he could not move. The beams weren't powerful to penetrate through him, but had the force to knock him toward his teammates.

(DB and Beat-Boy)

"Oh well, I guess this concert has to end." DB said as he avoided another wave of magic bullets.

"And how are you going to do that?!" BB asked as he combined his guns again to form a shotgun for his attack. As the wide spray of bullets aimed at DB, the older vampire lit up a large ball of fire that formed a shield that swallowed the bullets.

The flames died away showing DB in his battle mode; katana in hand as he ignited it. "Let's wrap this up!" DB then slammed his sword down on the ground creating a wide fissure of flame that swirled and swallowed everything in its path including Beat-Boy.

The vampire blood protected Beat-Boy but he was carried away by the flame's power and spiraling outwards away from the older player.

(Illu and Mirage)

Illu then nodded her head and then held out her hand allowing for her outfit to transform back to its original appearance. Nyoka appeared snaked on the girl's wrist and traveled back to her spot around Illu's neck.

"I'm sorry I had to go so rough, but it appears that it's time we end our match." Illu said to her airborne opponent.

"What do you mean time to end?" Mirage asked as she and Hippo were starting to waiver in the air. After Illu's transformation the dogfight continued but with Mirage and Hippo playing defense from Illu's new magic blocking potential. She looked down to her Hurricane Tact and saw the wind scythe wavering slightly.

"You two can barely maintain this air duel and before your magic had no chance as long as I was using my dressphere." Illu explained. "It is best that we end this before you both drop from exhaustion…Muku-chan!" llu then ordered as Mukurowl flew straight towards the two.

"No way are we going to back down…Hippo!" Mirage ordered and the hippogriff resumed the dogfight.

Just as the two were playing a game of chicken Mirage noticed the air wavering around the large owl. "Illusions don't work on me, there is a reason I'm you're protégé!" Mirage yelled as she kept her pace. What she didn't expect out the wavering form was a lavender blur to shoot out and capture them both.

Illu; now in her hybrid form, grabbed hold of the hippogriff with her large talons as she continued her divebomb towards her goal, just as she got close to the ground she did a quick turn throwing the two down back into the ground and towards her guild before landing herself. Seeing that she didn't hurt them took badly Illu then returned to normal.

(Ravena and Angel)

Angel saw the smoke from her attack and let out a sigh as she began to change back to normal. "I've used up almost all my mana with everything, but I'm sure that was what got her." She said in relief.

"Hey you need to watch it with that, nearly took the fur off my tails nya!" From the smoke two enlarge tails appeared with a metallic sheen to them. Ravena's tails then shrunk back as she used them to block the attack the magic girl had used previously.

"Looks like you ran out of power, your beads are gone." Ravena said noticing the beads were lying useless on the ground before they vanished.

"I have just enough to keep going!" Angel said as she began rummaging for cards.

"Oh really, even if you're able to use magic with the cards that would make them weaker because your magic pool is draining." Ravena lectured her. "But you won't have to worry about that."

"Huh?" Angel stopped.

"When you're sleeping you get mana faster." Ravena smiled as she summoned her magic. "Here's a special one of mine, _**Hana Hana Hanabi!**_" A flurry of fireworks flew out forming sparks of flowers blinding Angel. As the girl tried rubbing her eyes she never noticed the black energy spreading around her body that then sent her flying into her guild's power.

"You're not the only one with classic powers." Ravena said as the black energy left her hand.

"KYAAAAA!" screamed Angel before suddenly being caught by a strong pair of arms as she and the person tumbled a bit.

"That was a close!" exclaimed Shadow who was holding Angel close to him, making the girl look up at him with a twinkle in her eyes. "Next time a little closer to the ground Rave!"

"My bad!"

Shadow placed Angel down and smiled not noticing the girl's eyes had gone all big and sparkly. In her eyes, all she saw was her Prince Charming as she just sat there on the floor as Shadow walked back to his team.

"Angel!" called Mira as she and Hippo ran up to the Exceed her and saw she had a goofy smile on her face while bubbly hearts were floating around her. _Slap!_ "Snap out of it Angel! We're not ending this battle yet!"

Angel quickly snapped out of her stupor and nodded as she stood up while the others gathered with her. Shade stepped forward with looking incredibly angry. "We were serious fighting you guys! And you're all treating us like a joke!"

Shadow returned the glare to such a degree that the Kotsubasa guild shrunk back a little. The older boy was clearly annoyed.

"Look Shade, we are well aware that you are serious. But don't you dare say we were taking you and your group as a joke!" he barked as the rest of Kurotsubasa also began looking just as stern. "But if you want us to show you how serious we are…then **so be it!" **he said darkly as Kurotsubasa began rushing at them this time.

The Kotsubasa Guild cried out too as they ran forward for the final clash. "BB!" commanded Shade as he grabbed the boy's hand and glowed.

BB's eyes glowed red as Shade fully transformed into a black scythe with a decorated blue blade and swung him around as he made a full dash at Shadow. DB quickly jumped before Shadow and fired a few rounds at BB who expertly deflected them as he jumped into the air and brought the blade down on Shadow who blocked the strike as Ravena placed her hands on Shadow's shoulders and used them to lift her body up as she swung around and knocked BB out of the air with a swift kick.

Angel jumped in just as quickly as BB got knocked away and swung her Star staff at Ravena who evaded it easily. Angel flipped a few times as she landed before pulling out a card. " Bestow upon me your fighting prowess! _**FIGHT CARD!"**_ she commanded as the card glowed and entered Angel as she leaped forward and began pulling out a barrage of kicks and punches like a martial artist master while Ravena dodged, blocked before jumping away as Illu appeared and knocked Angel back with the bottom of her glaive.

Suddenly, Mirage jumped in pulling apart her staff into two as she began flinging small shots of wind at Illu who easily cut them apart when she heard a screech as Hippo suddenly landed on top of her and pinned her down her talons.

The Hippogirff screeched to deliver another blow when Nyoka suddenly shot out of Illu's hair and enlarged herself, hissing as she tackled Hippo away. Nyoka quickly coiled herself around Hippo to prevent him from flying while Mukurowl also flew in and raked Hippo with his talons as the three creatures tumbled about on the field.

"_**Regulus BEAM!"**_ cried out Sora, blasting a stream of light at Bella who quickly redirected the light at Mira and Cadet by transforming into Diamondhead.

Cadet quickly became Cannonbolt and rolled away from the danger before releasing her and transforming back some distance away. Cadet quickly pulled out a slingshot and created a Shadow clone who along with Mira began forming a Rasen-Shuriken in the original Cadet's hand. Just as soon as it was ready, Cadet was able to fit it onto his slingshot as a teal colored visor materialized over his eyes.

With the Visor, a target began fixating on Key who was clashing with Sora as the body released the Rasen-Shuriken which flew directly at Key. Shadow quickly jumped forth and slashed the Shuriken away resulting in a huge explosion.

Masukomi, CAM and the Manju quickly dove under the desk for cover as the explosion blew across the field. When it finally passed Masukomi and the others cautiously popped their heads out. The blast had left them all in a mess with Masukomi's glasses slightly cracked with her hair standing up while her uniform was all messed up. Punnya, CAM and the babies all had their fluff standing out as well from the blast but were otherwise alright.

"Wow! What a blast! Literally!" exclaimed Masukomi readjusting her cracked glasses as she peered into the dust cloud, the air now quiet. "But is the battle finally over? Who won?!" she asked when CAM tapped her shoulder and pointed up to the floating emblems.

The small group looked eagerly at the two emblems when suddenly- _**FLASH!**_ The Kotsubasa emblem disappeared as the Kurotsubasa Emblem enlarged and stood out just as the dust cleared to show all the Kotsubasa members lying scattered everywhere on the field all stunned with swirly eyes having being knocked out from the force of the explosion. Hippo was on his side also stunned and knocked out as Nyoka and Mukurowl returned to their master. The Kurotsubasa members were also slightly stunned but otherwise alright as they all stood up and waved to CAM.

"Kotsubasa Is Unable To Battle! THE WINNER IS KUROTSUBASA!" cheered Masukomi as she made hands grow out of everywhere with the Devil Fruit power to create loud sounds off applause while some of her clones appeared and applauded while cheering loudly as well.

In a flash, the field disappeared leaving things as they were before.

A few minutes later, Kotsubasa stood together with their heads hung in shame. Mira half buried her face into Hippo's neck while Minnya tried to comfort Angel who was holding back tears of frustration. BB and Sora both looked incredibly solemn while Cadet wrung his beret in his hands, his usual grin now gone while Shade was clenching his fists while wiping his nose that had begun to drip.

Kurotsubasa was standing a bit farther away from them having a small discussion.

The girls looked over at the other guild pitifully. "Oh, do we have to disband them Shads?" asked Bella feeling sorry for them.

Shadow nodded and folded his arms. "Yes Bella that was the agreement. This is for their own good."

"It's a shame, I kinda like BB," stated DB looking over a bit. "He's got some good moves."

Illu also looked sorry. "Can't we-?"

"No!" came the sharp reply form Shadow.

"But-" Key tried this time.

"No!"

"You kn-" Ravena tried to say.

"For the last time, NO!" said Shadow stubbornly when Punnya suddenly smacked him upside the head with her tail.

"PUNNYA! NYA-NYA!" she scolded Shadow wagging her tail like a finger. "Punnya-Pu-pu Pun Punnya!"

Ravena nodded in agreement while the others looked confused. Nyoka slithered out from Illu's sleeve and slithered onto her shoulder. "Punnya-san said that Shadow-san is being incredibly stubborn and unreasonable and you should be ashamed of yourself!" translated Nyoka to Shadow.

"But I-"

"NYA! Pun-Nya! Pu-Pu-Nya-Pun! Punnya!" scolded Punnya some more as she jabbed her tail at Shadow. "Pun! Punnya-Pun-Nya-Nya!"

"She said you are not being fair to Kotsubasa since they looked up to you and the others," translated Nyoka some more. "She said Amaya would be very upset too."

In order to prove her point, Punnya held up Amaya who began looking up at Shadow with huge, huge sparkly sad eyes. "U-Pyon…"

"Oh…Amaya…don't look at me like that…don't-Oh come on!" Shadow tried to protest as Punnya also joined in as well as the two manju flopped their ears down a bit.

"I'm not gonna fall for that! It won't work!"

The girls all exchanged looks and nodded as they too joined in and began looking at Shadow with big pleading eyes. DB and Key were snickering as they saw he was starting to crumble.

Shadow tried closing his eyes to resist until he made the mistake of peeking to see that the Manju and girls had resorted to using the quivering pouty lips. Poor Shadow finally caved in as he gave a loud groan.

"OK FINE! Maybe there is another way…." He muttered as the girls and Manjus exchanged victorious smiles and high-fived each other while Key and DB both jokingly kow-towed several times to the girls in respect. Sighing in defeat he made his way to the dejected Kotsubasa.

"We were doing so good from the start, how did we end up losing?" Shade asked no one as he tried to hold back his tears.

"You don't know? As a guild's leader you should know your teammates limits better than anyone."

Kotsubasa all looked to see Shadow standing before them. "If you had known you wouldn't had put the stakes up so high."

"Well I guess I won't be making that mistake again." Shade said as he pulled something out from his jacket. He then handed the emblem to Shadow, who looked down at the small silver item.

"That's right, you won't be making that mistake…" Shadow said and tossed it back to a surprised Shade.

"Huh, but I thought the losing guild had to disband." Sora said as he brought up the condition of the match.

"That is true, your rules were the losing guild had to disband and acknowledge the other as superior." Shadow said. "However; you need to look up all the Guild War rules. The losing guild first does one request from the winner regardless of conditions." He explained.

"So what is the request?" Mirage said nervously.

"We'll let you all stay as a Guild," Shadow said. "Provided you all drop out from the Guild Wars."

"Eh?!" All of Kotsubasa spoke at once.

"You heard me, quit the Guild Wars and you don't have to disband." Shadow said while folding his arms. "Unless you all really want to quit."

"Oh no no, we definitely want to stay a guild!" Shade said waving his hands while laughing nervously. "Ok We'll do it!"

Shadow then sighed again. "Honestly, you all have potential but you're too misguided. It took us rejecting you to get you more prepared and ready for a battle; I'll admit you did better than I anticipated but if we accepted your first challenge the match would've ended quicker." Seeing their sad faces now he then added… "So what's a protégé supposed to do but seek help from their teachers."

"Really, then does that mean?" Beat- Boy asked.

"With this that part of your guild won't be a lie. However; know that if you keep this up we'll expect you to work hard." Shadow said.

"Of course we will, we all promise right guys!" Angel said wiping away some loose tears as the rest nodded their heads.

"That's good to hear hopefully you don't regret it." Shadow said as the battlefield soon returned back to the forest. "It's getting late, so tomorrow you'll get to the base and meet your teachers."

"Got it, you won't regret this I swear." Shade said after wiping his face and smiling. "Of course all this would do is help me defeat you in the future."

"We'll see about that kid, even if you try you'll have to get in line."

"Hey my name is not-" Shade's mouth was then covered by Cadet's hand.

"…!"

"Right what Cadet said, we'll meet you guys tomorrow!" Mirage said clearly happy as they all gathered up and dragged Shade away with them.

"Looks like that went well, seeing those smiles on their faces nya." Shadow then turned to see the rest of Kurotsubasa walk over to him.

"Yeah, if not for you all guilt tripping me." Shadow said with a frown.

"Hey Key and I had nothing to do with that; it's not our fault you can't resist cute faces." DB said with a smirk.

"Whatever, just be sure to deal with yours when they get to the base tomorrow." Shadow said as a tick-mark formed.

"Still I think it was a good thing to let them stay active; seeing a fun guild like that is rare. That's why I like small guilds; it makes sure that all the members are close." Illu smiled.

"I get what you mean Illu-tan; we got a big house, a nice family and now we've got kids to spoil. Kind of feels that we skipped marriage in a way huh Illu?" Ravena said a bit teasingly.

"R-Ravena-chan, I don't really t-think about it that m-much." Illu said blushing a bit at Ravena's notion.

"Well at least we now have fun little students to teach!" Bella said in excitement.

"You say fun now; you've never really been in a position of having to teach before." Shadow said.

"Still what happened between you and Rose has a less likely chance of happening now, and even then we have everyone else to fall back on." Key said.

"I was talking about that, you'll see when you guys actually start teaching." Everyone seemed slightly confused over what Shadow mean by that but before anyone could ask he had already started walking. Kurotsubasa then set off back to their base to rest for the day and await what teaching would be like tomorrow.

Meanwhile Masukomi stood in front CAM with her mic and smiled. "Well, there you have it folks, it looks like Kurotsubasa won and kids lost, but it looks like those kids gained new mentors as well. I guess everyone leaves a winner today~! Until next time~ This is news with me! Masukomi!"

(The Next Day)

The next morning, Kurotsubasa Guild met up again outside their base as Key unlocked it.

"Man, was yesterday's battle exhausting or what?" stated DB stretching himself as the group entered as soon as the doors opened.

Bella pumped a fist in the air excitedly. "I can't wait to start training with-!"

"SHH!" Ravena and Illu said together suddenly and pointed in the direction of their living room where they heard excited chatter. Quickly the group moved in to see, much to their surprise, Kotsubasa running about the room checking out stuff excitedly.

Mira was chasing Cadet about with her staff as he ate chocolate bar while Sora shifted about the room taking note of everything in fascination. Hippo lay down in a corner asleep with Minnya. BB had somehow gotten a hold of a pair DB's drumsticks and was tapping out a rhythm.

"Hmm lets try this spell, _Light and airy, floating in the air, conjure me some lovely bubbles to spare~"_chanted Angel reading from one of Ravena's spellbooks which she somehow acquired making some little heart shape bubbles appear around her.

Shadow face planted himself in his hands and groaned. "How the heck…-Is that my Jacket?!" he demanded as he pointed to Shade gaining the attention of the younger Guild.

"Oh, Hey Shadow! You got so much cool stuff in here!" exclaimed Shade who was wearing Shadow's jacket.

"How did you get in here?!"

In response the kids all pointed to Cadet who grinned and waved. While Key made a mental note to change the locks and up the system.

"Angel! Please give me that book back, that is not a toy!" asked Ravena when Angel suddenly stuck her tongue out.

"Make me!" she said suddenly flying off.

"ANGEL!" yelled Ravena giving chase.

"Hey! My Lucky Drumsticks!" exclaimed DB as he made a grab at them only for BB to pull them away as he too dashed off.

"NOOOO! THAT'S MY LAST MARSHMELLOW FLUFFY CHOCKY BAR! I WAS SAVING THAT!" wailed Bella in despair as she ran after Cadet angrily.

"Bella-chan! Mira-chan! Please Calm Down!" exclaimed Illu chasing after them.

"Can I please have a tour of this place Key?" asked Sora walking up to Key who smiled.

"Sure lets go!" answered the Beta as he lead Sora away, leaving Shadow to groan and face-plant himself.

Shade walked up to him grinning happily. "We're gonna have a lot of fun aren't we Shadow?"

Shadow slowly turned and glared at Shade with a dark look on his face as he slowly raised his fist.

_**BONK! **_"YEOW!" Shade's cry off pain could be heard echoing loudly in the air.

_**AND NOW IT'S TIME FOR, FFW NEWS!**_

Trumpets fan-fared in the air as a news room illuminated revealing Masukomi sitting down at her desk.

"Hello to all my viewers~! This is FFW News with me, Masukomi~!" greeted the reporter cheerfully.

"Pu-PUU~!" greeted a Mokona jumping onto the desk.

"And CAM~!" added Masukomi petting the Mokona. "Also I would like to introduce our special guest, the Head of Administration; Cast49~!"

The sound of audience cheering and clapping could be heard the light shone on Cast49 who waved to the camera.

"Hello everyone~!" she greeted.

Masukomi smiled as she adjusted her glasses. "Today on FFW News, we are talking about the one subject that everyone's been talking about nowadays; The Guild Wars~!"

"Pu-Pu-PUU~!" cheered CAM, bouncing up and down excitedly as Masukomi turned to Cast.

"So Cast, can you give us a brief overview on what the Guild Wars is for our not so experienced viewers out there?"

Cast smiled as CAM hopped into her arms. "Of course, it would be my pleasure~!" she replied as CAM's gem glowed and projected the many different emblems of the various existing Guilds on to the background.

"As you can guess from the name, the Guild Wars is a major competition between various Guilds in FFW," Cast began explaining. "This competition is extremely important for Guilds as the more victories each Guild secures, the faster they rise in ranks and the more fame and territory they can gain as well."

Masukomi nodded a bit. "BUT, while FFW is home to various Guilds across all servers but usually there is a case of overcrowding," the reporter said. "That's why we have the Guild Wars as a mean to help regulate the numbers."

"Pu-Puu-pu-PUU~!" agreed CAM.

"That's right Komi-chan~ that's because when a Guild loses a War they have to abide to the one request posed by the other Guild, and the most usual one being to disband," continued Cast as she indicated on the screen the red Xs marking the already disbanded Guilds. "However, even if a Guild is lucky enough not to be requested to disband, they would have to eventually if said Guild earns too many losses during the War."

Masukomi adjusted glasses as she and CAM both folded their arms and nodded solemnly. "That is a very sorry thing to hear," she commented when she noticed the time.

"Uh-oh! Looks like we're out of time! Thank you for joining us Cast!" said Masukomi regaining her cheerful demeanor once more before turning to the camera. "And thank YOU all for tuning in to FFW News! Stay tuned for the next program which is our Halloween Special~! And that's news with me, Masukomi~!"

"Bye~!"/ "PU-PUU~!" said Cast and CAM in unison.

* * *

><p><strong>Looks like another guild battle is done and ended with another ally for Kurotsubasa; for those of you wondering it won't be that way for long. It's about time we get back to the more serious nature of the story. That won't be for a while since after working on these two and another special project I'm taking a small breather from writing FFW…need time for the imagination tanks to fill for it and I've been neglecting other works. So until next time everyone and Happy Halloween!<strong>

**-Shadowlight0982 out.**


	30. Halloween 2013

**A special night for a couple of chapters; yeah that's right two. Since tonight is the festive night of Halloween me and a certain catgirl we all know and love sat down and prepared these two pages of story for ya. Enjoy because it includes some surprising tricks and some amazing treats. So all of you sit back and enjoy the special night, hope you've got your candy snug in your basket and your doors locked to keep the ghouls out. The freaks do come out at night. Bad joke aside enjoy the filler.**

* * *

><p>"I can't believe we're actually doing this..." muttered Shadow as he finished clipping on a yellow utility belt before readjusting his eye mask.<p>

"Speak for yourself Boy Wonder; you don't have to wear all this metal…." Said DB as he clenched his metal fists. "Why do I have to be Cyborg?"

"Because**_ you're_** the tallest," replied Shadow as he looked in the mirror. He was dressed up as Robin from the Teen Titans while DB was sitting in on the sofa dressed as Cyborg. At that moment, a door opened as Key entered the main room in his costume dressed as Beast-Boy.

"The song was right….It **_is_** not easy being green…" joked the Beta as he finished putting on his gloves. "That was a lot of face paint!"

"I still think we should have done Hellsing," complained DB folding his arms.

"Come on DB, we all agreed whoever won got to choose, and Bella won it fair and square," reasoned Shadow as the boys all recalled how this all happened.

(Couple of days ago in the Real World)

_It was a sunny afternoon as the gang was enjoying the lovely tropical weather of Infinity Island by eating lunch together on the rooftop garden of Murakumo Ind. HQ._

_"You know guys, I was just thinking…." Abby spoke up suddenly, prompting the others to look up from their meals as she readjusted her glasses. "Halloween is coming soon and I was thinking… we should do a group cosplay in FFW…"_

_The others exchanged looks with each other. _

_"I'm game!" piped Bella enthusiastically before taking another big bite out of the burrito she was eating._

_"I'm with Bella," said Michael in agreement with a grin while Kohaku who was sipping her can of tea nodded._

_Leon swallowed his food and smiled. "It does sound like fun!"_

_"I'm ok with it," agreed Shawn putting his sandwich down. "But what do you have in mind?"_

_"I was thinking Naruto Shippuden actually," suggested Abby readjusting her glasses once more._

_"I vote Teen Titans!" cheered Bella raising her hand up enthusiastically while Michael put up a hand._

_"Please! Hellsing all the way!" he exclaimed._

_"A-actually, Fairy Tail is not so bad either," Kohaku pointed out shyly._

_"Kingdom Hearts sounds good too," Leon suggested while Shawn shrugged._

_"Honestly, I'd go for Blazblue myself," admitted the boy. "But if we're gonna do a group cosplay, we have to agree on something."_

_The group fell silent. Each of them wanted a different theme but they also wanted to make this fair as well. _

_"Rock-Paper-Scissors?" suggested Michael out of the blue._

_The others looked at each other before shrugging and nodding. The mini match began which went on for a couple of rounds but Bella ended up victorious. So in the end as agreed, everyone was dressing up as members of the Teen Titans._

(Present time)

_"Come on Owl-girl you look great~!"_ the boys suddenly heard Bella exclaim from outside the room.

_"Why does this character have to wear such a revealing outfit!"_ they heard Illu complain in embarrassment.

_"Actually this outfit is considered modest-nya. Obviously, you have not seen her in the comics," _Ravena's voice rationalized next.

_"Kitty's got a point!"_ agreed Bella.

_"Punnya~!" "U-Pyon~!"_ the two manju piped up just as the door open to reveal the girls walking in.

The guys all nodded in approval as they saw their female team-mates.

"Not bad girls," commented Key while Bella chuckled a bit.

"Likewise, boys," she replied.

Illu was dressed as Starfire much to her embarrassment as she blushed brightly while awkwardly adjusting her costume. She had on a red wig over her lavender hair and green contacts in order to, as Bella put it, look more the part. An un-amused Nyoka was held in her arms wearing a mutant worm suit playing the part of Starfire's pet silkworm, Silkie.

"The things I do for loyalty…." She muttered monotonously.

"I think you look adorable Nyoka-san," complimented Illu with a small smile.

Nyoka looked up a bit at her Mistress and returned the smile a bit before suddenly averting her eyes and blushing. "W-well, i-i-i-if Illu-sama says so~!"

"I told ya'!" said Bella with a grin. The toon girl was dressed as Terra with her hair down and her fringe held back with goggles along with the complete costume.

"You don't look so bad yourself _Terra_," said Ravena with a smirk.

Bella grinned happily. "Right back at cha' _Raven~!"_ she replied as Ravena stepped out as the Teen Titan Raven and returned the smile as she lowered her hood.

DB gave the girls a wolf whistle when Shadow noticed something different about the cat-girl.

"Ravena…your ears! And Tails!" he pointed out in surprise.

Sure enough, said Nekomata girl now looked relatively more human than usual. Unlike the other two girls, Ravena still pretty much looked like herself except she had used her magic to alter her eye color to match her character while she hid her tails and wings.

"Huh? Oh, right!" went Ravena as her ears suddenly popped out from her head as she clicked her fingers making her tails pop out.

"I just needed to fold my ears down and temporarily get rid of my wings and tails with my Glamour Spell," she explained as Ravena snapped her fingers once more as her wings and tails disappeared again while she folded her ears under her hair and put up her hood.

At that moment, Punnya came flying out with Amaya on her head along with Mukurowl. They too had their own theme of costumes based on Sanrio characters.

Punnya and Amaya had colored themselves all white with the Neko-Manju sporting a red bow on her left ear while the Usa-Manju wore a red hood with a white flower. Mukurowl on the other hand was dressed in a blue and white penguin suit with a red bow-tie and a round white sailor cap with a red ribbon.

"Awwww~!" squealed Bella happily.

"Muku-chan you look so adorable~!" gushed Illu as Muku fluttered on to her shoulder and rubbed his face against hers.

"Hello Kitty, My Melody and Tuxedo Sam," noted Ravena as Punnya landed in her arms while Amaya hopped onto Shadow's shoulder and nuzzled him earning herself a good scratch behind the ears. "Great job, Punnya~!" she complimented while scratching her Manju's chin.

"Puuuuuurrrnnn-nyaaaarrrr~!" purred Punnya in delight, obviously pleased with herself.

"So when do we meet up with our little rascals? I'm excited to take them on their first trick or treating trip!" Bella said as she adjusted her goggles a bit. "When they sent that message you know I couldn't say no!"

"Hence the major reason why we're also playing as babysitter while at the same time as dressing up; I still can't believe you got me to agree to it." Shadow said as he had adjusted his cape to cover up the bright traffic-light colored outfit. Amaya still balanced on his shoulder, sticking out against the black outside of the cape.

"Come on, it's just a little bonding training. Teachers and students need to spend more time with each other." Bella said as if giving him a lecture.

"You're saying that Shade hasn't grown on you even a little bit nya?" Ravena asked.

"Hey you guys didn't know how it felt to train another person until a week ago. I wasn't in a hurry to train another player-in-the-making. If he has grown on me, it's more of an itch that I can't get rid of." Shadow said.

"That's Shad-talk for; the kid has grown on me but I'll never admit it." DB said humorously to Shadow's annoyance.

"W-well we can't make it on time to the meeting if we don't hurry." Illu said as she was the first to the door but then stayed frozen when she had realized something. She then left the door and dashed to a nearby chair.

"What's the matter Illu-tan?" Ravena asked, already having a clue what the reason could be.

"I can't go outside dressed like this! I can handle the dress-spheres because they're only for battle but I can't be in an outfit like this all night." Illu said with her face blushing red.

"We're going to be late if we don't hurry soon Illu." Key pointed out as they do have a meeting to run too.

"Illu-sama, just think of this as another exercise for you; you'll have to handle more forms when the other dress-spheres unlock themselves to you." Nyoka tried to reason with Illu.

'But I can just barely go about with the spheres I have now!' Illu raved in her head as she didn't even notice movement around her until she felt something fall on her shoulders.

"You can use that to better cover up as we move around, will that help?" Shadow asked, now missing the cape from the uniform.

"Are you sure; we did agree with the group cosplay?" Illu asked nervously as she already had the cape draped like a cloak to better cover the revealing outfit.

"People can guess who we are by looking at us; besides we shouldn't do something if it makes us uncomfortable." Shadow said.

"So Key, which relationship was the most obvious in the Teen Titans show?" DB asked with a smirk.

"Why are you asking me, everyone know its Robin and Starfire." Key answered confused.

"Can you say 'Trouble in Tokyo'~nya?" added Ravena smirking as she caught on to DB.

"Exactly!" DB smirked and was then sent to the ground by the end of a birdarang.

"Can we just get onwards already!" Shadow said, a faint pink shown on his cheeks as opposed to Illu's now full body blush.

"Right, onwards team!" Bella said as she began to lead the way out the door with the rest of Kurotsubasa following behind. As they already got calls to who they were they mostly ignored them as they didn't want to keep their charges waiting.

(Scene Change)

"Cadet, are you sure that they're coming?" Angel asked as she looked to the mute member of Kotsubasa.

"…" Cadet explained as he made arm gestures about.

"See, I told you; Cadet asked Kurotsubasa and they said yes. I bet you they're on their way right now!" Shade said as stood patiently as they all continued to wait until their sibling-Guild arrived.

"Still if we don't get a move on soon, we might miss out on some prime places." Sora said from his seat on a bench. "I'm sure they're on their way though, maybe a small delay?"

"Come on guys have faith; Kurotsubasa will get here when they get here." Beat-Boy added as he was listening to his tunes as he waited.

"Those guys wouldn't stand us up; Cadet said they agreed so let's keep waiting." Mirage said as she stayed on her seat lying against Hippo. The Hippogriff didn't give a care as he allowed his master to get comfortable.

"Minnya!" Minnya called out as she smelled a familiar scent and bounced out of Angel's arms.

"Hey Minnya, where are you going girl?" Angel asked in concern until she saw that Minnya was now bouncing happily towards another white manju in a red hood and a larger white manju with a bow next to her ear.

"Looks like we made it nya and looks like Punnya and Amaya found them for us." Ravena said as Kurotsubasa appeared in the park where the pre-teens were waiting.

"Sorry if we came a bit close, we hit a bit of a snag keeping us back in the district." DB explained.

"What kind of snag?" Beat-Boy asked.

"The annoying dragon kind." Shadow said as he thought back to the reason they almost ended up late.

(Flashback)

"A whole bunch more people seemed to in town than last year. I wonder what the occasion is; the Halloween event is in the next area over." Bella said as she saw the large groups of costumed players that gathered in the streets of Tokyo City.

"Tokyo has become more of a hotspot lately. Maybe they're all here to see the sites or get some Halloween items that the shops have." Key guessed.

"Still, I'm keep getting surprised by how many more people come to Tokyo City." Illu said in wonder.

"Think you can join us and take off the cape nya?" Ravena asked.

"I-I think I'll just keep hold of it just in case." Illu said softly as she wrapped herself even more.

"Come on Illu-tan; it's not any of these guys even know it's you. That's what the wig and contacts are for; plus you're with us so it's perfectly safe." Ravena reassured him.

"Yep, any pervs out here will be missing the business end of Ol' Reliable!" Bella said as she pulled out a large comical hammer from out of nowhere. "They won't be able to remember anything they see."

"Crude, but effective" Key commented on the hammer. "You get the message though Illu; your identity is perfectly safe."

Illu hesitated a bit but nodded her head as she then removed the cape and handed it back to Shadow. "T-thank you for letting me borrow it."

"No problem, just ask in case you need it." Shadow said as he took the cape back.

**"ILLU WHAT ARE YOU WEARING!"**

All of them turned to see a large dust cloud heading for them and forming the cloud appeared to be…

"C-Chocobo?!" Illu yelled/asked in shock before looking at what the Aetherion Guild was wearing. "Chocobo?" she asked again this time in pleasant surprise when she saw what they were dressed as.

Like Kurotsubasa, the Aetherion Guild was also doing a group cosplay but from an anime that wasn't so familiar the most of the Kurotsubasa Guild.

"Who are you guys supposed to be?" asked Bella when Ravena suddenly let out an excited squeal.

"NYA~! YOU GUYS ARE STARISH FROM UTAPRI SEASON 1~!" she said quickly circling around them.

"Let see~! Sol is Ittoki Otoya!" pointed out Ravena as the Salamander grinned.

"Care to listen to my _Brand New Melody_?" Joked Sol.

"Gany-kun is Hijirikawa Masato!"

"Is this _Knocking on the Mind_ yet..." said the usually masked member who had forgone said item.

"Mal-san is Jinguji Ren~!"

At that, Mal blew a kiss to Ravena and winked. "_Believe Heart_, my dear~" he said flirtatiously making Ravena squeal a bit before continuing to both Zephyr and a male Saphir who leaned over Zephyr affectionately seeing how he is taller than the Pegasus hybrid now.

"Naturally, Zephy is Kurusu Syo and Saphy is Shinomiya Natsuki~!" exclaimed Ravena clapping a little.

Zephy bowed his hat a little and smiled. "Our _Full Throttle Fighting Spirit…"_

_"_Will _Shout Out to the Orion~!"_ Finished Saphir with a grin and a peace sign as his ears twitched.

"And last but not least, Chokobi is Ichinose Tokiya~!" ended Ravena with a flourish.

Chokobi pursed his lips together and folded his arms refusing to say anything until he caught the eyes of the rest of Guild causing him to sigh and cave in. "Fine….May the _Seven-Colored Compass_ guide me to back you…." He muttered when suddenly Bella, DB, and Sol all burst out laughing.

"AHAHA! HE SAID IT! HE ACTUALLY SAID IT!" cheered Sol in between laughs. "You owe me a 100 munny everyone! HAHAHA!"

"OHMYGOD! WHAT THE HECK WAS WITH THAT LINE~!" exclaimed Bella clutching her sides from laughing too hard while DB was on his back laughing just as hard with his feet kicking the air.

"THAT WAS SO LAME AEON!" guffawed DB wiping the tears seeping out from his eyes.

"URUSAI, I'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU GUYS LATER!" Aeon yelled out before focusing back to his former question. "Anyway, Illu why are you out here wearing an outfit like that?!"

"Can't you tell, it's a costume Chokobi!" Ravena said, trying to move some of the pressure from off of Illu. "We've decided to do a group cosplay for today and Teen Titans won. And who better to play Starfire than Illu-tan?!"

"I-it's true, we took a vote and Teen Titans won. I'm wearing the costume as part of o-our agreement." Illu also tried to explain but instantly Aeon left the girl's line of sight and was now in front of Shadow.

"This was your idea wasn't it bird boy?" Aeon asked invading Shadow's space.

"Excuse me?" Shadow said.

"This was all you're plan to have Illu dress up in skimpy clothing isn't it?!" Aeon accused, his voice increasing in volume.

"Seriously, does no one read the Teen Titans comic?! Starfire's outfit was so much more revealing in that universe than the cartoon they used to show!" Bella said with a few people nodding their heads.

"What the hell makes you think that?! It wasn't my choice to dress like this, I voted for BlazBlue!" Shadow yelled back. "Besides why are you in my face about it singer boy?!"

"So you admit it, what kind of costumes were you thinking off, Lit…!"

"MO! CHOCOBO NO BAKAAA!"

The pole of Illu's glaive slammed against Aeon's head with enough force to send him down to the ground. Illu was releasing short puffs of air as she was now bright red from embarrassment.

"He did bring that on himself." Malachite shook his head seeing Aeon's performance before Illu intervened.

"I say we just leave him be." Ganymede then turned to Sol and Zephyrus.

"Come on guys, we were supposed to go and see the event in Crystal City!" whined Saphir as 'he' tugged on Zephyr's arm.

"Right, right, I got it Gany" Sol said as he then hefted Aeon's unconscious body over his shoulders.

"We're sorry for the inconvenience." Zephyrus apologized as Aetherion the left to continue with their plans; leaving Kurotsubasa to themselves.

"Hey guys don't need to point out the obvious but we do have to get going too." DB said as they soon noticed that they still had an audience, all of whom were attracted by Aeon's yelling.

"Right, let's go" Shadow said as Kurotsubasa then went on their way.

(Flashback end)

"And that's what happened." Bella explained.

"Not a dull moment for you guys huh?" Beat-Boy asked in awe.

"Something like that, I see you guys went for a group cosplay as well nya." Ravena pointed out. "Seriously is everyone doing it?"

Sure enough, in a twist of irony, all the members of Kotsubasa were dressed up as members of the Justice League. Shade was dressed as Batman, BB as Superman, Mirage was Wonder-Woman, Sora was Green Lantern, Cadet was the Flash and Angel was dressed as Zatanna.

"Min-nya~!" mewed Minnya happily as she appeared dressed in a white Mokona costume.

"Aww~!" squealed all the girls in unison as she bounced up to Amaya as the two baby manju bounced together happily.

Hippo whinnied a little as he pawed the ground a bit with his talon.

"Oh! Pardon us Hippo," Apologized Ravena as she politely curtseyed to the Hippogriff who returned the bow as he walked and nuzzled his beak into her hand as the girl stroked his neck.

"Punnya~!"Mewed Punnya as she flew up to Hippo and rubbed her head against his.

"Well, since we're all here, ready to go?" asked Shadow to the group who immediately scramble to their respective older counterparts.

"YEAH~!" the others cheered excitedly.

"Let's GO!"

(Scene Change)

"So how come you can only get these kinds of items on this day? Isn't there another way to find them?" Angel asked as she admired all the things being offered out by the stores.

"You can, but it involves paying thousands of munny for them instead of the prices they have now and some are even giving them away." Shadow answered. "After today they become premium, so it's best to just get them now."

"Especially all the wonderful pranks and gags the shops are just giving away!" Bella said and she and Cadet were both smiling with their bag full of pranking supply.

"Is it really all right for you guys to be carrying those around?" Beat-Boy asked.

"The name of the game is trick-or-treat; and I happen to take that rule seriously. Right my little protégé?!" Bella asked as she and Cadet shook each other's hands.

"You think we should give the Admin fair warning?" Ravena asked.

"They should already be expecting Bella to try something; we shouldn't get involved." Shadow said.

"Still they could barely handle one Hy-Nya and now there are two."

"Hey tough break for them; I say onwards to the houses!" Shade was about to take off until Sora held him back by his cape.

"Hold on Shade, we still need to plan out our route." Sora explained.

"Route?" Shade asked.

"In town it would be easy to just go to shops and get goodies but heading to the resident district you can't just knock on any door." DB said. "Some of the people might not have anything to offer and give you something you won't like."

"It's best to plan the best way to go through and not spend too much time wondering around. That way, you can get all the treats you want before the night ends." Illu also helped with the explanation.

"And that's why the route's important; take too long and you'll miss out on too many opportunities." DB said.

"Don't worry kiddies; this is where Hyna comes in!" Bella said pointing her thumb to herself. "I got the best info on places to visit this Halloween night even more so better than Key himself!"

"Say what?!"

"Just follow me Kotsubasa!" Bella took the lead with Cadet dutifully following after her.

"Think we should follow her?" Mirage asked; a bit worried at what her cousin had planned along with the older girl.

"It will be ok Mira-chan; just make sure you're a safe distance away when Bella gets that look on her face." Illu answered.

"What look?"

"You'll see nya; let's go they're getting away." Ravena said as they all followed after the prank-happy duo.

(Scene Change)

"She's out there, I just know it! Somewhere in this town, my Kitten is waiting for me to find her after all these long years apart. Her heart is just calling out to me!" A voice spoke as he slowly rode through Tokyo City on the back of his steed.

"Once again I think you're just delusional. You might be still drunk from the last keggar we stopped out." The horse spoke back, ignoring her owner's delusions.

"Please Fraulein if there is one thing I know; it's a woman's heart." The man ran a hand through his hair allowing sparkles of light to fly out. "Especially the heart of that particular girl; I could never forget it anywhere."

"Well I hope you're maiden senses are especially good. How are you going to find her through this town?!" Fraulein asked as she stared at the costumed players littering the town. "On this day where anyone can be anyone else, how exactly are you going to find your dream-girl?"

"The path of love shall lead the way~!"

"A load of manure, I say! Wouldn't it be cluttered with the amount of girls here?" Fraulein also asked only now was she feeling the lack of weight on her back. "Oh Bollocks…" She groaned as the speeches began.

"Hello Fair Maiden~! I was wondering why this night was beautiful, but now I know it's because of you~" said the young man with a charming bow as he held the hand of a certain red head who was dressed as Rachel Alucard.

"Prey?" asked the girl uncertainly.

Prey lifted his and widened his eyes in recognition. "Rose?" he said in surprise before breaking out into a huge smile. "ROSE~! MY ROSE PRINCESS! I'VE MISSED YOU~!" he cheered suddenly scooping Rose into his arms and spinning around with her.

**_WHACK! _**

"So how have you been?" he asked casually, now sporting a throbbing red hand-print on his face after putting Rose down.

"I **_was_** doing well until you came along," replied Rose as she dusted her dress off.

Instead of being insulted, Prey cupped his face and swooned happily with hearts and sparkles floating around his head. "Ah~! It's been so long since I heard that sassy personality from that cute face of yours~!"

"Piss off, you perverted freak," said Rose bluntly making Prey fanboy even more while Fraulein trotted up to them.

"Rose, is been a while Love~" she greeted affectionately ignoring Prey.

"Likewise, Fraulein. What are you guys doing here?"

"Apparently, Prey got a lead on a fellow rogue who went off the grid three years ago," explained the mare. "We are actually on our way to see the Informant, Reader-of-Many, to see if he has anything more."

Rose narrowed her eyes slightly in suspicion. "A rogue? Anyone I know?" she asked out of curiosity.

"You should, I believe the wanted posters dubbed her 'The Rookie' or the lesser known 'Mata-Hari'."

Rose widened her eyes a little when she heard those nicknames. Being a bounty hunter, those two names were well known nicknames of a female rogue who said to have taken down an entire squad of Admin Guards on her first day and ruled the underground info network in the subsequent years. She also personally even knows the person currently.

"So, you're looking for her…Good Luck with that," said Rose as she curtseyed to Fraulein. "I'm gonna go before this Perverted Idiot here tries anything more."

"Off you go then, Love," said Fraulein nuzzling Rose a little as the girl quickly walked off.

Just as soon Rose was sure she no longer was in their line of sight, she quickly ducked into a nearby alley and pulled up her contact list.

"If he's in town, I should at least give her a heads up…" she muttered under her breath as she made a call.

(Scene change)

"Wow we really got some good loot, who knew there were places that give twice the items." Shade said was a smile as he carried his bag over his shoulder.

"…!" Cadet agreed as he had his own large burlap sack which housed all of his treasures from the night's exploits.

"Just don't go eating all of them at once Cadet; last thing we need is for you running around hyper when we get home." Mirage said; worried a bit at how the shape-shifter will be on a sugar-high.

"Come on Mira, give him some freedom, it is Halloween." Shade insisted.

"Yeah, we should totally follow you guys' example and rot our teeth out on the first night." Angel said sarcastically.

"Hey nothing is wrong with enjoying your Halloween candy on HALLOWEEN!"

"It is when a certain someone had no self-control!"

"Ok, ok, break it up you two!" Sora said getting in between the two. "It's supposed to be a fun night so let's not spend it fighting."

"Nice to know you have good group dynamic." Shadow said getting Shade's attention. Before Shade could argue Shadow stopped him. "I don't want to hear it; just know you may be leader but you are part of a team. It doesn't do you good to always fight."

Shade then sighed. "I know…but she always starts it!" He yelled causing Angel's tail and ears to stiffen in anger.

"Why you…!" Before she could try and pounce, Ravena grabbed hold of her tail and kept Angel from going any further. "Let me at him, let me at him!"

"I think you might want to calm down a bit nya; you don't need to blow up over everything he says." Ravena tried to calm the girl down. "Plus think of this as training, magic deals with emotion as well as mana so see it as trying to keep your emotions in check."

"Oh I'll keep it in check alright…AFTER I STRANGLE HIM!" The chibi cat now was actively trying to reach Shade by clawing at him. Said boy seemed to start teasing her by sticking out his tongue before a fist slammed down on his head.

"GAH! What was that for?!" Shade asked as he rubbed the bump on his head.

"Another thing about being leader is to know when to be mature." Shadow said.

"Maybe we should find a place to settle for the rest of the night. I imagine that we've visited enough houses and shops for you guys to have all that you need." Illu said.

"And ruin our candy collecting streak, come on owlgirl the night is still young!" Bella said with Cadet agreeing with her.

"Well how about going to a party?" DB brought up.

"A party?" Most of them asked.

"Oh yeah I heard about it, there was supposed to be a big open costume party that's being hosted tonight!" Beat-Boy added. "I actually wanted to check it out, fun, food, music; it's supposed to be the fun event of the night."

"Is that true?" Sora asked.

"Looks like there is a party like that opened and we're not that far from it." Key said as he pulled up a map. "I say we go, it would be a nice change of pace from just visiting houses."

"Yep, no offense Hy-Nya, but seeing you and the kids trick-or-treat or just prank house gets a bit…repetitive after a while." Ravena said. "We can use the party as a break."

Bella pouted for a bit but then relented. "Fine, there are probably other people we can party with anyway." The girl said as she then stuffed her large bag into her bottomless satchel.

"On to the party then!" Beat-Boy said excitedly as everyone then began to follow him and DB to the party. Ravena however heard a sound go off and a window popped up showing that she had a message.

"Hold on guys, I'm going to have to take a call nya." Ravena said as she moved to a quiet area to answer.

"Sure, we can wait." Shadow said, seeing as none of them were in any real rush.

Ravena then went into the opening of an alley where there was less noise and answered the call. "Ravena!"

_"Oh good you picked up, I almost thought reaching you was a lost cause_." The voice said from the other side.

"That might be because all of us are out on the town nya; we're on our way to an open Halloween party. Maybe you should come and hang out with us Rosie." Ravena offered.

_"Not likely…"_ Rose answered. _"Look, banter aside, this call is really important. Do you remember that old perverted stalker of yours?"_

"You're going to have to be more specific, there are few like that from the guild's fanbase. It is a good thing Key improved the defenses around the place."

_"Not THOSE Pervs you dope! I mean the one from your solo days, Bird-of-Prey!"_ Rose yelled.

"Nya? Prey? I haven't seen or heard anything from him in who knows how long." Ravena said in surprise.

_"Neither have I, but I just bumped into him a while ago. He and Fraulein are looking around for you, or at least for The Rookie. It seems like he's not in the know about your name change."_ Rose explained.

"And I'm hoping it stays that way, but the way I'm dressed now…isn't helping if Prey decides to show up." Ravena sighed.

During her earlier days; her outfit was basically a red version of the costume she was wearing now. Aside from the collar, another thing keeping her from being recognized were her hidden ears, wings, and tails.

_"Well then I hope you can find a place for you to blend in. Besides even if he was searching with you, the Perv's busy looking at every girl in town."_

Ravena nodded. "Got ya' thanks for the heads up Rosie!"

_"Quit calling me that!"_

"I'll be sure to tell Shads 'hi' for you Rachel-chan!"

_"W-what how could you…wait don't you hang up on…!"_

Ravena then ended the call before the redhead could yell anymore. The neko released a sad sigh and turned to leave the alley only to stop in shock seeing Shadow right at the entrance.

"Nya, Shads you startled me!" Ravena said getting over her shock.

"Yeah sorry for the sudden scare, but Punnya was started to worry about you for a little bit so I decided to come over and check on you." Shadow explained.

"Well I'm fine; it was just a call from Rosie to say hi." Ravena said.

"Really, you're a bit more shaken even after the scare." Shadow said. Ravena was glad her tails were hidden otherwise they would have betrayed her. "Ok, if that really is all then let's go back to the others." He then turned to leave the alley.

"Yeah, sorry for the hold up." Ravena apologized as she followed him out.

It didn't take long for the two to join up with the others. Bella and Cadet had somehow found the buffet table and were going at it with a vengeance. Angel and Mira were dancing with each other with Hippo close by getting some attention himself with some of the other Pets that were present with their Masters. Punnya was dancing with Mukurowl who twirled her with her tail.

Not far off, Key was surrounded by some girls who were attracted by Sora's charm much to the Beta's uneasiness as he carefully scanned the crowd for a certain Admin and Celestial Mage.

"Wow….Sora has got some major mojo going on for one so young-nya," stated Ravena slightly impressed. Shadow folded his arms and nodded in agreement.

At that moment, a microphone squealed as the music died down a bit. Everyone immediately turned their attention to the DJ who was apparently replaced by DB and BB who each slipped on a pair of red head-sets.

_"HEY Everybody! This is DJ DB and BB here at this awesome Halloween fiesta! Are you all ready to get things moving?!" _called out DB into the mike, earning himself some loud cheers going around while he nodded to BB whose eyes glowed red.

**_"Music Mixer! Synthesizer Stage~!"_** commanded BB as multiple small floating speakers surrounded the stage. Glowing red piano keys appeared around BB and DB along with a floating DJ turntable while a synthesizing mixing wall appearing above the keys. A platform appeared and raised DB a little higher than BB as floating drum-pads appeared. In a flash, the two reverted back to their original clothes as they stationed themselves.

"LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED!" cried the two excitedly as they began playing 'Evacuate the Dance Floor' while everyone began cheering and dancing. BB manned the piano keys, occasionally spinning a tune while DB rocked out on the drum-pads like a boss.

Shadow looked about the crowd for the rest off his Guild when he spotted Illu being surrounded by three guys.

(With Illu)

Illu had no idea what was happening. One moment she was standing by herself watching Mira and Angel, the next she was suddenly surrounded by other guys who had clearly taken a liking to her.

"Hey there Sweet thing, care to dance?" asked one guy dressed as Dr. Stein.

"Um...Not real-" Illu tried to reply.

"Oh get real Screw-Head! She's dancing with me!" argued another guy dressed as Thor.

"But I don't-!"

"No way, she was totally checking me out!" exclaimed the third guy who was dressed as Luffy.

"Actually I was-"

"Butt-out Rubber Boy! She's going with me!"

"Nu-uh! Me!"

"No, Me!"

The three glared fiercely at each other while Illu shrank back when she was suddenly pulled away from them while they were distracted.

"Shadow!" said Illu both surprised and grateful as the young man led her away from the guys.

"I hope you don't mind dancing with me, do you Illu?" asked Shadow with a smile. "Although truthfully I'm not very good at dancing myself."

Illu smiled as she blushed a little. "It's ok, I would rather dance with you any day…"she said shyly.

Shadow also blushed and smiled back as they began dancing together. Further away, Ravena watched the two at a distance with a small smile on her face despite the slight wince in her heart making her sigh a bit as she pulled her hood up. Just then, Ravena's nose twitched as she suddenly caught a familiar scent when a finger tapped her shoulder.

Ravena turned to see a tall handsome young man with short brownish-golden hair with a few feathers patterned in and golden eyes. He had a honey-bronzed tan and wore a typical Don Juan outfit accented with gold with a black and gold eye-mask.

"May I have this dance dear Kitten?" he asked in a gentlemanly manner bowing and holding his hand out to Ravena, winking a bit.

Ravena widened her eyes in recognition before quickly looking around to make sure no one was watching her before grabbing his hand and dragging him into the crowd. Ravena quickly undid her hood and fixed it around her waist like a flowing skirt just as the music began playing Lady Gaga's "Americano".

The young man eagerly held her hand and placed the other on her hip as they began Latin dancing.

"I missed you a lot dear Kitten~," purred the young man with a suave smile as he twirled Ravena until her back was facing him as he coiled one arm around her waist while he held the other arm out with hers.

Ravena narrowed her eyes despite easily matching the man's moves, stepping in time with him. "Prey, what are you doing here?" she hissed a bit before Prey swung her out before twirling her back in as they resumed their original dancing form. "How did you find me?"

"During that broadcast of your match with the All-Stars," replied Prey picking Ravena up over his shoulder as the girl easily flipped her body over before sliding to the front between Prey's legs as he pulled her back onto her feet. "Of course to be honest, I wasn't so sure at first. The hard-faced, solitary Neko-chan, being so jovial in a Guild no less."

"That still doesn't explain how you found me," said Ravena as Prey lifted her up and swung her around a bit before putting her down.

"It wasn't easy, but I pulled some strings," he explained as he and Ravena did a two-step. "Of course The Informant was most useful," he added.

_'I'm gonna kill RoM later….'_ Thought Ravena mentally.

"Although I am pleasantly surprised, you have changed a lot," Prey noted with a smile as Ravena's ears, tails and wings popped out. "Who would have thought your powers had evolved?"

Suddenly Prey twirled the cat girl and brought her into a dip. "How cruel of you to leave me alone for those three years Kitten," he suddenly said seriously as he righted her back up.

"That's none of your business Prey!" snapped Ravena as she broke apart from Prey ready to slap him when he suddenly caught her wrist. "What do you want with me?"

'I'm gonna take you away…"Prey smiled as he brought Ravena closer and bent down to her ear. **_"Og ot peels ym raed…"_** he softly chanted.

Before Ravena could realize what was happening, the world went black. Prey smiled as Ravena went limp in his arms. In a swift move, he carried the Nekomata bridal style and left the crowd stealthily while walking down the street away from the music to where Fraulein was.

Fraulein frowned disapprovingly when she saw Ravena asleep in Prey's arms. "I still say you are an idiot Prey," she huffed.

"Come now Fraulein, she'll thank me later," said Prey as he climbed onto Fraulein's back while cradling Ravena carefully.

"Oh yes, I'm sure she'll be thrilled once she wakes up…." She muttered sarcastically as she galloped off with Prey and Ravena.

Unknown to them, someone had witnessed the entire incident from the dark. Cadet, who had happened to look up from his meal with Bella just in time to notice a man walking away carrying Ravena. Curiously, he followed them using the darkness as a cover. Once he saw Prey galloping off with Ravena, Cadet gasped upon realization of the situation. Quickly he dashed back to party as quickly as he could to find the others.

(Back at the Party)

Shadow and Illu were taking a break when Cadet suddenly came running towards them in a panic and breathlessness as he began gesturing wildly while tugging at Shadow's shirt.

"Whoa, Cadet! Breathe! What's wrong?" asked Shadow grabbing Cadet's shoulders to hold him still as Shade walked up to them holding Punnya on his head.

"What's up guys?" he asked cheerfully.

"Shade! Perfect timing! Can you tell what Cadet is saying?" asked Illu getting worried.

Shade nodded and turned to look at Cadet who was gesturing wildly. First, Cadet acted like a cat and then like a girl before suddenly switching to a charming playboy persona while he put his fingers over his eyes like a mask. Cadet wiggled his fingers as if casting a spell before switching back to a girly persona who pretended to faint. The boy quickly switched back to playboy persona as he mimed picking up the 'fainted girl' and slinging her over a horse and pretended to gallop away.

Shade gasped in shock. "You're sure Cadet?!"

Cadet responded by nodding vigorously.

"This is bad! Really bad!" Shade said worriedly.

"What? What did he say?" asked Shadow now in deep concern.

"Ravena's been kidnapped by some weird guy in a mask who knocked her out with weird hocus-pocus!"

"It looks like I was too late then…." Said a new voice behind Shadow and Illu.

"Rose!" exclaimed Shadow and Illu at the same time as they turned to see the newcomer who was riding side-saddle on Mazareth. The redhead stepped off her mount as she went and approached the two.

"I gave the Boobcat a call earlier trying to warn her of a person coming after her. I figured she would at least be careful, but it looks like luck wasn't on her side tonight." Rose said as she briefly explained the situation to the two.

"Wait you were the one who Rave talked to in the alley Rose-san?" Illu asked.

"Now really isn't the time for that" Rose answered her as she turned to Shadow. "Gather up everyone so that we can begin a search. Hopefully we can find the creep before he clears town."

"Got cha', come on we've got no time to lose!" Shadow said as he went to find the rest of Kurotsubasa.

"Right, we'll get the others too! It's best to have two guilds helping right now Cadet!" Shade said.

"…!" Cadet raised a fist in agreement as the two preteens ran in search of the rest of their members.

(Time Skip)

"Hmm let's see now…taking the back path out of town would take less time. However; the tunnels underneath would at least make sure I have no on-looking pursuers…" Prey spoke to himself as he stared at a map. The rouge had set himself and Fraulein under a bridge next to a river as he began to plan out his next move as he left his captive onboard the horse.

"Must you seriously take the time to plan this out now? By the time you figured out something her guild would've noticed she's disappeared; Dearie here doesn't look like the type to stray away from her friends." Fraulein spoke her opinion.

"Relax **_Mon_** Fraulein; this has to be planned perfectly. Even if her guild does notice that she is gone they have no way of tracking us down." Prey said as he folded his map. "I must conceal my trail carefully so that even the Admin cannot discover us."

Fraulein suppressed a snort at her master's answer but then felt Ravena stirring on her back. "Looks like your spell wasn't as strong as you thought Laddie; your 'Fair Maiden' is awake."

"Nyaaaa~" Ravena moaned a bit as she regained consciousness. "What hit me…last I remember I was talking to Prey. Was that a dream?" She mumbled out.

"Twas not a dream Kitten" Prey smiled as he kneeled down in front of her.

"Prey!" Ravena yelled as her vision cleared; she leaped hoping to attack with her claws only to find herself falling. Fortunately, Prey was able to catch her and set her on the ground. It took a second for the neko to realize that she was bound by a gold rope. "What the hell is that, how did you wrap me up in this?!" She yelled at her compromising position.

"It is a marvel what you can have made by knowing a few rouge alchemists. That rope my dear is more than just mere decoration; it has a special material that suppresses magic." Prey explained.

"I figured that out, but why in hell am I wrapped up like this?!" Ravena said alluding to the bondage style of the rope.

Prey smirked even more, as if proud of the fact. "Why to make sure you don't escape of course. Though now that you mentioned it and I take a closer look...you've certainly grown in three years." He began chuckling perversely eyeing her chest.

"And you're still the same pervert that wouldn't leave a woman alone." Ravena scowled and then looked back a bit. "Fraulein I can't believe you're actually helping him with this."

"Dearie, you know I would never become involved in one of _these_ schemes but Prey wouldn't take no for an answer." Fraulein half explained/half apologized. The mare may have voiced her opinion about Prey's idea, but the pervert was still in many senses her master.

"Now, now, that look is so unbecoming of you Kitten." Prey reached as if to cup Ravena's chin only to flinch back as the girl took a large bite towards him. "I see that even after all these years you still haven't lost your old fire."

"Let's just cut to the chase Prey, what are you going to do with me? Hopefully not try and woo me like all the other girls that somehow manage to fall for your flirting." Ravena frowned.

**_"Knowing him he probably has a harem following somewhere that he keeps."_** Felis voiced her thoughts.

'I rather not think about that.' Felidae spoke back and almost missed Prey's answer to her question.

"My Damsel what makes you think you're anything like any other girls in this world." Prey removed his mask and looked into Ravena's cold eyes with his golden orbs. "My spotting you again was of course a sign…a sign that you Kitten, are 'The One.'"

Ravena then rolled her eyes along with Fraulein at the last line. "Oh come on, you mean after all these years you've haven't given up on your 'Quest'? I should've figured." She said unimpressed. "And you can forget about that power working, it hasn't worked on me then and it won't now."

"I see, well it's the attempt that counts." Prey's eyes lost a bit of their shine as he placed his mask back on. "But then again, it wouldn't be fun if I had to do this the easy way."

"Here's an even easier way. Let me go, accept the beating that's coming to you, and we can go back on our separate ways." Ravena offered.

"But then surely it wouldn't be fun at all."

"Would be fun for me and don't call me Shirley!"

Prey smiled a bit as he moved his hand close to Ravena again. "As much fun as it was to chat with you again. We have to get on the move soon, but I think we'll have an easier time leaving if you were asleep again."

**"Tesr neve regnol, gnintghil tolb!"**

Instead of immediately seeing black again; Ravena screamed in pain as a small bolt of lightning fired from Prey's hand paralyzing the girl.

(Scene Change)

"Another district and no leads, how much ground can this guy travel especially with how crowded the streets are?!" Key said frustratingly after his last attempt of searching for Ravena's signature ended in failure. "It would make sense if he flew or teleported but Cadet said he carried her off?"

Sora nodded up to the Beta as he used his archive magic to assist the search. "Right, though he did mention something about him riding off on a…pony or whatever. I've tried searching for Ravena's magic signature but nothing pops up."

"I can't even sense it either, which should be impossible…unless someone's suppressing it." Key said in thought. The two then made their way off the roof they were searching from down to the streets where the others were waiting.

"This is the fifth place we've checked and no sign of Ravena-chan." Illu said sadly, she, Mukurowl, Nyoka, Mirage, and Hippo all took to searching from the air. Though their search turned up empty as well. "Why would anyone want to kidnap her?"

"Like I told you, it's kind of personal to Boobcat herself, if you want an answer talk to her." Rose said. "Prey on the other hand…is a hot-blooded pervert and from what I know he was rouge way back when he knew her; this must all be involved with his 'Quest.'"

"Quest or not we've got to keep up the search." Shadow said shutting off his Byakugan; he was wasting time and chakra just scanning around where they were. "Let's keep moving; maybe we'll get a better result at the ex-ARGH!" Shadow suddenly cried as he then fell to his knees and clutched his shoulder.

"Shadow-kun?!" Illu yelled in surprise seeing him kneel in pain.

"Hey Shads are you all right?!" Bella asked helping him get back up.

"What the hell was that, this really isn't the time for you to be injured!" Rose said harshly though she still had a look of concern.

The pain and numbness then stopped as Shadow began to huffed air slowly; pain was universal but it's easy to remember types of pains. 'That shock was definitely from electrical, but…' He then walked out of Bella's support and looked around the area.

"Shadow what's up?" Shade asked.

"You can't just fall to your knees and expect us not to worry, come on tell us what's up?" DB insisted.

"In a minute…" Shadow said as he still searched. 'There's no sparks here or anywhere, and even an attack like that someone would've noticed it.' Suddenly his vision faded as he then saw a different area…a bridge, grass, water, a black and gold mask that and many other things flashed suddenly before disappearing. Shadow stepped back in shock but noticed his hand was unconsciously resting on his collarbone.

"Hey you're starting to freak us out, if it's important tell us!" Rose yelled still concerned for Shadow's actions.

"Cadet…"

Everyone was frozen in surprise but the boy pointed to himself signaling he had heard him.

"The person you saw that took Ravena…do you know remember what color his mask was?" Shadow asked.

Cadet tapped a finger against his chin in wonder before his eyes widened and made gestures around to answer his question.

"He said that the mask was black and gold." Angel translated for him. "But what does the color have to do with anything?"

"Probably nothing…unless you've found some way to find him!" Beat-Boy realized as with the others.

Shadow nodded his head. "Exactly, Key, Shade, Sora, Punnya!" He called out to all of them. "I have an idea where Rave is but I want to be exact. We're going to need to put our tracking powers together."

"But how does Punnya fit into this?" Shade brought up.

"Punnya is the closest to Ravena and since they're bonded they should be able to find Ravena even if someone is hiding her magic signature!" Angel guessed proudly.

"Right come on, we're on a time limit remember." They all nodded and gathered together while everyone else backed up to give them space for the technique. Punnya began concentrating on her bell as Shadow had himself and her in the middle while the others stood around them.

"Are you sure this will work, this would be the first time I tried something like this." Sora said.

"There's no time for doubts Sora, you can do this." Key placed his hand on his shoulder to reaffirm that. "We need Telepathy to keep us linked and once we found them use your transfer to send it to the others as well." He explained.

"Easier said than done."

"But not impossible!" Shade said. "This is the reason we've been doing all that training after all." He then turned to Shadow. "So what are our jobs?"

"We'll be using our Byakugan together to search and Key's going to use his power to spread our field of vision." Shadow explained.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Shade asked; no matter how much trained the Byakugan could still see only a set distance depending on the user's level. Combined he and Shadow could search a large area but to search farther than their limit…

"Only if we're careless, we're not scanning all of Tokyo City just the area around the south exit." Shadow answered.

"How do you know Ravena might be there?" Key asked.

"Call it a hunch, just get ready." Shadow said, cueing them all to concentrate. Punnya's bell began to glow and ring as they all began to focus their powers. Shadow and Shade's eyes were fully activated while Key began his search; their efforts being hold together by Sora who struggled to keep their powers contained.

'Almost…almost…got it!' Shadow spoke telepathically to all of them.

"Do it Sora!" Key yelled.

"R-right…**Transfer!**" Sora called out and soon a small screen appeared over all of their heads with a loading bar that began to fill. As the bar filled they all received the location of where Ravena's energy was.

"Well what are we waiting for guys; we've got a Kitty to save!" Bella called out as they all left to rescue their captured friend.

(Elsewhere)

Prey had finally finished preparing as he held Ravena and mounted Fraulein once more.

"It's time to go, my dear," said Prey smiling as he stroked Ravena's sleeping face.

Fraulein tossed her head a bit and took a couple of steps forward when suddenly-**_BANG! _**A bullet hit the ground next to the mare making her neigh loudly and rear up a little.

Prey quickly turned around to see something approaching in the distance, fast. It was Roses along with Kurotsubasa and Kotsubasa. All of them had changed back to their regular clothes and were all riding fast towards Prey.

"PREY!" called Rose fiercely as she rode on Mazareth towards him. Along with her, came Shadow and Shade riding on a transformed Punnya. DB was riding Bella transformed as Wild-Mutt while Sora rode on Cadet in the same transformation. Angel flew in the air along with Illu and Key on an enlarged Mukurowl while Mira and BB were on Hippo.

BB clicked his tongue irritably as he held up his smoking shotgun. "Darn it! I missed!"

"At least we got his attention B!" said Mira turning a bit.

Prey narrowed his eyes at the intruders. "Lets go Fraulein!" he commanded as Fraulein neighed, taking off down beside the river.

"Don't let him get away!" yelled Rose to the others.

"DB! BB!" called out Shadow.

"On it!" replied DB whipping out his revolvers and began firing fire-balls in Prey's direction along with BB.

Quickly, Prey hung on to Ravena as bullets came flying around him while Fraulein nimbly evaded the shots.

"Prey! You better do something about this!" she said to he rider who nodded.

**_"Skcatta tuoba ecaf!"_** Prey said suddenly as the bullets and fireballs made a sharp turn and aimed back at the group.

**_"SHEILD!"_** cried out Angel activating a Star Card as a glowing them materialized over them and blocked the projectiles. Everyone involuntarily had to stop as multiple small explosions flashed on the protective surface.

Prey smirked as he was able to get more distance between them. "Fraulein, take my Kitten and meet me at the agreed place, I'll stall them for you!"

"My hero…." Muttered Fraulein sarcastically she felt her load get significantly lighter.

Prey stood and smirked just as Angel's shield finally wore off and the group resumed their pursuit. 'Let's see…it appears my Kitten has some lovely lady friends, brilliant," he said as he suddenly blew a kiss to them.

**_"Charm of Eros~!"_** he exclaimed as hearts began flying to female members of the group.

**_Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! _**Went all the hearts as they pop right in face of all the females in the group.

Rose and Illu seemed unaffected but suddenly, Angel, Minnya, Mira, Amaya, Punnya, Nyoka and Bella all had hearts appear in their eyes. Punnya and Bella both threw off their riders while Mira jumped off Hippo as Angel, Minnya, Nyoka and Amaya all suddenly dashed ahead to Prey eagerly.

"WHOA!" cried Shadow, DB and Shade at suddenly being tossed but they quickly recovered and just barely were able to land right as the group slid to a stop.

"Amaya, where are you going?!" called Shadow in confusion.

"Nyoka! Come back!" called out Illu.

Just the group tried to advance forward; Mira suddenly turned and fired a blast of wind at them.

"Mira! What was that for?!" demanded Shade when the girl suddenly looked up to reveal that her pupils had become hearts.

Bella transformed back also revealing, along with the other females that their pupils had pink hearts reflected in them. "Nobody shall harm Prey-sama while we're here~!" said Bella, Angel, Mira and Nyoka in unison in a mystified tone.

"Very good my Beauties, now attack!" he commanded sending the girls forward.

"Shade, Sora, Illu, Rose! You guys stay with me the rest of you go after the horse!" commanded Shadow directing the group.

"GOT IT!" Came the reply as the group separated.

Just then, Punnya roared as she made a lunge at Shadow only to be tackled of the air by Mazareth as the two big cats were now forced into a fierce scuffle while Nyoka hissed and enlarged herself, ripping out of her costume and aiming her fangs at Rose who was unable to move in time.

Fortunately, Nyoka was snatched out of the way as Mukurowl quickly dove down and grabbed the white snake's head in his talons. Nyoka hissed madly and thrashed about violently in an attempt to escape while Illu quickly jumped down to the ground in time to knock Mira's staff away from the girl.

"Mira snap out of it!" Illu tried to call to the girl as she was separated from her weapon. "Whatever illusion that man has put you in, you should be able to fight against it!"

"That move was an illusion? Though I will admit that I expected my Rose Princess not to be affected but you are a surprise." Prey said looking at Illu with interest. "Perhaps you would like to abandon this hopeless battle and come join me?"

"I would never join someone like you after what you did to Ravena-chan and my friends!" Illu said in disapproval as she had her glaive trained on Prey now.

Prey chuckled a bit. "That's sad to hear, but hopefully I could possibly change your mind. However now…**nopaew nurter ot ruoy renwo!**"

Illu attention was so focused on Prey's words that she didn't notice Mirage's staff return to her hand. Mirage then caught Illu off guard by striking her hard from behind; as Illu struggled to get up she quickly used her glaive's pole to block Mirage's strikes. As Mirage prepared to use her wind scythe to slice the downed girl the attack was interrupted as she was knocked away by Shadow.

Illu then accepted Shadow's hand and stood back up. "If it's not an illusion then what's possibly causing this? How is he having them fight us, mind control?"

"I don't know, but hopefully it can be solved as soon as we get to him." Shadow said with his scythe now out.

"But can you?" They both now turned to Prey. "The female's heart sure is a powerful thing, how do you expect to get past them and reach me?" He asked in a humorous tone as he petted Amaya who was at his side in human form. "You're the guild leader…Shadow right?"

"What's it to you?!" Shadow then rushed forward with his blade ready and did a side slash towards Prey only to be stopped by Angel's shield card. As he was bounced back he then noticed the wind become visible and wrap around him binding him in place.

"Idiot!" Rose ran to help the captured leader only to have Cadet thrown at her sending them both tumbling to the ground. Rose rubbed her head and looked at the boy only for him to point seeing as Bella was now walking towards them as Humungosaur.

"You've got to be kidding me?!" Rose said in frustration as she swapped her knives for the chain she kept with her. Cadet then transformed into Wildvine to assist her in taking down the walking tank.

"I just find it strange…" Prey began to speak to himself. "Just what did she see that made her want to join you and even in the past when I hear Rose speak of you, her former teacher; even as she cursed your name she had a look of admiration.

"Shut your mouth pervert!" Rose yelled as she had her chain wrapped around Bella and was trying to keep her grip firm using the Rinnegan's power. Bella seemed to struggle to get out only to meet explosive seeds from Cadet who helped keep her disoriented. Another flash and Goop slipped out and around Rose's chain and wrapped himself around the two.

"All I want to know is what made Kitten want to join your guild?" Prey asked again.

"Shouldn't you ask her yourself, that's if she lets you live." Shadow said as she struggled against the elemental ropes. "Of course that's going to be after I get done with you for this mess."

"That silver tongue of yours, so crude." Prey brushed off his threat. "And your style too, no grace or elegance at all. It certainly isn't how you fight or your looks, so what is it?" He kept on pondering.

"Tell you what…why don't I show you." Shadow stopped struggling as darkness began to flow out his body. He then released a wave of gravity that blew the wind and Angel off to the side. Before Angel could try another spell Shadow appeared behind her and chopped her on the neck knocking her out.

Hearing a large roar he saw Punnya had escaped Mazareth and was in the air ready to pounce. Using a free hand he fired a ball of gravity into Punnya's chest that sent her flying into a wall knocking her back into her manju form, unconscious. He then walked over and set the sleeping Angel next to her.

"Watch over them would you Mazareth." He said as he turned and walked over to Prey.

"That was just utterly barbaric, the way you treated those two?!" Prey said as he then pulled out a sword out of thin air. It was a fancy, fencing sabre with a golden hilt fastened onto it. "Women should be treated delicately in a fight, how dare you needlessly harm them."

"Says the weakling who needs girls to fight for him." Shadow said.

"W-weakling ?! I'll have you know that I am a gentleman of the highest order. I need not protection in order to defeat a fiend like yourself!" Prey argued.

Shadow then smirked now knowing what buttons to push. "If you are truly a gentleman then you would accept a duel right or is that too chivalrous for someone like you?" He then pointed to him with the blade of the scythe.

"Tch…I need not have to prove myself against someone like you!"

At that cue Amaya then ran forward trying to punch if Shadow had not raised her up by her hood.

"Amaya snap out of it!" Shadow called out as the small girl struggled; he wasn't prepared for the kick she managed to send him but blocked as Amaya now escaped. At that moment, the full moon appeared from behind the clouds. No sooner was Amaya bathed in its light; her entire body began to glow. Shadow was about to call to her again only to see Amaya begin to transform.

"Guess this was what Ravena meant to say she was helping Amaya train in something." He whispered to himself as he saw Amaya's new form.

Amaya was now in the form of a black humanoid rabbit. She wore a bright blue and gold kimono with silver pants and a gold obi wrapped around her waist. A long flowing white cloth was wrapped around her arms and behind her neck. In her hand/paw was a large hammer like pestle.

"Now this is interesting, let's see what this battle yields." Prey said.

"Amaya, I don't want to hurt you…" Shadow said as he got himself ready. "But if I need to go through you to get to him, then so be it." He said as the two then dashed with their weapons raised.

(Scene Change)

"How fast can this thing run?" Beat-Boy asked as they still traveled after the fleeing horse. Their target continued running along the riverside, avoiding the streets and attracting any more attention.

"If only we can cut it off somehow, but if we stop running even for a second it could get away from us!" DB pointed out as he, Beat-Boy and Key kept up their chase. "Any plans Key?"

"Nothing that comes to mind on making her stop…but she can't continue if she doesn't have Ravena." Key thought aloud as he materialized Infinity in a flash of light. "I've got a plan but be ready to have her surrounded."

"Roger!" Both vampires said. Key then nodded to them as he then focused on the runaway Fraulein. **"Stop!"**

(With Fraulein)

'I can't believe Prey stuck me with this job. Hopefully I can get the lass here to just focus her beating on him; it would be fun to watch.' Fraulein thought to herself when suddenly she lost all sensation as she felt time stop around her. She then felt the weight on her back decrease before it vanished entirely as she then stopped and turned around to see Ravena now in Key's arms. Before she could try anything, DB and BB set the ground around her a lit with fire now in a tight circle around her making her rear up and neigh loudly.

"She's not going anywhere." Beat-Boy commented on the burning circle they had trapped her in.

"How's is the damsel doing Key?" DB asked.

"Looks like she's just unconscious, let's get her someplace safe and back to the oth…" The Beta was cut off by the sound of water bursting from out of the river. The three boys looked and saw the steam and smoke remnants of their fire as a beautiful woman walked forward to them.

"Really you've got to be more careful when you play with fire. Who knows who you can hurt?" The woman spoke. She had long flowing black hair and blue eyes, wearing a strapless dress consisting of a black corset and flowing skirt that ended at her knees.

"What happened, where's the horse?" Beat-Boy said confused.

"She is standing right in front of ya' laddie." The woman made the fact clear pushing her hair behind her ear.

"I guess it's safe to assume that she's no ordinary horse, especially if she was in control of the water just now." Key deduced. "Never thought I see someone actually tame a Kelpie."

"Believe what you want, but you have a job and I have mine. Hand over the girl and nobody gets hurt." The water left over began floating in the air as orbs around her.

"Sorry, I don't think we'll do that, especially after your owner kidnapped her against her will." DB said as he pulled out his guns; Beat-Boy followed his example and got his revolvers ready. "Key, get out of here and take Ravena with you."

"Right, just be careful." Key said as he lifted Ravena fireman's style. He knew the rope was preventing Ravena from using her powers and he himself felt drained being near it so he took off in the other direction.

"Great, now I've got nothing to show for this adventure." Fraulein said sarcastically seeing them get away. "I guess I have to stop 'em down if only to keep Prey outta one of his moods." With a snap of her fingers another part of the water rose up and made a large wall preventing Key from moving farther.

"Hold on missy, first you've got to get past us." Beat-Boy said reminding her she still had others to deal with.

"I guess I do now don't I?" Fraulein said as the water wrapped around her arms and formed flowing gloves for her to use.

(Scene Change)

Shadow blocked the blow of the large pestle from above as he pushed Amaya away. The large rabbit then began to float in midair before settling back on the ground; Amaya then moved to attack from the side only for Shadow to block her again. He was about to disarm her only to be pushed away by her psychokinesis; Shadow then fired a Dead Spike only for it to be blocked by Amaya's barrier.

'If she was full aware of her abilities this would be a troubling fight, plus the fact I don't want to hurt her.' Shadow thought as he tried to plan out ways to get past the brainwashed rabbit and reach the one responsible.

"You call me a weakling yet here you are struggling against this small rabbit. I change my mind about you…you're not a fiend, just a mongrel about to be put down." Just as he said that Amaya slammed her pestle into the ground trapping Shadow in a large bamboo grove.

"Shadow!" Illu yelled as she then slipped past Mirage's guard and trapped her using popping the blade of her glaive and binding Mirage in chains. She set her weapon into the ground and rushed towards the bamboo only to be coiled up in Nyoka's tail.

"N…Nyo…ka!" Illu struggled for breath feeling her tail constricting around her body. On the ground by the snake laid the unconscious bodies of Hippo and Mukurowl, seemingly done in by a cloud of poison.

"Whatever she saw in you was a mystery, but I see nothing impressive of you." Prey said seeing Shadow bound by the bamboo stalks.

"You know what; I changed my mind about you too." Shadow said from his prison.

"Oh?" Prey asked interestingly but a chill went down his spine as he felt a strong pulse coming from the grove.

"You're not a weakling…but…a coward!" Shadow said as his eyes slowly turned red.

(Scene Change)

The riverside was a battle-field as Fraulein sent torrents of water toward the two to try and break their defense. DB continued to match her water with his fire, extinguishing them both while Beat-Boy kept her from advancing using his gun magic firing a barrage of magic bullets. As Key watched he felt Ravena shiver a bit.

"Dark, so dark…" She mumbled out.

"Hold on Ravena we'll get through…" Key was then cut off as tendrils formed out of the water wall and knocked him aside.

"Key!" That moment of distraction gave Fraulein enough time to overpower him and toss him into the river. Beat-Boy stood nervous at the action but kept his guns trained on Fraulein still.

"I'm not in the mood for tossing around little boys so move along." Fraulein said as a small warning.

"No way, do your worst!" Beat-Boy said bringing his guns together to form his shotgun.

"Suit yourself child." Fraulein raised her hand and made a large tidal wave appear. She then sent the water forward making Beat-Boy brace himself only to see several books fly out and form a magic barrier that stopped the water. The books then opened and proceeded to suck in the wave within their contents.

"What in this world's kind of magic is that?!" Fraulein yelled in surprise as Beat-Boy just looked stunned.

"As fun as both of your performances are I'm afraid I can't have you succeed in your mission." All of them then turned to see RoM walking towards them smiling as the books floated around him.

"Informant! What are you doing here?!" demanded Fraulein, clearly displease at the sudden arrival of the young man. "This is none of your concern!"

"I actually agree with her, what ARE you doing here RoM?" asked DB standing up.

RoM smiled a bit as he adjusted his glasses. "Simple, I want to take back what's mine."

Fraulein frowned while the others looked confused. "Explain yourself, Lad!"

"When you walked into my shop asking about the Rookie, naturally I was curious," said RoM walking forward slowly.

"You were watching the entire time!" exclaimed Key upon realization.

"Imagine my surprise when I found out the reason your master came was to take away my Pet," stated RoM when his expression became dark. "Nobody steals my darling Pet…" he snarled as paper began peeling from his body and started flying like shuriken towards Fraulein.

Fraulein quickly waved her arms before her causing two streams of water two shoot out and began whipping about, slicing the paper in mid-air. At the same time, DB and BB began firing at her.

The Kelpie tried her best to dodge and deflect the projectiles but gradually she felt herself getting overwhelmed by the repeated oncoming assaults. 'Prey will never let me hear the end of this…' she thought irritably as she quickly dove into the river and disappeared into the water.

DB and BB sighed in relief as they holstered their guns while RoM readjusted his glasses.

Key lifted Ravena once more and glared at RoM.

"What gives RoM? It's not like you to suddenly show up," asked Key suspiciously. "Or to interfere in the affairs of others."

RoM folded his arms and looked at the Beta. "On the contrary Key, this affair became mine once I realized Ravena was involved."

"What? What does Ravena got to do with this?!" demanded DB stepping forward and grabbing a fistful of RoM's shirt. "We want answers RoM!"

RoM readjusted his glasses for the umpteenth time and smirked. "That is for the cat to answer DrummerBoy," he said mysteriously as he suddenly turned into a flurry of papers and flew off into the sky.

Key knitted his eyebrows as he looked down at Ravena's still unconscious form.

"Ma….Mas…ster" she suddenly muttered.

'Just what are you hiding from us, Ravena?' Key questioned silently.

(Back with Prey)

"Sora! HELP!" cried Shade as he and Rose ran past being chased by Hyna-Wolf.

**_"Regulus Punch!" _**cried out Sora managing to land a light infused punch to the wolf's face, knocking Bella out of her transformation as she rolled some distance away, stunned.

"Nice one kid!" said Rose when she heard a strangled cry alerting her to turn and see Illu almost half strangled by Nyoka who constricted tighter around the girl.

Quickly Rose activated her Rinnegan eyes and held a hand towards the snake while Shade formed a seal.

**_"Shadow Stitching Jutsu!"_** called Shade causing tendrils of shadows to grow out of the darkness and stop Nyoka from constricting further.

**_"Deva Path!"_** she cried using gravity to pull Nyoka off.

"Ms. Rose! The river! Toss her into the river!" Sora shouted suddenly.

Rose quickly complied as she flung the large snake into the cold river. Nyoka hissed and thrashed about wildly before the frigid temperature of the water eventually caused the snake to slowly loose consciousness and shrink back to her normal size. The rogue quickly fished the now small snake out and laid her next to Angel, Minnya and Punnya with Mazareth. Illu steadily rose up, now free from Nyoka's wrap.

"Is that all of them?" Illu asked as she recovered.

"Not yet, we still have the biggest pain in the ass on your team to deal with." Rose answered as they all saw Bella get back to her feet.

They all watched as the toon girl turned into what seemed to be a walking stitched together burlap sack with arms, legs, and a pointed head that head a demonic face. Oogie Boogie smiled at them demonically with his mouth wide open showing some of the many bugs that rested inside him.

"The flatchest just had to be a girl." Rose cursed as she plotted ways to get back at Prey for starting all of this.

"Bella-chan will definitely be a handful, but what about Shadow?" Illu asked.

"I don't think we have to worry about him; Prey wouldn't last long, especially while we're under a full moon." Rose said in almost a nonchalant tone.

"Huh, what's so special about the moon?" Shade asked.

"You've got a lot to learn about the guy you're calling a teacher. I should know, I trained under him first…" Suddenly the all braced themselves as a large black wind flowed past them along with it a strong surge of power. "Looks like we've got no time to waste, let's knock her out and see how much of Prey Shadow let live." Rose said as they scattered to avoid exploding dice from the ghoul before them.

(With Prey and Shadow)

"What in the world?" Prey stammered out as he took a step back, over at the side was Amaya back in her manju form as she was knocked out by the strong gale. The bamboo that once grown where not sliced to pieces before they dissipated and in the middle was Shadow taking a few quick breathes as he let the darkness fade.

'It's getting harder to keep this under control and it's a full moon too.' Shadow said as he then stood still and looked to Amaya. 'Sorry Amaya, I'll make it up to you and take you to that manju area Rave told me about.'

"I say, I guess you really are a fiend. A darkness like that, so oppressive and ominous…the only time I've ever felt something like that was Aki…"

"Don't say that name or the beating I'm about to give you will be four times as painful." Shadow cut him off.

"Four, isn't the saying twice?"

"You made it twice putting my Amaya into this."

Prey the let loose a sigh. "I see, well then I guess the only way to defeat a villain like you is with a hero's trusted sword." Now Prey then shifted his body and held his sword forward in a fencing stance.

"I think that's supposed to be my line." Shadow said as he pulled out a scythe was tossed aside when Amaya used her psychic powers. Darkness flowed down the knife and extended to make a solid sword of dark energy. "But then again, I'm not going to defeat you." He then held the new sword in a reverse grip behind him.

"Oh no?" Prey said in surprise.

"No…I'm going to crush you."

(Scene Change)

"So RoM ran off to who knows where but where did you think the Kelpie woman or whatever went?" DB asked as he scanned the flowing river for any signs of Fraulein.

"Who knows, she probably fleed using the river and just followed the flow or she might have went upstream back to where Prey is to tell him she failed." Key said as he looked back down at Ravena. "Right now, let's think of a way to wake her up."

"Well that ride strap to a horse's back didn't seem to rile her up and slapping her silly is out of the question because I don't want her tearing my face to ribbons." DB pondered out ways to wake up the sleeping feline. "Toss her in the river maybe?"

"Where the Kelpie might still be lying in waiting?"

"Oh right."

"Um I got an idea that might work." Beat-Boy said walking over to Ravena as the older guys watched to see what he had in mind. BB took off his headphones and placed them over Ravena's ear and then turned the volume high. Before Beat-Boy could play something Key and DB moved his back a few inches; looking confused he shrugged it off and played one of his songs.

"Nyaaaaaa!" Ravena screamed as she almost fell deaf thanks to her sensitive ears. She quickly chucked the headphones off her head and began looking around. "Owww my head, who's big idea was it to blast music right into my…hey I can move!" She looked and saw that she was standing and not wrapped in Prey's rope.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, you've got a lot of explaining to do young lady." DB said with his arms crossed.

"Right now isn't the time, where's Prey?" Ravena said with a low growl. Before they could get any answers they saw flashes of light further upstream on the river. "Guess that answers my question." Soon they all took off back towards the battle…but not before DB brought along with him something that might be useful.

(Prey vs. Shadow)

Prey dodged and blocked what he thought was barrage of slashes as his sabre counted the diagonal and horizontal moves. While Shadow's sword might be solid it had no weight to it allowing him to perform multiple slices. After another block Shadow then stepped back giving Prey an opportunity.

"Do you honestly think such of rough style will even touch me?" Prey said taking a straight lunge with his sabre pointed to Shadow's chest. Instead of backing up or guarding as he expecting, Shadow just shifted to the side letting th sabre pass through beside him as he landed an seithr fueled punch to Pey's face that knocked him back.

"Oi, this is supposed to be a fair duel!" Prey complained about the Hell's Fang he just received; never in a sword duel did he meet someone who wouldn't try and avoid the blade or rather bypass it as Shadow did.

"And how was any of what you did tonight fair?" Shadow asked.

"I may be a rouge, but at least I know when to see rules and regulation…especially in a battle!" Prey said pressing a continuous attack thrusting with his sabre. Shadow proceeded to weave through the move and then caught the sword with his own bringing them in a stalemate.

"Really huh, then let me share a rule with you." Shadow said as he charged a ball of gravity with his free hand. "Mess with any of Kurotsubasa and you live to regret it!" That rule came with a gravity ball that slammed into Prey's unprotected chest with the force of a cannonball. As the rouge slide he soon hit a stop and was brought to the ground, he struggled to get up as he was now in an intense gravity field.

"Only two times; either you're not that strong or there is something about you that makes the technique easier…not that I'm complaining." Shadow kept the field up and walked over with his sword dragging along the ground.

"T-this…how could I…lose to someone like…" Prey slowly spoke trying to move in the high gravity.

As Shadow walked closer he saw something trying to force its way out of Prey's back and at the same time feathers around him on the ground. "I see now, your bones are hollow like a bird huh. Lightweight but also just heavy enough to withstand some forces…this is a move I don't see you escaping from." He said as he pointed the dark sword to Prey.

"You fiend." Prey said.

"Enough out of you, let the girls out of whatever spell you put them under." Shadow ordered.

"Fufufu, what makes you think it was some spell? Don't you think it could've just been their hearts opening up, telling them to follow my commands?" Prey said, still as flamboyant despite the situation.

"I doubt that…seeing as it only affects girls with weak hearts I'm guessing." Shadow guessed getting a twitch out of Prey. "If I had to guess, it must be a power that you have." Cue another twitch. "Well as long as you're not willing to do it, I guess knocking you out will get me the same results."

Before Shadow could intensify the gravity again he quickly moved to dodge a sharp whip of water that rose from the river. Prey slowly moved his head to see Fraulein form out the water still in her human form. "I've been gone for only a wee while and already you're stuck in the dirt." Fraulein frowned.

"Ah Fraulein you've returned and even in that form just to greet…" Prey then snapped out of his fantasy and moved his eyes from her chest to her face. "Wait why are you here? I told you to escape with Kitten."

"About that…"

"PREYYYYYY!"

Instantly Prey turned a pale white and tried to move only to be reminded her was still in the gravity field. A wave of black cats then piled on top of the rouge only to detonate soon knocking him unconscious.

"Whoa, I think you've done enough to him Rave." Shadow turned to see DB, Key, and Beat-Boy walking nervously behind a mad and fuming Ravena who was now in her old clothes.

"Oh I'm the only one who gets to say when he's hand enough!" Ravena said with rage present in her eyes as her magic began to flow out of her body. As she stepped closer she then felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Calm down for a second Rave." Shadow said as he turned her attention to the others who were resting tiredly while Bella looked at them in confusion. "We'll take him back to base and you can torture him all you want but let's take it out the street before anything else happens."

Ravena hissed for a bit but calmed herself down to get more sense of control. "Fine, but what do we have to hold him until we do get back." TO answer her question DB then gave her rope; the same golden rope Prey had used on her to kep her binded.

"Thought it would make for some sweet payback." DB smirked.

"Oh yes it will." Ravena said as she got to work tying Prey up, but not before giving him a few choice hits for the ride and knocking her out.

"Sora, Shade, BB it's best you gather up the rest of your guild and head home. I think we're calling Halloween a night for now." Key said to them.

"Sure don't worry about us, make sure Rave gives the guy a good beating for us!" Shade said as they worked to help get Mirage, Angel, Minnya, and Hippo back with Cadet's help using Four-Arms to carry them.

"Noted!" Ravena shouted to them.

"So Rose what are you going to do now?" Shadow asked seeing the girl walk with Mazareth now at her side with Punnya on his back.

"Follow you of course; I deserve some retribution as well for the crappy night Prey put me through." Rose said. "So don't think you can stop me this time."

"I'm not, though we might as well hurry." Shadow said as they saw Ravena was now dragging Prey away with Fraulein following back in her horse form. The Kelpie saw no more need to fight since her master lost and rather doesn't want to deal with a fight if she could avoid it.

(Time Skip)

"So you actually do know this guy Ravena?" Key asked as they now kept the miserable, tied up Prey in the corner of the base. While he sat prisoner Fraulein was with the other pets socializing as they talked about her owner.

"Yeah…look I didn't say anything about this before because I wanted to leave some things from my past behind." Ravena sighed before glaring back at Prey. "That guy is Bird-Of-Prey; he's rouge just like I am only not as well known…at least not for the things rouges do."

"Guess his record must be as long as Doppelman's is from how he acts; charming and then kidnapping women. How is a guy like you not in jail yet?" Shadow said.

"Oi, do not make a mockery of my grand quest!" Prey yelled.

"Whatever Super Perv" Was the answer most of Kurotsubasa gave him causing him to slump down in depression.

"So what exactly do we do with the guy? I mean he did bad things like take kidnap Kitty and have some of us fight each other, not to mention what he did to Amaya was a crime." Bella pointed out.

"U-Pyon!" Amaya agreed with a rare angry look on her face.

"We should let Ravena decide what to do, he came all the way for her remember." DB said as they all looked at Ravena for an answer.

Ravena walked over to Prey who in turn paled again at the thought of what Ravena had in mind. The nekomata let out a sigh and sharpened her claws causing Prey to shut his eyes. A quick slash later and Prey found himself free.

"You're letting me go?" Prey said as he then jumped to his feet. "Oh Kitten I knew you cared!" He said lunging towards her chest.

"NOT LIKELY NYA!" Ravena said using a paper fan to knock Prey against the wall. "You made a stupid mistake, but for now I just want you to get outta my sight. You owe me one hell of a favor and more for not beating you into a pulp right now." The girl explained.

"Such a cold tone that I wished to hear for three long years! Even if you feel that way know my love for you burns deep within my heart!" Prey said as he shortly recovered. "Though…I spend one night in this town and I find so many candidates for the One." He said looking at the rest of the girls; the reactions where a nervous look from Illu as she hid behind Shadow to avoid his gaze, a confused look from Bella, and an angry look from Rose.

"Look at me with those perverted eyes again and I'll Shinra Tensei you straight to Hell." Rose said threateningly.

"I see, well on that cue I shall leave. Come Fraulein." Prey said as he headed towards the door. The horse gave out a small snort but followed him, letting Prey grave hold of the reigns. As the rouge got on his mount he gave Kurotsubasa some parting words. "Don't think this will be the last you see of me; now that I've found you my love you can't escape me that easily!"

"JUST LEAVE ALREADY!" After that shout Prey then took off into the night. Now that Ravena was done shouting she then looked to the others. "Look guys, I know I got a lot to explain…not just about Prey but about my past and all of that."

"Honestly, you didn't have to tell us if you didn't want to." Shadow said warranting strange looks from the others.

"Shads are you serious, after that crazy night?!" DB asked.

"We've all have our past and we all have our secrets. I can truthfully say there are things that I did in my past that I'm not proud I did." Shadow said.

"Shadow-kyun?" Ravena said.

"I…sort of agree too." Illu said to the others surprise. "Would knowing the past really change anything I mean, we would all still be friends and nothing would change…right?" The girl asked hopefully.

As they looked at each other in wonder they then all heard a laugh come out from Ravena as she soon began to laugh hysterically.

"I didn't know why I didn't see it like that, thanks Illu-tan." Ravena said wiping away a tear from the laughter. "The past is the past, and the me now is different from the me back then nya!" She said with a smile. "Still I feel that I owe you some story."

"True…but yeah Illu has a point." DB admitted. "If we have you spill your secrets then of course we all will do the same. We've all got skeletons in our closet." The vampire said.

"It's been a long night, why don't we rest and log out. Get some cider and treats out the kitchen and call it a night." Key offered.

"Agreed, I could use a nap." Shadow said as they all readied themselves to log out.

* * *

><p><strong> The end to another exciting filler chapter with a bonus of having a little bit of cannon mixed to it as well. The linked feeling, the dark past, crazy suave rouges, just shows you FFW is a world where any and everything is possible. As of now I'm taking a small breather from writing FFW…need time for the imagination tanks to fill for it and I've been neglecting other works. So until the next time good night everyone and Happy Halloween!<strong>

**-Shadowlight0982 out.**


	31. Happy Birthday, Kohaku!

**Been a while hasn't it. Now coming back with a filler wasn't really planned, but so are a lot of things that prevent me of writing. I was late putting this up but I can't be too late for saying this:**

**Happy Birthday, Illusionist Owl.**

**That's right; this week FFW's favorite owl hybrid celebrated her birthday. While this isn't much and it's late but it is never to late to wish someone a happy belated birthday. So this is for you Illu and everyone else to enjoy. With help from Ravena, we hope you enjoy it.**

**Now, ON WITH THE SHOW!**

* * *

><p>"Aargh…my head, this is now how I pictured waking up today." Shawn spoke while lightly massaging his head to nurse a headache away. The previous night he was up finishing some work his boss had sent him only to be up half the night; also his current migraine was also a result from the late night work.<p>

"Seriously even when I'm not there he finds ways to send me his work so that he can slack off. Lazy boss…." Shawn continued to grumble out as he made his way to the clinic the building had. Hikari had made sure that the building had a small clinic installed, so he made his where there to see if any of the staff was on duty. As he made it to the door and went to open it, the door pulled back revealing a surprised Kohaku.

"S-Shawn-san, ano I mean, what are you doing here?" Kohaku asked nervously as she seemed to try and shrink out of his gaze, causing Shawn to raise a brow.

"Hey Kohaku, I'm looking to just get some aspirin to help me with this headache I woke up with. I'm surprised to see you in the clinic this early, is everything ok?" Shawn asked wanting to know why the girl was nervous coming out of the room.

"I-it's nothing really, I j-just came to see if I caught a cold. It's been getting c-colder on the island since winter hit and I just wanted to be certain." Kohaku explained.

"Sure you don't need to go back; you're still looking a bit red." Shawn pointed out as the redness on her cheeks didn't fade (in fact for a second they seem to turn redder). Clutching his throbbing head in pain Shawn just decided to dismiss. "Well the nurses know what they're doing here so I'm sure you're fine. Sorry if I'm keeping you from something."

"Oh…eep I forgot!" Kohaku suddenly forgot her nervousness as she quickly left out the clinic. Before she ran too far she stopped to catch her breath and turned around to bow to Shawn. "Gomenasai, I d-didn't mean to…"

"Don't worry about me; it's just a headache I'll live." Shawn then cut her off. "But you may want to get back to what you're missing."

"Hai!" Kohaku shouted back as she then left leaving Shawn alone in the hallway. Before he could proceed into the clinic for much needed relief he stopped feeling the familiar vibration of his new PT.

"Who could need something from me now?" Shawn sighed before pulling out the small tablet and answering the message.

"_Well it's good to see you up; you know staying up all those hours of the night isn't exactly healthy for you."_

"Didn't really have much of a choice last night, I was pretty much swamped. But enough about my sleeping habits why did you call me Abby?" Shawn asked.

"_You do know what day it is right?"_

"Sunday?"

"_More important than that, take a look at your calendar."_

Wondering what she meant by that, Shawn pulled up the calendar on the terminal only to palm his forehead. "I can't believe I forgot, I even took the time to wrote it down and set it on my calendar so that I wouldn't forget it." He said in frustration.

"_Hey at least you're reminded now, I haven't seen much of Kohaku have you seen her?"_ Abby asked.

"I just saw her leave out the clinic; from the direction she left she looks like she's heading back to her room." Shawn answered.

"_All right, well that's taken care of. The rest of us are going to meet in the lounge to discuss you know what, can you make it down in a hurry?"_

"Right now my head is throbbing; I'm going to be taking some medicine for it. You can tell me all that you guys talked about later; I'll say I'll be about ten minutes here before I leave here." Shawn answered. "Just tell me my part later, I already got everything set up last night."

"_Last night? Just how many things were you working on?"_ Abby asked.

"I like to multitask; anyway I'll talk with you guys later." Shawn then ended the call and opened the door to request some aspirin from the nurses on duty.

(Scene change)

Abby ended the call before turning to the rest of the gang in the lounge. "Well Shawn's in the clinic while Kohaku's in her room. This is as good a time as any to get the plan started." She said as she sat down with everyone else at the table.

"Man, time flies by fast, I can't believe the day's today already!" Bella said in excitement. "So what should we do, should we plan a little trip out somewhere? Or do we throw it at our little island home?" The hyperactive teen asked.

"I think the latter sounds good," suggested Leon giving it some thought.

Abby adjusted her glasses and nodded slightly. "I second that notion. After all, how often do we get actually get to celebrate something together in person?"

"My thoughts exactly!" agreed Mike enthusiastically.

"Then it's settled! We're having the party here! Tonight!" cheered Bella joyously.

"Yeah!" cheered the guys in unison while Abby simply fist-pumped in the air.

"Alright then, looks we're going to have to get the stuff ready and keep Kohaku distracted at the same time," noted Leon taking the lead. "Mike, you are with me for getting the party stuff. Abby, Bella, you go make sure you keep Kohaku from finding out and I'll ask Shawn to see if can do anything about getting a cake. Are you guys ready?"

Abby, Mike and Bella all exchanged looks and smiled as they quickly lined up and saluted before bowing formally. "Yes, My Lord…." They all said solemnly before bursting out into loud snickering.

"Yeeeah! I always wanted to try saying that!" said Mike excitedly.

"I can see what you mean!" agreed Bella while Abby clapped a bit.

"I agree, it is quite thrilling to say for some reason," the girl noted still keeping an aloof expression although truth be told inside she was fan-girling her heart out at the Black Butler reference.

"Ok, ok, quit goofing off guys, it's time to get to work!" commanded Leon pulling out his PT while rushing everyone out.

(Elsewhere…)

Back in her office, Hikari had a headset on communicating with a colleague. "I understand you are on your way here as we speak Manami-san?"

"_Of course, Hikari-chan~! I haven't been to the island in long while after all~!"_

Hikari smirked in amusement. "Still as casual as ever I see. As if I don't know the real reason behind your sudden visit."

At that moment, a white chopper could be seen flying in from the distance bearing FFW company logo on its side. Inside, a middle-aged Japanese man laughed heartily. "Aah, nothing ever gets past you Hikari-chan~! Well, since the secret's out, has she been doing well?"

"_Of course, she has your spirit after all.."_

(Scene Change)

"So you want me to head out into town to try and buy a cake for the party?" Shawn asked; answering the call he had gotten from Leon a minute ago.

"_Yep, since you're already out, it's been decided that you procure the cake for the birthday girl. Mike and I are going to try and decorate a small bit while Bella and Abby take Kohaku out back to distract her."_ Leon explained the plan to him.

"Well I don't know that much about stores, but Hikari has to get the food from somewhere. I can call her for directions to the closest store and pick something up." Shawn said as he began to think of something else as well. "I also might need to pick up a gift for Kohaku too while I'm there."

"_A gift, didn't we all give her something for when we next go to FFW?"_

"That's the thing, if we were celebrating in FFW I wouldn't be worrying since I bought her a present weeks ago, but I've had so much work pushed my way I haven't had time to decide what to get her." Shawn sighed. "Hopefully I can pick something up while I'm getting the cake."

"_Good luck to you…oh, and try not to bump into the girls incase Abby and Bella pull Kohaku towards town."_

"Noted" Shawn then ended the call as he then began to look for Hikari's number.

'I swear, he better have a pretty good reason to be sending me his work or he'll be doing his paperwork alone for about a month.' He cursed his boss silently in his head while waiting for a Hikari to reply.

(Scene Change)

"Ano, not that I mind but…why did we need to come outside?" Kohaku asked as she was being led by her two female friends, though Bella was taking point while Abby just walked by Kohaku's side. The three were dressed in outfits suited to match the cold weather.

Kohaku wore a long teal jacket that matched her usual sea-green dress, for the day the girl had her hair free, though she kept it from being too wild with a ribbon. She still had on her favorite brown knee high boots and had red scarf wrapped loosely around her neck. Bella chose to wear a green sweater with snowmen printed on it, a long red skirt with flecks of gold on it and purple slip-on shoes. Abby had decided to wear a Maneki Neko hoodie with the hood up so that the ears stuck up along with her slacks and running shoes

"Do we really need a reason to check out more of the island Haku? We're just having a little girl's day out." Bella answered, using the nickname she had for Kohaku.

"Everyone needs a little change in scenery now and again." Abby also added to her friends words. "I'm just surprised I got Bella to agree to come on this trip as well. I didn't think you would come considering how much of a tomboy you are Bella." She pointed up.

"Hey, this natural look doesn't come over night. I may not be like most girls but I enjoy small makeovers sometimes." Bella defended herself. "Any do you remember where the place is?"

"I thought you were leading the way, wasn't that why you took point?"

"I don't know where anything is in this place, plus wouldn't it be weird if I knew where to find a spa on a random island?"

Seeing her two friends arguing Kohaku decided to step in between them while at the same time pulling out an Ipad from her bag. "I can always do a search for one here, or at least find another place to go since we can't really go to jungle during the winter." Kohaku offered to solve their problem.

"Would you even have wifi here?" Bella asked. Abby took a quick look around before pointing their attention to a nearby coffee shop.

"We can stay there while Kohaku does her search; maybe grab a small snack as well." Abby said as all three of them went inside and ordered some drinks and snacks before finding a table by the window. As the three settled down and waited for their orders, Abby decided to start the conversation. "So Kohaku, why did Shawn say he found you coming out of the clinic? Do you have a cold or something?"

That question also got Bella's attention. "Oh yeah, I saw you coming out of there a few times last week." The brownish-blonde haired girl pointed out as she looked to a somewhat nervous Kohaku. "Are you ok owlgirl? You haven't caught anything bad have you?"

"I'm p-perfectly fine, really." Kohaku tried to reassure them. "I go to the clinic just to have small checkups and sometimes I keep the nurses there company. You don't have to worry about me you guys." The girl said as she then connected with her Ipad to start the search. As she got to work, Bella and Abby couldn't help but notice how much Kohaku had customized her Ipad.

"Wow, where did you go to find such a cool Ipad like that owlgirl? I mean I have mine and I wouldn't trade her for anything, but where did you go so I know who can add all those extras to mine?" Bella asked, slightly admiring the designs and the attachments.

Kohaku stopped her search and looked to Bella as she softly giggled. "I didn't go anywhere Bella-chan. I customized my Ipad myself. When I'm bored, and I don't have anything new to take pictures of I sometimes tinker with some of the electronics I have lying around. To be honest, I just blindly went through customizing up and made sure that I didn't break it."

"That's one hobby; it's almost like you took it apart and put it back together again." Abby said impressed.

"T-that's usually how it starts." Kohaku admitted with her cheeks pink with embarrassment. "I just got curious one day about how they were made and just decided to take it apart and find out. I've been tinkering with electronics for years ever since my Tou-sa…" At that mention Kohaku decided to stop and became a small bit reserved.

"Tou, your Dad right? Does he work in an electronics store or something?" Bella asked curiously.

Kohaku averted her eyes a little while tugging slightly at a lock of her hair. "Uh…kinda…"

"Hmmm…." Was all Bella and Abby replied taking note of her behavior while they exchanged glances.

"Um…I have to go to the bathroom! Excuse me…" Kohaku said standing up and leaving.

Just as soon as the girl was out of sight, Abby pushed up her glasses and stood as well.

"I need to go too, watch our table ok Bella?" asked Abby while Bella responded with a peace sign making Abby smile before she departed.

Inside the bathroom, Kohaku splashed water on her face to calm herself down.

"_Ano sa…Anata wa usode wa hijō ni waruidesu..." _she heard a voice say behind her. Kohaku jumped in surprise as she looked in the mirror to see Abby leaning against a wall looking at her while pushing up her glasses. (Translation: You know…..you really suck at lying….)

Kohaku froze a little. 'Did she figure something out?' she thought before turning around to face Abby with a smile and a small chuckle. _"Hidoi na Abby-chan…Naze anata wa sono yōna koto o iudeshou?" _(Translation: That's mean Abby, why would you say that?)

Suddenly Abby began tugging at a lock of her own hair making Kohaku tilt her head in confusion. _"Anata no kami desu…."_(Your hair….)

"_Hai?"_

"_Anata wa anata no kami de yusaburu….Watashi wa anata ga uso toki ni nomi sore o okonau koto ni kidzuku..._" Explained Abby bluntly making Kohaku widen her eyes in surprise. (You were tugging at your hair…I notice you only do that when you lie…)

"Eh? But I'm not lying!" protested Kohaku only for Abby to reply with raised eyebrows and point to her hand.

It was at that moment Kohaku felt her hair being tugged when she looked to see her hand really was lightly tugging at a lock of her hair. The girl quickly released the hair before sighing and leaning at the wall opposite of Abby chuckling a little bitterly. "Huh…I guess nothing gets past you, Abby-chan…"

Abby smiled a bit as she walked towards Kohaku and took her hand in hers. "Look Kohaku, you are one of my best friends, in and out of game. I may not be the best person to tell you this, but you have to learn to trust us with your secrets…"

Kohaku looked at Abby's face to see the concern reflected in her eyes._"Hai…." _She replied softly.

"You know me well enough that I won't force you to talk, but at the very least, take what I said to heart…."

Having said her piece; Abby then turned and left out of the restroom. Kohaku took a moment alone inside the empty room before she also left back to their table.

(Scene Change)

"Well, I made sure that the lounge would be free for us today." Michael came back in the room where Leon was waiting. "I just told them Hikari need it to have a meeting with us and all the other workers agreed to stay clear of this whole floor." He said proud of his accomplishment.

"So a small white lie was enough? Why didn't you just tell them why we needed the room?" Leon asked, curiously.

"I didn't know if they could keep a secret. Besides it's just a small lie. It's not as if they're going to find out, them or Hikari." Michael said. Leon sighed, letting him bask in the moment until he noticed the sound of footsteps coming to the room.

"Ugh, Mike…"

"I already told you Leon, it's foolproof!"

"Oh, and when did I say that we were having a meeting today?"

Mike froze solid and slowly turned around to see a smiling Hikari just enter the lounge. Leon just brought a palm to his forehead and looked to also see that Hikari had a guest with her. The man who walked in had short black hair that fell to the base of his neck with the bangs that reached the top of his sea green eyes, though Leon did notice a few grey stands of hair as well showing the man was older than he looked. The man was wearing a casual dress shirt and black pants along with black dress shoes.

"Did you need to the lounge for a meeting with your guest, Ms. Murakumo?" Leon asked. While they were hoping to use the room for Kohaku's surprise, they would have to move if Hikari needed it for something important.

"Oh no, feel free to use the room." Hikari waved off their worries, causing the two boys to breathe a breath of relief. "I was actually looking for you all. Have you seen Kohaku, this gentleman would like to see here." She gently explained. The man in question walked over to the two and offered his hand out.

"So you two are part of the FFW test group that Hikari-san brought here. It must have been a tough decision, but you won't find a better volunteer job." The man said. "I know a bit of what it's like to be the new guy. It's only been a few years now that I've been a part of one of the Murakumo branches." After Leon and Michael shook the man's hands he then continued. "Oh, before I forget, I might as introduce myself. I am Takahiro Manami."

"Takahiro Manami, as in CEO of Manami Electronics?" Leon asked, surprised at seeing a very influential person standing in the same room.

"Manami Electronics?" Michael repeated those words.

"Manami-san's company is one of the few that is partnered with Murakumo industries. Much of our electronics come from their company in fact, and they helped improve on existing technology." Hikari quickly explained. "The PT's that are on the market now, the idea was actually conceived by this man here."

"I don't do much. One of my main goals is to make an already popular game even more popular…at least that's what it says on paper." Takahiro joked lightly. "And Hikari, we can stop with the formalities. Right now I am not here as a CEO or employee."

"Huh, then why are you here? Vacation?" Mike asked.

"Something like that. Usually at this time I would've been back at my desk behind stacks of paperwork. At least, that's how it is now thanks to a certain someone 'borrowing' my assistant." Takahiro said.

(Scene Change)

_Aaachoo!_

"Sir, are you catching a cold?"

"No, I think a certain someone just talking about me. Anyway how much to have this wrapped?"

(Scene Change)

"The way you say that, you seem to be accusing me of theft Manami-kun. I had no influence over your assistant's choices; he chose to volunteer of his own accord." Hikari said, already knowing that her co-worker was joking. "Now, back to why you came to visit. These two are Leon and Michael, they happen to be friends with your daughter as well."

"Wait, daughter?" The two said aloud.

"Hai, and how has my little dragon been doing?" Takahiro asked cheerfully.

"Little…" Michael started.

"Dragon?" Leon finished as a thought went through his head. "Wait you said daughter, you wouldn't happen to be related to Kohaku Manami would you Takahiro-san?" He asked, wanted to make his conclusion clear.

"Why of course!" Takahiro then quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture that he all but forced into Leon and Michael's faces. On the picture they could see a younger Takahiro holding a little girl that shared his eyes but with brown hair. "My cute dragon, Kohaku, originally I was worried for her volunteering for Murakumo-san but seeing her friends go out of their way to prepare for her special day! Now where is she, I can't wait to surprise her!"

"Well…Kohaku went with Bella and Abby into town. It was their way of distracting them while we set up everything here." Leon told them the truth.

"I see, it would make sense seeing as Shawn called me beforehand about where to buy a cake." Hikari said, thinking back to before she went out to meet Takahiro. "The best course of option would be to wait for Kohaku and the others to return."

"I see, it would make a good surprise present for Kohaku!"

(Elsewhere)

"Aww, do we really have to go in?"

"Come on Bella, we've all have to take one for the team sometime. Besides we're only here for a quick treatment. It's not like you're getting a full makeover." Abby said as they all stood outside of the local spa.

"T-think Bella-chan, it could be just like the spa we went to at Ember Island. It may even be twice as good now that we're experiencing it in the real world." Kohaku also pointed out in a happy tone.

"I know but I'm not into much girly things. Manicures I can work with, but I don't really like it when anyone I don't know touches my feet." Bella pouted.

"Come on Bella, I'm sure you can let go of some pride and come out of the place looking pretty." Abby said.

"Hey, I can work with cute but I draw the line at pretty!"

Seeing them go back and forth again, Kohaku had to stiffen a giggle as she had gotten used to Abby's humor. "Huh?" Kohaku then stopped her laugh and looked off across the street. Bella was the first to notice her straggling behind and turned to see her look of confusion.

"Is there a something wrong owlgirl, if you're looking for a treat then we should make our way back home." Bella said, wondering why Kohaku stopped walking. "Come on, I got a stash of chocolate hidden away that I want to make sure is there."

"Oh gomen Bella-chan, it's just that, isn't that Shawn over there?" Kohaku asked while pointing so that the others would know where she was looking towards. The two followed her gaze and inwardly gasped as she was right and Shawn was walking back carrying a bag in tow.

"Guess that is Shads, I wonder what's he's doing out here? He hasn't exactly been around a lot this week." Bella asked in fake wonder, as she and Abby tried to keep Kohaku from becoming suspicious. "It looks like he's heading back towards HQ though." She noted.

"It could be he was out running another errand or maybe Hikari sent him out for something." Abby offered a reason. "He has been working a lot lately, wouldn't put it past him if he was still out doing a job."

"Then we can all walk back together, we're all heading to the same place." Kohaku said and was about to call out to Shawn before Bella placed her hand over her lips, surprising her.

"Let's not do that Kohaku. If Shads is really busy, then he wouldn't need us slowing him down." Bella said, trying to cover her nervousness. After a moment she noticed where her hand was and pulled it away while laughing slightly.

Abby, who was having a better time maintaining her composure than her accomplice decided to intervene. "Bella's right, we should just leave him be. Besides it wouldn't be a Girl's Day Out if we had Shawn joined us. He wouldn't look good in a dress." She finished in a tone that was hard to tell if she was joking or not.

"Well…ok then." Kohaku then turned back and now saw nothing but other pedestrians walking the streets. "I guess it was just my imagination then. Let's head back."

"Sounds like a plan." Bella said as they all then made their way back to the Murakumo building. Abby followed behind the two girls after placing her PT back in her jacket pockets. While walking with the other she glanced up to the roofs and saw a figure ride from one building to the other.

'Good thing I was able to send a message in time.'

(Scene Change)

"You know I never would have thought that shy little Il-I mean, Kohaku, would be related to someone like you Mr. Manami." Leon said. "No offense sir, it's just she doesn't really come off as the rich girl type."

"I know, I remember the time that she took apart one of the computers Hikari let us use in like a second. She did it like it was the simplest thing in the world." Michael recalled.

"Well she did inherit the best of both worlds! There are times where my traits show up, but she's a gem just as her mother was." Takahiro said. "She's always been a good girl, never asking for much. While I may not be home often she has my father as well as her grandfather from her mother's side, the old fart. She also has Kyouya and his friends too."

"Well I guess in a way you had Kohaku sheltered." Leon concluded.

"Of course I did!" He then yelled surprising the two boys while Hikari just shook her head knowing where this conversation was going. "I couldn't trust my little dragon with any crowd, in fact until she called to tell me of this volunteer work Kyouya and her friends were her only male contact!" Reaching back in his pockets he began to show them waves and waves of pictures from a small album.

"Even now the thought of her being out here is nerve-racking! I trust none of you have done anything to hurt my daughter, right!" Suddenly something soared through the air and struck the man in the head causing him to fall.

"Already at it again, Takahiro-san?"

"Ah, it seems we have a visitor." Hikari signaled to the one walking into the room. Before any of the guys could figure out the situation Takahiro was already in front of Shawn.

"My, so here's where you've been, you when you said that you wouldn't be able to come to the office for a while I got a little worried." Takahiro said in almost genuine worry. "Though I'm glad you were able to finish the work I sent you."

"So you knowingly sent you your work, why couldn't you have finished it yourself?" Shawn asked, letting a small part of his frustration show.

"Without my assistant's help in making sure all is sound?" Takahiro said. "Besides, if I had to finish all the work myself I would have never been able to make it on time. I only sent you half of the work."

"Yeah, the half that doesn't require your signature."

"Yare yare, no need to be so mean."

"Hard not to with a boss like you."

"Hmm…touché."

Before the conversation could go on Michael dragged Shawn back. "Hold on, hold on, time out! Shawn you told us you worked for one of Murakumo's branches but you never said that your boss was Takahiro Manami!"

"A while ago you didn't know how big Takahiro Manami was." Leon reminded him.

"Not the point, come on man why are we only finding this out now?" Mike asked.

"It never came up in conversation. When we talked about say life I mentioned my job but you never asked who exactly I worked for." Shawn then sighed. "Really the excitement of working there dies quickly when you meet some of the stiffs in the office. I was lucky to be interned with Takahiro despite his quirks."

"I was also new at the time, so they figured having an intern to report to would keep me in line." Takahiro explained. "Naturally, we've reached an understanding and after a period I was able to hire Shawn as a full assistant."

"Whoa…"

Leon then noticed something. "If that's how you felt then why were you complaining about the work you were swamped with this week?"

A tick mark then grew on Shawn's forehead. "Half of the work he gives me are parts that he's too lazy to do himself and I don't have the same resources here that I had back in the office. Not to mention you messaged me over and over again with more family photos."

"What, is it a crime for a man to love his family?"

"That's not a crime, what's a crime is basically forcing your family in my face." Shawn said with clear irritation. "I mean you basically pull that book out whenever you feel the need to…which is a lot of the time."

"I can't help but take pride in my family."

"Good for you, just stop trying to eye rape everyone else."

"Sorry but I would need to ask you to keep your conversation rated PG." Hikari intervened before the situation got out of hand, she then clapped her hands as if to steer attention back to her as she motioned to the bag in Shawn's hand. "I assume that bag you have is for Kohaku's surprise?" She asked.

"I guess we couldn't keep it secret for long. Is it ok that we use the room for the party, we've kind of had this big plan figured out and we needed a large room to have it in." Shawn explained.

Hikari nodded her head. "It's fine with me, but the next time, don't feel the need to sneak around me. All you have to do is ask and I will give you my answer." The head of Murakumo industries then turned to the rest as well. "That goes for you all as well; I rather not have you think I'm untrustworthy."

"Yes Ma'am." Leon and Michael bowed their heads.

"Good, now what was the reason for your trip? Abby and Bella are still with Kohaku so what was your part in the plan?" She then asked.

"It's not really a birthday party without a cake, so I went out to get one." Shawn explained as he then reached into the bag and brought out a medium sized yellow cake with white frosting. Besides a few frosting flowers decorating it, the picture on the top of the cake was of a chibi Illu along with Mukurowl and Nyoka. "I called ahead a day ago and sent an image to decorate for it and I picked it up today. I also got some candles for the occasion to." He said spilling out the contents.

"Oh and what is this?" Takahiro noticed a wrapped present that was also pulled out of the large bag.

"It's the present we all chipped in to give Kohaku." Shadow said.

"Wait, chipped in?" Both Leon and Michael began to check their wallets.

He nodded his head and spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. "Yeah, I thought you already knew since I bumped into Abby who gave me the cash. It's just something that we can all give her."

"Great, no wonder, she must have swiped a cut from us when we didn't notice." Michael said.

"We would've chipped in anyway but she didn't have to reach in and steal our cut." Leon sighed.

"Ara ara, it's too late for you two to do anything now so might as well forgive and forget." Takahiro said. "Now I'm curious to know what it is that you have bought my daughter Shawn."

"Now, don't start that tone with me." Shawn waved off the threat. "Besides I didn't even know she was your daughter until you started parading pictures like you did the last week."

"Huh, really?" Takahiro asked in surprise.

"I figured Manami was a common surname, no way am I gonna automatically think that a friend I've made would be related to my boss because they have the same last name." Shawn said. "Besides the pictures you usually showed just had child pictures. I never saw anything past five years old until last night."

"Oh, guess it must have blew your mind huh." Takahiro replied sheepishly.

"Whatever you want to think." Shawn then turned to Michael. "So have you heard word from the girls? I managed to make it back before they did."

"Nothing on our end." Michael answered.

"Abby and Bella haven't gotten back to us yet. We've been waiting for you to get back before sending any message." Leon said. "Did you bump into them while you were out?"

"Almost got caught but I managed to avoid them." Shawn said just as the last members of the party arrived.

"Not well enough!"

"Yo."

"O-Otousan?!"

In the middle of the two girls stood a shocked and surprised Kohaku who was surprised to see her father standing in front of her. Before she could say anything she was then swept off her feet and pulled into hug by Takahiro.

"_Sore ha amarini monagai sare te iru, watashino sukoshidoragon!"_ He said excitedly.

"_Otousan, naze anata ha koko to watashino jiyoutaiwo oboe te i masu o!"_ Kohaku managed to say as her father spun her around twice now. Having heard her, Takahiro then placed her back down on the ground.

"Gomen gomen, it's just I haven't seen you in a while. Look at you; you've already grown so much from the time that you left." Takahiro continued to dote on her. "You've been taking care of yourself right? Taking your medicine like you should?"

"I've been fine Otousan." Kohaku said. "But last I talked to you, you said you were busy. When did you get here?"

"Oh, I was able to quickly finish my work and take a chopper over. Especially thanks to the help of my assistant!" Takahiro then dodged another blunt object aimed at his head. "Now now, think of it like this, you helped a father join her daughter for her special day."

"Still didn't have to flood me with your work." Shawn said silently.

"Shawn-kun, Otou-san, how is it that you two know each other?" Kohaku let her curiosity show.

"As I said, he's my assistant who helps me with my work." Takahiro said. "I was sure I told you about him and him about you but it looks like I forgot to make things clear. The old fart's old age might be getting to me." He began to laugh while Kohaku shook her head a bit.

"So how long did you…"

"Only since yesterday, as you know Takahiro isn't good at explaining everything, so I had to piece it together after his latest gallery parade." Shawn answered. "The experience is more shocking than anything else, but course I never treated you any differently."

As he said that he turned away, only to miss Kohaku dropping her shoulders in relief. Bella then decided to step forward to start the celebration. "Well it supposed to be kind of a surprise party for Haku, but we can throw that plan out of the window. Right now let's just enjoy our pal, Kohaku's, Happy Birthday!" Bella called out grabbing a glass of punch from another table.

Everyone then followed her example and got glasses of their own that they raised for the toast.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KOHAKU!"

"Minna, I mean, I don't know what to say. You didn't have to go this far for me." Kohaku said.

"We didn't, but we did anyway. That's what friends are for." Michael smirked.

"Go ahead and open your gift Kohaku!" Bella said eagerly as she handed the fairly-sized wrapped box to her. "From all of us to you!." Kohaku nodded her head and then started unwrapping her present. Soon she pulled out a large plush version of Mukurowl.

"_Ha, totemo kawaii, Muku-Chan!" _Kohaku said happily, hugging to plush toy. "Where did you find this? I didn't think there were stores that sold something like these." She asked, still holding her present.

"There was a store selling stuff like this on the beach strip, this one was a special made order for you, apparently." Shawn said.

"I called in a favor…" Abby said bluntly adjusting her glasses. "Anyway; the party doesn't start until the birthday girl blows out the candles." She then pointed to the cake that now included lit candles. "Hope you don't mind the picture, it's one I drew to give to the chefs."

"Of course I don't mind, I love it." Kohaku smiled.

"Well don't keep us all waiting, go ahead and blow out your candles Kohaku." Takahiro said placing a hand on her shoulder. "No need to keep your friends waiting after all the work they put into this." He smiled down to her.

Kohaku smiled back at her father before to all her friends as she bent down and blew out the candles as everyone applauded while Abby snapped a photo with her digital camera..

"Now that we've got that out of the way…" began Mike as he reached under the table and pulled out a radio. Just as he was about to push the button Hikari raised a hand.

"I can do better than that dear Michael," she said with a smile as the young woman clicked her fingers. All of a sudden, the room dimmed as a disco ball came out of the ceiling as party music began to play.

"Let's PARTY!" cheered Bella.

That evening the party went by without a hitch as the group danced, played games and ate. Abby smiled as she went around taking pictures of everyone, occasionally passing it to others. There was a shot of the guys and girls facing off in a game of Limbo with Bella beating out the competition with her crazy flexibility. Another showed Hikari and Takahiro in a drinking battle where it appeared Hikari was winning due to the straight face she had compared to Takahiro's flushed face. The following one showed Hikari passing out with Kohaku trying to wake her while Mike held Takahiro's arm up in victory.

There were a few shots where Abby was shown beating all the guys in an arm-wrestling contest followed by a shot of the guys dipping their hands in an ice-bucket. Another picture showed the girls having a group picture including Hikari who had managed to sober up. There were candids moments that showed Kohaku trying to dance before tripping but was quickly caught by Shawn. The following showed Kohaku blushing madly with Shawn chuckling, then them noticing Abby taking pictures which quickly escalated to a flustered Kohaku running up to cover the lens. One shot following that showed Shawn running away from Takahiro who chased him with a piñata bat.

It was dark outside when the party was reaching its climax. Hikari, now fully sober, approached Kohaku and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I apologize for not bringing you a present Kohaku-chan," apologized the woman.

"Eh? No-no! It's fine! I'm happy as long as everyone else is!"

Hikari smiled at the girl. "Then at the very least, let me show you something I think you all would like," she offered slipping on a pair of gloves and leading everyone to the patio outside.

Everyone quickly pulled on either a pair of gloves, scarves and hats and followed the woman out. "Everybody….I present to you one of the most magical sceneries of Infinity Island," she said as Hikari gazed upwards with everyone following suit.

Multiple gasps of awe were heard from the gang at the beauty of the night sky above them. It was all clear, revealing masses of clusters of stars that illuminated the night sky. It was simply breathtaking..

"Woah…." Was all Shawn could say

"Oh my goodness…." breathed Abby in awe. "I could barely even see one star back in Singapore….This is amazing…."

"_Jesús Cristo…." _"Blimey…." muttered Leon and Mike in simultaneously while Bella for once had nothing to say.

"_Sugoi….Honto ni Arigatou, Hikari-san…"_ Kohaku said giving a hug to the woman who at first appeared to be caught off guard before smiling and hugging her back.

Takahiro smiled happily at seeing his daughter smile and nodded his own thanks to the woman who returned it silently. All of a sudden, Abby raised hand. "One final picture for the evening?" she suggested out loud. "

Everyone readily agreed and got into position as Abby quickly set the timer and rushed to Kohaku's right while Bella flanked Kohaku's left with Takahiro right behind placing his head on Kohaku's while the girl carried the Mukurowl plush in her right arm. Hikari stood to the far right with Shawn while Mike and Leon to the left.

"Smile~!" cheered everyone as they held up peace signs and smiled just as the flash went off, finally ending the evening on a beautiful high note.

* * *

><p><strong>Well that's the end of this little filler. Hope you all enjoy your week and the holidays no matter what you celebrate and give a final Happy Belated Birthday to Illu. Until next time everyone.<strong>


	32. Holiday Filler

**Hello everyone, hope you are all having an exciting day of the New Year. The holiday festivities may be coming to an end but that doesn't mean it's too late for me to post anything like this for your enjoyment.**

**One of my New Year's resolutions was to try and make more chapters for all my stories for everyone. So after this filler that's one of the goals I'm going to work towards. So enjoy the filler that me and Ravena has prepared for you.**

* * *

><p>Abby sighed in content as she rolled about in her bed. It felt great to be back in her home country of Singapore after spending some weeks at Infinity Island. Naturally, she would have to return due there to work but Hikari had given the whole of Kurotsubasa a break to go home for the Christmas holidays.<p>

Slowly, she glanced over at the clock before suddenly sitting up. "Woah oh! I'm almost late!" she exclaimed to herself quickly pulling out her laptop and Visor before plugging it in and switching it on. After logging in her password, Abby smiled as she hit the 'Enter' button.

"Ravena Felidae, Dive in!"

No sooner she did that, Abby's body went slightly limp for the Dive in sequence. At that moment, the bedroom door creaked open as two heads peered in. "Alright she's in," said one of the two. "Come on!"

"Alright, sheesh!" said the other as the two pulled out their own laptops and Visors which were both of the default design.

The two quickly input their info and slipped on their Visors before hitting the key. _"Dive in!"_ they said in unison.

_(FFW!)_

Inside the game, Abby, now as Ravena, arrived at the main reception center just as quickly as she logged in. Staying true to the season, FFW was covered in snow everywhere. The Nekomata smiled as she looked up and admired the snow falling from the sky. "I guess I should wear something a little more suited for the weather," she said to herself as she snapped her fingers.

Ravena's body glowed brightly as her normal attire changed into an alternate winter version. A white furry hair band appeared in her hair followed a red jacket with white lines trimming the seams along with white fur at the cuffs of her sleeves. She also now wore a black short skirt and leggings along with brown calf boots trimmed with white fur. Completing the outfit was a black cloak also trimmed with white fur. The girl adjusted her hood as a pink flash illuminated briefly above her.

"Pun-NYA~!" greeted the manju happily as she landed Ravena's head.

"Hey Punnya," greeted Ravena as she began running with the manju on her head. "Come on, we should hurry. _**He**_ should be arriving any time soon!"

"Pun~!"

Unbeknownst to Ravena, two more players had also just arrived and had just spotted her running away.

_**FFW!**_

At the Kurotsubasa base, Bella was excitedly dancing around the large Christmas tree adding decorations to it while humming 'Jingle Bells'. "This party is gonna be the best one we've had yet!"

DB chuckled loudly in amusement as he walked out of the kitchen with a couple of clones carrying food platters and drinks for the buffet table. "Isn't that what you said last year, Bella?"

"Who cares? The point is this year we're actually gonna rock!"

"Sounds like you're really excited for tonight's performance," stated out Key who had just come in from the back of the HQ brushing snow of his clothes. "By the way, stage is all set up and ready out back for tonight."

"WHOO!" cheered Bella as Key walked over to buffet table and whistled.

"Woah, Illu and Shadow made all of this?"

"Every last plate of it!" replied DB just as he finished laying down the last platter before dispelling his clones. Just as he reached out to sample a pastry, a white tail shot out from under the table and slapped his hand away making the vampire yelp.

"No picking until the party!" warned a slightly large Nyoka, slithering out from underneath the table making DB put his hands up in defeat.

"Ok! Ok! Yeesh!" exclaimed DB when the group heard a loud giggling.

"Ara, ara~ A grand vampire such as yourself is actually letting a puny reptile boss him around? Lu-Mi finds that so pathetic it tickles Lu-Mi so~" giggled a feminine voice.

"Heh, she makes a good point D, you've gone softer since the last I've seen you," a more familiar voice pointed out almost jokingly.

Bella, DB and Key tensed when they recognized the latter's voice as they all turned around to see an old acquaintance, or rather, a former member. Just at that moment Illu and Shadow entered the main room. "Guys? Did a guest arrive early?" Illu asked out loud when she froze while Shadow narrowed his eyes unpleasantly at the sudden visitor.

"Whisk…" greeted Shadow curtly with some obvious malice.

Whisk seemed unfazed at the unpleasant energy directed at him and grinned. "Yo!"

"I'm surprised you've haven't been noticed and thrown in jail along with your friend there Whisk." Shadow simply said, placing his hands in his coat pocket.

"Oh come on is that what I get for visiting? I would think you guys would have at least some Christmas spirit." The guest said with a fang filled smirk.

"Boo to you Mr. Scrooge!" Whisk's friend said with her thumbs pointed down.

"Why are you here?" Key asked getting to the point. Shadow and Ravena had explained to them a while ago about Whisk's intentions after he disappeared; while they were surprised they knew a bit of what to expect and now know one of the vampire's greatest powers couldn't be used on them again.

Whisk shrugged his shoulders as he never lost his grin. "Funny thing about the Guards, there seems to be none on the streets as of late. Must be so confident in the no conflict and reduced powers thing they do every year but that's not the point. I heard through a grapevine that you guys were having a little party and I thought of paying my loving sister a visit." He explained.

"Well Rave's not here and be happy for that no conflict thing or else you'd be the one roasting over a fire." DB said with a few flames sparking over his outfit for emphasis.

"Ooh, now that's something Lu-Mi has to see. Two pureblooded vampires of the Alucard order battling to see who is the strongest. Back and forth, To and fro, Forth and back, Fro and to, over and over and over again~! It's enough to make me…!" The girl turned around and bursts into squeals and giggles as she failed to hide her blushing cheeks, which only increased as she was met with a rolled up newspaper to the head.

"Down Lu-Mi." Whisk said as if her behavior was that of a…

"Yes sir~! Arf, arf!"

"You know this means a lot coming from me, but your friend isn't right in the head." Bella pointed out to the girl's nature.

"The last one I need to hear this from would be you." Whisk said as he tossed the roll away. "So my sister isn't here, where exactly did you send her off to Shadow? I figured she'd be by your side."

"Wouldn't you know more of that or do you not pay attention when you log out. Ravena hasn't logged in yet." Shadow answered as he then fished out two gloves and placed them on his hands.

"Oh, I thought the gloves come off before a fight." Whisk joked as he felt something cold pressed against the back of his neck.

"The no conflict rule still applies but don't think you can still get off easy. Since you're Ravena's brother you're her problem." Shadow placed the kunai away as he pulled up his hood. The leader of Kurotsubasa then made his way to the door.

"Really, is that what you told her?"

"Ask her yourself, but right now I've got more important things than to deal with an obnoxious brat." Before any more words could be said Shadow then left the base, leaving a few slightly confused friends and one glaring enemy.

(Scene Change)

"I told you I saw her take off to the right!"

"Well there's a problem when you say took off, why didn't you tell me she could fly?"

"She's a cat I didn't think she could?!"

"And since when does anything Abby do normal?!"

A crowd of people crowded around the argument between two girls in the town square; most of them guys taking notice to the women's outfits. Either they did not feel the winter air or simply did not have the right equipment for the weather.

One of them had fair skin and long black hair tied into a high ponytail with cerulean eyes, and pointed ears. Her figure was lean and average sized for a young woman. She wore a blue short sleeved, mid-riff shirt and puffed harem pants with gold trim. She had a long flowing white mantle around her shoulders and gold flats along with a gold diadem on her head. She wears a kind of gold shackle on her left wrist with a blue oval gem and small wings.

The other was slightly taller and had a more robust figure. Her hair was dark brown, short and curly with tan skin and golden eyes. She wore a patterned forest green headband holding back her hair with brown bear ears sticking out from the headband with a fuchsia flower clipped to her left ear. Her clothes consisted of a short dark green army jacket over a yellow camisole and black full-body leotard and heavy combat boots.

"She had _wings_ on her back! Why didn't you get a clue from that Ginger?!" demanded the elf hotly.

"You saw the wings first! Why didn't _**YOU**_ get the clue, Kiki?!" retorted the bear girl snarling.

Both women glared fiercely at each other until a hand appeared on each girl's shoulder and separated them.

"Now, now, two lovely ladies such as your selves should not be fighting on a lovely Christmas day such as this," said a charming suave voice.

The two women turned to the speaker with the intention to glare at him but stopped when they saw a handsome young man smiling at them causing the two to blush. Their faces got even redder when they realized what a large crowd they had attracted. "Uh…" was all both girls could say when a few other voices rang out.

"Alright everyone buzz off!" exclaimed one male voice.

"Nothing to see here, people!" went another.

"Shoo! Shoo!" a female voice sounded this time.

The crowd slowly dispersed to reveal a group of four other guys and one girl walking towards the young man.

"Jeez, Mal! Did you have to just dash off like that?" asked Aeon in annoyance.

Mal smiled a bit sheepishly. "Sorry about that Aeon, but I couldn't just stand here and watch to lovely flowers fight among themselves, especially not on Christmas~!"

The others in the group simply chuckled and smiled. Aeon sighed and smiled too. "Well, you got me there."

"Um…." The bear-woman from earlier finally spoke up getting their attention.

Mal turned and gave a gentlemanly bow. "Oh, pardon my intrusion earlier. I'm Malchite Shigemori of the Aetherion Guild," introduced Mal before turning to the others. "These guys are my friends who are part of the same Guild."

"I'm Aeon of Ragnarok," introduced Aeon stepping forward. "I'm the leader of the Aetherions."

"Sol of Helios," introduced Sol with a two finger salute.

"Ganymede," said Ganymede with a greeting nod.

"I'm Zephyrus," introduced Zephyrus cheerfully when the one fox girl in the team hopped onto his back and hugged him from behind.

"And I'm his darling fiancee, Saphir Heart~desu~!" greeted Saphir with a smile and a peace sign while Zephyrus suddenly blushed and choked on his spit.

"F-f-f-f-fi-fian-WHAT?! Since when?!" sputtered Zephyrus in shock.

"Since f-f-f-f-f-forever Darling~!" cooed Saphir rubbing her head against Zephy while everyone else sweat-dropped.

"Uh-huh…." Was all the two women could say, still trying to process the current turn of events.

"I'm Ginger-Darling, and this is my younger sister, Kiki-Lemons," introduced Ginger shrugging it off with a smile while Kiki just smiled dumbly at the group of attractive men before her twirling a lock of hair. Ginger quickly elbowed her sister to snap out of her stupor.

"Ow! Uh- I mean! Nice to meet you," said Kiki bowing politely.

All of a sudden, Sol stepped forward and stared at Ginger's face hard making the woman step back a little. "Hmm….You know, now that I got a good look at you, you kind of resemble someone I know…."he noted out loud until he was pulled back by Aeon who frowned at him.

"That's enough Sol, come on or we'll be late for the party at Illu's," said Aeon with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"You mean Kurotsubasa's?" corrected Sol making Ginger and Kiki prick up their ears at the name.

"Wait, you know where to find Kurotsubasa?" asked Kiki suddenly. "That's where we're going!"

"But we got lost though….." admitted Ginger making Kiki fault a bit.

Aeon smiled a bit at the two sisters. "Hey, it's not a problem with us, you can come with us!"

"Really~?" chorused the two sisters in unison with big sparkly eyes.

_**FFW!**_

"Oooh! I hope I'm not too late!" prayed Ravena as she flew into the Guild's entrance, quickly throwing off her cloak and jacket on to a nearby hook. Underneath her jacket she had a top usual to her daily one except she now had long arm socks to match.

"_Why would you get an invitation?!"_ came Bella's voice from the other room.

"_Because I'm irresistible~!"_

"_Screw you, Whisk!"_

"_Put Whisk-sama down Blondie!" _squealed another female voice.

"Too late…" sighed the Nekomata as she quickly ran into the other room just in time to see Bella hoisting Whisk into the air by the front of his while another girl was trying to get her to put him down by pulling her ponytail.

"What is going on here?!" demanded Ravena stepping catching everyone's attention.

"Hi Sis~!" greeted Whisk cheerfully before Bella dropped him to the floor.

"Whisk, do you have to pick a fight with **everybody?**" asked Ravena in annoyance.

"It's a hobby~" replied Whisk blinking innocently.

Ravena sighed and shook her head when she was suddenly glomped by the unfamiliar member.

"Whee~! Lu-Mi finally gets to meet Onee-sama~!" cheered the Draculina much to Ravena's bewilderment before Whisk pulled her off by her collar.

"Arf~!" went a chibi Lu-Mi as she hung at the end of Whisk's arm.

"Who is she?" asked Ravena in confusion.

The girl had slightly tanned skin with a red diamond on her right cheek and a yellow heart on her left cheek. Her eyes were heterochromatic with a yellow right eye and a red left eye. She also possessed Reddish-Orange curly ringlet hair which she wore in a unique style reminiscent of a joker's hat with a black top hat and a white bow. Her clothing was also unique cross between Lolita-Style and Harlequin-Style that was colored in Red, Yellow, Black and White.

She wore a black and white harlequin patterned vest with a reverse colored jabot over a red puff on her right arm and a yellow puff on her left with cuffs on her wrists. She also had on a gothic-layered skirt in the four mentioned colors decorated with a Heart and Diamond. She wore a black laced up calf boot on her right leg and a white laced up mid-thigh white boot on her left.

"Lu-Mi is Luci-Mina desu~! But Lu-Mi is _**much**_ cuter~!" piped the chibi.

"Ooookay…." Was all Ravena could say when DB suddenly put his hands up.

"Hold up here! Your brother, and his insane little side-kick, _**both**_ who work for the _**bad guys**_ are standing right here in our Guild, and **you're **_**OK**_ **with all this?!"** exclaimed DB incredulously with Bella, Illu and Key giving her similar looks of disbelief.

Ravena looked at them indifferently. "Why wouldn't I be? I'm the one who invited him."

"HAH! I told ya'!" exclaimed Whisk victoriously.

"He told you!" chimed Lu-Mi cheerfully.

The rest of Kurotsubasa stared blankly at the trio for a minute before it all finally sank in. _**"You WHAAAAT?!"**_

"Can we talk with you in the kitchen please?" asked Key calmly as Bella grabbed Ravena from behind and carried her into the kitchen followed by the others leaving Whisk and Lu-Mi with Punnya and Nyoka.

(Inside the kitchen)

Bella immediately sat Ravena down on a stool while the rest surrounded her. The moment the door closed, that's when it all started.

"Ravena, I know it's Christmas and everything so I'll ask this question in the most delicate way possible…" began Key calmly with a smile before taking a deep breath. _**"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"**_

"Nyaaa!" Ravena quickly covered her sore, sensitive ears after the Beta's outburst. Once the ringing was gone she then gave her answer. "Well…everyone is bringing friends and family to this party, so I decided to bring Whisk along. I know what you're thinking but this is the one day where he can't do any wrong and I can keep my eyes on him."

"Have you even forgotten this is the same guy who got your ass thrown in jail?!" reminded DB.

Illu also decided to calm the situation a bit. "Whisk-san may not be the most…trustworthy, but Ravena-chan is right. All destructive powers can't be used and all other powers have been weakened; there isn't much he can do."

"If he tries to get out of hand, remember there is five of us, plus three more if we count Muku, Nyoka, and Punnya." Bella also pointed out. "That's eight against two, even if his crazy puppy girl jumps in and we always have Shads and everyone else coming as backup." Key let out an annoyed groan but he could see the truth behind their reasons.

"Fine, just keep your eyes on him Ravena." Key then left to finish any leftover preparations, allowing Ravena to let out an air of relief.

"Ani-Key can get scary when he wants to nya~" She said softly. Punnya then flew to her master and used her tail to pat the neko-girl's back.

Illu was about to check on the rest of the food when her menu opened showing her a new message. "I got mail from Chocobi-niisan and the others; they must be on their way here now." The hybrid said happily.

"Well what does it say; we already know Aetherion is coming like last year but why send a message ahead?" DB asked curiously as he waited for Illu to read off the message. Ravena also quickly recovered enough to also view the message. Illu then opened the mail and began reading it off to them (also quickly noticing who had sent her the message).

"_Illu, me, Aeon, and the rest were on our ways over to your party when we bumped into these two girls in the middle of town. They said they were on their way to your party too but didn't know the way so we offered to show them…until we lost them again._

_Anyway, the thing I wanted to ask you is does your friend Ravena have a sister? Because one of them looked almost like her it couldn't just be coincidence. Get back to me when you can, Sol._

_P.S. Aeon said to avoid any incidents like last time, you know how he is."_

"Incident, what's that mean?" DB asked though his answer was seeing Illu frozen in shock for a few seconds before she closed the window.

"I-it's n-nothing, nothing a-at all!" Illu said, hiding her embarrassment with her scarf. "A-anyway, do you have a sister Ravena-chan?"

"Ah, actually...I do, but neither of them I know plays FFW. Least I don't think so." Ravena answered.

DB shrugged his shoulders as he began walking away. "Could just be Sol just trying to play some kind of prank. You can ask him when they get here; right now I'm off to pick up my order." The vampire said as he got ready to leave the base.

"Oh, have something special you want to give Naenia, nya?" Ravena gave him a knowing look seeing as the vampire began to sweat slightly.

"Maybe, maybe not" DB composed himself. "How do you know I'm not picking up something for the party? Plus, I already got everything for the secret Santa when we start. Now I'm out, have fun watching You-Know-Who." And with that, DB then walked out the door and vanished into the snow covered streets of Tokyo City.

"Secret Santa…oh yeah; we decided to do that for us once we found out that so many people were coming." Ravena recalled.

"I just wish it doesn't get as hectic as last year." Illu said. "Who was in charge of placing the decorations on the walls?"

"Bella, but don't worry I made sure no mistletoes were placed in the decorations this year." Ravena said.

"Come on Rave, you can't have a Christmas party without the full holiday package. Besides last year wasn't that bad was it?" Bella smiled cheekily.

"A bag of mistletoes, Hy-Nya?"

"How else do you spice up a Christmas party?"

Ravena replied by giving an exasperated groan before leaving the kitchen while Bella pulled out a score-board with her's and Ravena's names on it. Currently they had the same score until Bella marked another notch on the board.

"And the Hyna General is in the lead~!" cheered Bella to herself.

Outside Ravena soon heard annoyed mewls and laughing making her quicken her pace where Whisk was.

"WHEEE~! She is so CUTE AND STRETCHY~!" squealed Lu-Mi who had gotten her hands on Punnya and stretching her in every way possible.

"See? What did I tell ya?" stated Whisk as also joined in on stretching.

"Pun-NYAAAAA!" wailed Punnya in annoyance. Being a manju, stretching didn't really hurt but it didn't mean that she liked being forcibly stretched.

"NYA! No! No! No! Stop that!" yelled Ravena as tried to grab Punnya but Lu-Mi began running off with the Manju.

"No! My Manju!" said Lu-Mi childishly as she giggled and hugged Punnya close. "Her new name shall be Princess Marshmallow Squishy-Chan!"

"Her Name is PUNNYA!" yelled Ravena in annoyance.

"PUNNYA!" exclaimed the Manju in agreement trying in vain to wiggle free.

"Not anymore~!" teased Lu-Mi, dodging every single one of Ravena's attempts.

"Give her back!"

"No!"

"Give!"

"No!"

"Give. Her. BACK!" cried Ravena.

"NEVER~!" retorted Lu-Mi when she suddenly glowed as her body began to separate into two forms.

The first one had blond hair tied into twin ringlet tails and red eyes with a yellow heart on her left cheek with a black top hat on her head. Her outfit consisted of yellow puff sleeves, black cuffs, a white vest with a black harlequin pattern and jabot with yellow and white layered skirt with a black heart ending with white mid-thigh boots.

The second had scarlet hair tied in a high ringlet pony-tail with yellow eyes and a red diamond on her red cheek with a white bow on her head. Her outfit consisted of red puff sleeves, white cuffs, black vest with white harlequin pattern and jabot with red and white mini-shorts with a black diamond ending with black calf boots.

The yellow one who carried Punnya in her arms looked mockingly at Ravena who was taken aback at the unexpected turn of events. "Ara~ That's quite a stupid expression you have there, Kitty-Cat~! Don't you think so Mina~?"

The red one, Mina, began giggling in glee. "Hai~! Luci-sama~!"

Now, Ravena was getting mad. "Give me back Punnya!"

"Try and catch her~!" teased Luci as Ravena began chasing after her. "Mina, catch!"

"Punnya!" squealed Punnya as she was suddenly tossed across the room.

"Catch~!" went Mina as it was her turn to run.

Meanwhile Whisk was laughing his head off at the scene of his sister getting into an unwitting game of 'Monkey in the Middle' until he suddenly noticed the tears welling up from the sides of Ravena's eyes.

"Oi…you two, quit it," he said but apparently went unheard by Luci and Mina who's mocking laughter and squeals drowned him out. When Whisk turned his gaze back to Ravena to see her almost on the verge of tears, he let out an angry growl as he leapt forward and snatched Punnya out of the air.

"_**I said, QUIT IT, YOU IDIOTS!" **_Whisk snarled fiercely, his eyes a-blazing making Luci and Mina freeze in their tracks in fear.

"If you don't pull yourselves together and behave yourselves or I'm going to shower you with so many nice compliments and affection that you'll be puking sugar!" threatened Whisk darkly as he let Punnya fly back to Ravena.

Luci and Mina gasped and quickly fused back into Luci-Mina. "NOOOOO! ANYTHING BUT THAT!" she wailed in terror as if it was the worst punishment in the world as she quickly threw herself at Whisk's feet. "Lu-Mi will wither away if Whisk-sama acts nice! Lu-Mi promises she'll behave! Please don't shower me with Love~!"

Ravena and Punnya exchanged looks of confusion with each other, utterly confused at what they were hearing.

"Good, now go outside and run in the snow bare-foot until they turn blue," commanded Whisk pointing to the door.

Lu-Mi's eyes began turning large and sparkly as she curled her hands into paws. "Sir, yes, sir! My Master! Arf~!" she yipped as she joyously skipped out the building, tossing her shoes off in the process.

Whisk sighed irritably and shook his head before turning to Ravena. "And _**you**_ quit letting yourself get bullied! Sheesh!" He said exasperatedly as he walked off to get himself a drink.

Ravena stayed silent for a while until Punnya got her attention by wiping her tears with her tails.

"Punnya?"

"I'm fine Punnya, just making sure you're ok. You're just too squishy for your own good nya." She smiled as she slightly recovered. Ravena then let Punnya go before walking over to the table where she saw Whisk getting his drink. "Whisk I just want to say…"

"Don't even; I just don't want to see you all depressed like you were before." Whisk said before downing his drink while watching Lu-Mi from out of the nearest window. "Anyway do you think that those two are actually in FFW now?"

"Maybe, if the rumor is true then they'll turn up here sometime." Raven said. "Though I can't really picture either one of them actually playing FFW, wonder what actually got them playing?" She thought aloud.

"Yeah…I may know why they're online if it's what I think it is." Whisk said slowly.

"Huh, what for?"

"Well, I remember the day you asked me to bring you your tablet from your room since you forgot it. I went to your room just as I saw them running out of there, looks like they were looking for something off your computer since it was left on…amateurs." Whisk said, whispering the last part.

"They were in my room? Did you at least see what they were doing on my computer?" Ravena asked.

"Not really, though your picture folder was open and one folder you had called FFW pics was highlighted."

"Nya!" Ravena said in shock surprising her brother and almost making Whisk drop his cup. "Are you sure that was the folder's name? You aren't lying or trying to mess with me this time right?!" She asked in worry.

"Why would I lie about that, what's so bad of those pictures?" Whisk asked curiously.

"Nothing but things I know our family would overreact over. I need to go out and find them fast!" Ravena said as she grabbed her coat and everything to leave out the door. "Let's go Punnya!"

"Punnya!" Punnya called as she flew after her master.

"Hey wait, dammit, don't take off like that!" Whisk then also grabbed his coat and raced to chase after his wayward sister. "Lu-Mi, get inside and behave! If you're cold then stick your arm in the fireplace until you're all toasty!" He called out to his subordinate.

"Ok Whisk-sama!"

(Scene Change)

Kiki tried to keep her worry from further showing on her face as she and Ginger continued walking around aimlessly throughout town with no clue on how to reach their destination. While following Aetherion towards their goal, Ginger ended up dragging her towards a Beast Manju pet shop where they spent time looking at all the different manju. When they came out, they realized that their escorts were gone so now they are on the hard path to finding Kurotsubasa once more.

"The only helpful people we've met all day and we accidently ditched them. I shouldn't have listened to you when you wanted to look at those animals." Kiki said as she kept looking around.

"Don't try to place any blame on me. I saw the same sparkles filling your eyes when you saw those manju through the window; especially, after you saw the one following Abby around." Ginger said, not at all concerned at their situation. "Besides before we left I heard the masked guy say we were close so no worries Kiki."

"Why are you calling me that? Wouldn't it be easier just to use our own names?" Kiki asked confused.

"There is such a thing as internet secrecy little sister. Just think, say the wrong thing to the wrong person and suddenly they know who you are, where you live, what you had for dinner last night…" Ginger continued to list off more absurd examples. "You need to be careful when you play online games, so for now on we refer to each other by our character names!"

"But…"

"No buts on the subject Kiki, now less talking and more cat calling. Abby or Ravena has got to be here somewhere." Ginger said ignoring her sister. Kiki herself sighed as she walked with the bear hybrid.

"Ok, Ginger, but I guess it would make the search easier if we ask for Abby by her character name." Kiki then opened her menu to pull up a list she wrote so that she wouldn't forget their sister's FFW name. "If we ask people for Ravena Felidae, this search will go a lot easie…" Kiki's speech and train of thought stop as she accidently walked into a large white horse causing it to whinny in surprise.

"Maaf! I mean…gomena…I mean, I'm sorry!" Kiki tried to apologize and stood flustered as she swapped from one language to the other. She then stopped and stared quietly at the man who stood next to the horse she had bumped into.

"Oh no, the fault is mine. To think that I just inconvenienced a fair maiden such as yourself," The man said, he then went to hold Kiki's hand and then planted a kiss on the back. Kiki instantly grew red from the toes up as her hair flared with steam erupting from her head. "Now where are my manners, I forgot to introduce myself my lovely nature spirit. I am Bird-of-Prey, though many just call me Prey. May I ask for you and your companion's names?" Prey asked.

Kiki struggled to speak as her face glowed a light pink color. 'Is this the 'Doki Doki' feeling that otakus talk about?' She thought to herself as she wondered how many more handsome men she will run into on her journey. "I-I, I…"

"Sorry, she's a bit nervous around new people." Ginger rushed in to save her sister, though she also had a small blush from Prey as well. "I'm Ginger Darling and the one trying to find her words is my sister Kiki Lemons." She introduced them while bopping Kiki on the head to bring her out of her stupor.

"I see…" Prey was now, to their surprise, holding Ginger's hands and kissed it as well. "Your name truly says much about your beauty. I can tell you a very headstrong woman, yet I can also see the delicate flower that you are inside." As Prey went on he also turned to Kiki as well. "And do not think I forgot about you as well, my lovely enchantress."

"F-flower?" Ginger said, now feeling lightheaded.

"En-enchantress?" Kiki asked as her face continued to glow even redder.

"Truly it is not a random act that we met…no, this must be an act of destiny." Prey then removed his mask and gave them his best sparkled smile. "We were meant to meet right here at this spot, this day. A day where the snow is as pure as the two beautiful maidens before me now I must ask…" He stopped for a dramatic pause causing both of them to wait anxiously for him to continue.

"Might one of you be…The One?"

"PREY, GET THE HELL AWAY FROM THEM NYA!" cried an outraged yell as Ravena came sailing in as she planted both her feet in the middle of Prey's back. The entire force of the jump combined with her full body weight sent him reeling forward and falling face first into the snow, forming a small trench.

"Ravena?!" exclaimed Ginger in surprise.

"Ginger!" exclaimed Ravena in turn jumping off Prey.

"Sis!" called Whisk running up.

"Whisk?!" exclaimed Kiki this time at the appearance of their younger brother.

"Kiki!" exclaimed the vampire.

"Kitten~!" exclaimed Prey instantly recovering from the sudden attack and springing to his feet in delight and grabbing Ravena's hand.

"Prey…" greeted the Nekomata bluntly.

"Kitty-Love~," greeted the horse lovingly making Ginger, Kiki and Whisk jump in surprise.

"Horse!" they all exclaimed in shock.

"Kelpie," corrected the mare.

"Fraulein~!" greeted Ravena happily.

"PUNNYA~!" exclaimed Punnya suddenly popping on top of Ravena's head cheerfully ending the round of sudden outbursts.

"Coo~! Excellent landing Love~!" praised Fraulein walking up to Ravena purposely bumping Prey out of the way and nuzzling the girl's face. "You look well, dear~"

Ravena smiled as she hugged Fraulein and rubbed the Kelpie's nose. "Aww, thanks Farulein~ You're looking beautifully in season~ Love the Winter coat." she replied stepping back to look at the mare.

Instead of her usual shiny black coat, in tune to the winter change, Fraulein was now a soft shimmery white from nose to tail like the snow falling itself.

At that moment, Ravena found herself pulled into a huge hug along with Whisk by a dramatically wailing Ginger and Kiki. "ABBY~! MARTIN~!" wailed Ginger with waterfall tears.

"WE FOUND YOU GUYS AT LAST~!" wailed Kiki crying waterfall tears as well making Ravena and Whisk roll their eyes at each other and pry their sisters off them.

"For the love of God, pull yourselves together, you're embarrassing us…." said Whisk bluntly, readjusting his coat. "And for the record, **WE **found **YOU,"**

"Also, in here, we go by Ravena and Whisk," corrected Ravena crossing her arms.

"Ooooh, someone's getting bossy," taunted Kiki bending down to Ravena's level.

"Oh shut up, Kiki."

"Bite Me!"

"With pleasure!" growled Ravena bearing her teeth when Fraulein whinnied loudly and stamped her hoof.

"Alright! Let's not squabble on Christmas!" exclaimed the Kelpie firmly stepping up to the group with Prey.

The two sisters immediately blushed a bit in embarrassment as they meekly obeyed. "R-right….Fraulein, Prey, these are my siblings, you've already met my sisters I assume," introduced Ravena as her sisters bowed their heads in greeting. "This one here is our younger brother, WhiskasFriskas."

"Call me Whisk," greeted the boy with a nod.

"This guy here is Prey and his partner, Fraulein," introduced Ravena gesturing to the two. Prey gave a gentlemanly bow while Fraulein bowed her head. "We're…old friends…"

"Come now, Kitten, I'd like to think we were-ITAI!"Prey was about to say when he felt sudden pain that effectively silencing him.

"Oh my, did Punnya _accidentally_ sank her teeth into your tuckus?" asked Ravena in feigned apology as Prey turned to see said manju biting down hard on his butt. "Naughty Manju, Naughty!" She mock-scolded Punnya after removing her.

"Punnya~" The manju mewled in fake apology.

"So what are you doing here? I thought you two didn't play games like this, especially you Kiki." Ravena got back on track and pointed out to her sister.

"Just because I don't quite understand otaku culture, doesn't mean I can't try out new things Ravena! Even I can step out of my comfort zone!" Kiki said, defensively. "Besides you and Martin were having so much fun, I wanted to see what was so exciting!" After listing her reasons, Ginger decided that they did need to get back to why they were here.

"Actually, while this game is fun, one of the reasons we're here was to find you A-I mean, Ravena. Kiki and I have something that we need to talk to you about." Ginger said getting somewhat serious.

"Was it so important you couldn't wait until I logged off nya?" Before she noticed her slip, Ravena was then pulled into another hug by Ginger who lost all forms of seriousness.

"Aw, you even have a cute kitty verbal tick! I was so sad when you stopped doing that at home!" The bear hybrid then hugged her sister even tighter. "I should have played this game before if I had known you would become so carefree. I mean, look at you, you never would have dressed like this back home!"

"That's why we're here Ginger, because of how she dresses!" Kiki then prided the two sisters apart.

"You came all the way to a virtual world just to talk fashion tips, sisters." Whisk then shook his head. "Really I don't think you can get on Rave's case. Even if it wasn't winter her clothes are pretty much normal, I'm surprised you chose to wear a midriff in the winter Kiki." He pointed at how out of place Kiki was dressed compared to the season.

"W-we just started playing today! I didn't have any gald or zenni or whatever to buy winter clothes! It's only because of these powers that I'm not freezing!" Kiki said to her little brother.

"Really I feel all right, though when they were talking about hybrid I was hoping I'd at least have some kind of fur to keep myself warm, but this outfit works." Ginger said, doing a mock pirouette in front of her audience.

"Are you wearing a leotard Sis?"

"Do you have cat tails?"

As the family kept on with their discussing Fraulein then notice Prey limping up back to his feet. "Oh you're still here; I thought you would want to leave after your charming plan failed." The Kelpie commented as she heard her master's snap his bones into place to recover from Ravena's kick.

"It wasn't a failure! Though I will say, how did I not know that you were related to dearest Kitten over here?" Prey said as he slipped his mask back on.

"Where are you going with this Prey?" Ravena said, getting ready for retribution.

"Nothing, it's just that now that I see you standing side by side I can just see the resemblance now." Prey said in a profound tone which had Kiki and Ginger silent for him to continue but inwardly Ravena knew he was planning something. After his pause, Prey then continued with added enthusiasm.

"Dear Ginger, you and Kitten look so much alike you can pass as twins. You both have your unique beauty that seems to double when you are all together and your robust and firm form make up for what Ravena has you beat." Prey began.

"Wait, what?" Ginger said.

"And Kiki, you may not have all the same traits as your lovely sisters but that doesn't make you any less lovely. You share almost Kitten's exact image but with your own fair-skinned beauty; truly you are an elvin angel." Prey continued.

"Prey I will only say this once. Stay away from my sisters." Ravena hissed softly as she warned him. Prey held up his hands as if to show he meant no harm.

"No need for all of that Kitten, you don't have to be jealous. I know that, in your heart, you know you're the one for me."

"The hell I am!" Ravena shot him down.

Whisk stared at the crestfallen man in confusion. "Wait, who the hell is this guy? Some kind of admirer Sis, an ex of yours? If he is, then you made a major step forward when you met Shadow." He commented.

"Don't start Whisk." Ravena warned him.

"Oi let me tell you now I am by no means inferior to that fiend!"

"Shadow is…one of those Kurotsubasa guys right?" Kiki asked, catching their attention. "That online group that you're a part of right Rave?"

"Yes they are, and from what I heard you guys were looking for us. Why is that?" Ravena asked.

"Well really we were trying to find them because we lost you right after you logged in. We tried to follow you but you gave us the slip." Ginger chuckled nervously. "So now that we found you we can get some questions answered."

"Can we not have interrogations out here? I know we're all kind of bundled up but I rather not have long conversations in the snow." Whisk said. "We'll lead them back to your base and you can talk there."

"Whatever…." muttered Ravena as she took the lead.

Prey eagerly began to follow when he was suddenly grabbed by the collar and dragged to the back by Whisk who shot him a warning look that pretty much said 'Back Off' while Fraulein chuckled in amusement.

Back at the base, more guests had just begun to arrive such as Kotsubasa, Aetherion, followed by Cast, Leon and Rina of the Administration along with TPB, the members of the old Team Mercenary and even the All-Stars.

"KEY~!" squealed TPB excitedly as she ran up glomped the Beta to the ground. "It's been a while~!"

"T-T-T-T-T-TPB!" exclaimed Key all flustered at the sudden appearance of the girl who hugged him tightly.

"T!" growled a menacing voice as Rina ran up to them and pulled the girl off. "How dare you grab Key for yourself!"

TPB simply shrugged. "It's not a crime to embrace a friend after not seeing them for a while."

Rina raised her eyebrows before smirking. "Oh? Is that so?" she asked coyly as she pulled Key to his feet and hugged his arm. "How ironic, I get to see Key almost every week~"

"R-Rina!" exclaimed Key as now it was TPB's turn to get jealous at the Admin.

"Of course, I would expect a _**stalker**_ like you to watch him whenever you can," sneered TPB.

"Oh-ho! Big words coming from a _**Creeper!"**_ sneered Rina back as both girls glared at each other while Key ducked to avoid to static flying from their stares.

"Alright, young lady that's enough out of you," said Cast appearing suddenly in a cheerful yet stern voice as Leon stepped in and picked Rina up over his shoulder.

"W-WAH!"

"Ditto for you T," Bella also appearing out of nowhere and doing the same.

"Hey!"

Key nodded his thanks to the two parties as they walked off in opposite directions with their respective baggage who were struggling and protesting. The beta sighed in relief until he turned and saw Sora and Cadet giving him teasing looks while grinning. "Not one word, you two!" warned Key as he walked off.

Just then the door opened as a stunning green-eyed beauty with long wavy red hair wearing a long pink trench-coat entered the party. She smiled as she removed her coat to reveal a beautiful pink evening gown and long white gloves, along with a gold necklace and matching earrings. Her heels clicked on the floor as she entered the party, turning the heads of a few guys with Doppelman wolf-whistling her on the way in.

"Welcome to our Christmas party!" greeted Illu approaching the stranger before tilting her head a bit. "Um, excuse me did you enter the wrong house by mistake?"

The woman smiled as she chuckled. "This is the Kurotsubasa HQ , yes Illu-chan?" the woman asked.

"Um…Yes, Miss?" answered the girl unsure how the woman knew her name.

"Then I'm at the right place~!" exclaimed the woman cheerfully, grasping Illu's hands in a friendly manner. "You guys invited me after all~ Right CAM?"

"Pu-pu-PUU~!" squeaked a familiar Mokona flying from under the woman's hair wearing a small Santa Hat.

"Eh?! CAM? Then that must mean…."

The woman laughed as she whipped out a pair of familiar swirly nerdy glasses and twisted her hair into two braids. "It's news with me~! Masukomi~!" the woman said in an all too recognizable voice.

"EH?!" exclaimed the surrounding people in unison as Masukomi laughed as she undid her hair and got rid of the glasses.

"Now don't act all surprised, like I said you guys invite me." The news reporter said. "This isn't a surprise exclusive or anything; I'm free and off work during the holidays and Ravena invited me to your party." Masukomi then took a quick glance around the room. "Speaking of which, I noticed that she isn't here."

"Kitty just left with Whisk-sama a while ago! Lu-Mi wanted to go, but he told Lu-Mi to stay here or be punished with kindness. So Lu-Mi is here like a good girl!" Lu-Mi said as she lay in front of the prop fireplace.

"Uh… is that…"

"Don't ask" Was the universal answer that everybody gave her.

"Ok~, I'll take all of your word for it." Masukomi said as she decided to leave that answer where it was. "I see I'm not too late, is everyone still gathering?" She asked curiously.

"We're just waiting for a few more people to show up, but there is still food out for everyone." Illu answered her question. "We're right now waiting for Ravena-chan and Shadow to come back, and a few more guests as well."

"With the options you have displayed out, I see you've made enough for everyone. They all smell delicious." Masukomi said, complimenting the girl.

"I-I can't take credit for all of this, the most that I did was help with the cooking. Shadow was the one who prepared most of the food before leaving." Illu clarified as she lit up slightly from the praise.

"Well that's unexpected; I can't really picture your leader over a stove for a few hours cooking this." Masukomi said in surprise. 'That's a scoop in its own, too bad I'm off-duty this place is a goldmine!'

"I guess we should change the Guild's motto to expect the unexpected then." Bella smiled. "Speaking of unexpected, where do you think Shads went to?"

"I don't know but Amaya is gone too." Key noticed as well as he went to check where the pets were conversing. "Though if it's anything like any other year, he's just going to where he has stashed the presents. Shadow doesn't keep the stash in the same place since Bella was able to find the last spot.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know I wasn't supposed to go there?"

"Usually a separate dimension used to keep one's private stuff is often off limits Bella." Key answered her.

"Relax everyone, Shads will get back when he can and Rave's a big girl who can find her way home. They'll be back in no time, while they do that we just continue to party." DB said trying to keep their spirits high. "Besides, what's the worse that could possibly happen to them out there?"

(Scene Change)

"I can spend my days however I want to!"

"After hearing from Grim what you were planning to spend today, no you can't" Shadow said as he walked with Rose to the direction of the party. Over his shoulder he had a large burlap sack filled to the top with gifts that he had kept in a separate location. Traveling beside the two was Mazareth with Amaya on top his head wearing Shadow's black santa hat.

"It's not like I wasn't going to show up eventually, I just don't want anything like last year happening again." Rose grumbled as a pink hue covered her cheeks for a split second. "How do I know you don't have something else planned?"

"By going there yourself an actually enjoying the party; those bounties you have can wait until after the holidays." Shadow said. "Overworking yourself isn't exactly healthy Rose."

"There's the pot calling the kettle black, where did you think I learned all I know about bounty work. Back then if we weren't training, we were traveling, if we weren't traveling, we were off on a bounty or on some treasure hunt." Rose reminded him. "Not that I didn't enjoy our trips but it's your fault this is the way I take work. There is no way I can take the one big job and just have another job on the side like Grim."

"Don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult." Shadow said in a deadpanned expression. "Well, no lazing around and no working. Let's just hurry on our way to the café." He then continued walking.

"I still don't know how you even got me to come with you in the first place." Rose said.

"Amaya…"

In a flash, which caused Rose to stumble back, Amaya appeared before her in human form. The small girl then stared up at her with wide puppy-like eyes that bore into the redhead's soul. Needless to say, the infamous female bounty huntress didn't last long against the Usa's cute charm.

"Ok, ok I get it just…stop staring at me like that!" Rose said, not able to take more of Amaya's new technique. Amaya then closed her eyes and smiled as she then ran over to walk by Shadow.

"Good girl Amaya, are you going to change back or are you going to stay like that?" Shadow asked the manju after a pat on the head. Amaya answered by nodding her head as she pulled down her hood so that the cap was now fitted on her black hair, hiding her large ears.

"I swear, seeing her like that is almost surreal." Rose commented. "She acts more like your kid than your pet, especially when you have her walking around looking like that. Even Boobcat's manju can at least pass as her sister or friend somewhat."

"What do you expect; she's not that old she's a baby." Shadow said. "In a way this form makes sense, Ravena said that if manju can transform they mimic the age they are at emotionally. Punnya acts childish yet is mature hence her look and Amaya is young and innocent."

"Which equals the toddler gripping onto your arm as you walk." Rose said while cutting off Shadow's explanation. As they walked she then heard whispers and looked to see some of the passers-bys pointing and smiling while some couples took the time to take pictures. "Hey, how much longer do we have to walk?! Why aren't we flying or anything, I can't take more of people staring at us like we're some kind of family on a trip."

"I think you're over exaggerating." Shadow said not noticing any of the looks while Amaya just tilted her head in confusion. "Since our powers are weakened, you and I can't fly at least with what we have with us. Amaya isn't that strong with her psychic powers without a full moon so she can't levitate us or teleport. So we're hoofing it, it's not that long a travel but blame yourself for having a house in another district."

"Ugh, can this day get any worse?" Rose crossed her arms.

"Nyaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Was that who I think it was?" Rose asked.

"Great, what's happening now?" Shadow wondered.

(Elsewhere)

"Nya! Where did you get those pictures?!" Ravena demanded as she saw the images Kiki had displayed on her screen by a small window.

Ravena's face grew red when she saw that Kiki had pictures of Ravena in a swimsuit from her time at the beach, Ravena in her maid costume, Ravena in posing in cosplay and so on."

"Where do you think?! I can't believe my own reserved, serious, 'I-hate-to-dress-up' little sister has been parading about in such provocative vulgar clothing!" lamented Kiki in despair. "I knew it! You've always been such a hypocrite!"

"_**I'm**_ the hypocrite?! Looks who's exposing their navel!" Retorted Ravena in anger. "I can't believe you guys were snooping on my laptop!"

"Well you shouldn't have left it on!"

"Well you should've had some sense of privacy!"

"OH! That's rich coming from you!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Meanwhile in the back ground, Whisk sighed as he scratched his head. "And it starts…." He sighed irritably while Prey and Fraulein shifted their gaze back and forth.

"Well this is getting awkward…." Fraulein muttered bluntly while Prey nodded seriously.

"Alright that's enough!" interjected Ginger putting up her hands. Suddenly, everything froze in place as time literally stopped. Ginger breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god….nothing exploded…." She muttered as she clocked her two sisters on the head as time resumed itself.

"GAH!" Exclaimed Ravena and Kiki as they quickly grabbed their sore heads.

"We're gonna create another unnecessary crowd, so just shut up and walk…" warned Ginger making the girls exchange one final glare with each other before walking.

"Well, well, I thought I'd recognize that cry anywhere," spoke up a new voice.

"Rose-" Ravena was about to say.

"PRINCESS~!" exclaimed Prey enthusiastically dashing past the group causing wind to blow as he delightfully scooped Rose into his arms.

_**WHA-POW! ROAR! SNAP!**_

"Hmmm….so this is the famed Shadow we've heard so much about…." Said Ginger as the two sisters circled the boy.

Meanwhile in the background Prey was back on the ground with waterfall tears and whimpering in pain with a huge red hand-print decorating his face and Mazareth chomping down on his butt. Fraulein shook her head exasperatedly while Punnya gave her boyfriend a loving lick.

"That's my name but I think famed is stretching it a bit." Shadow said before turning to look at Ravena. "Rave who are these two and why does one of them look almost like you and the other glaring at me like I did something wrong?" While his tone was dull he still had some seriousness in his question. Ravena seemed to struggle with how to word her answer, as he waited he noticed Whisk was with her too. "Is this another one for your tricks?"

"Oh no, I'm just along for the ride." Whisk answered honestly, holding up his hands. "I'll say this though since Rave seems to be tongue-tied. The two doing the Jaws impression are our older sisters."

"Older sisters?" Shadow repeated in confusion.

"I see Abby or Ravena decided to introduce you to her brother but didn't say a word about us. Are you that ashamed of us little Sis?" Ginger asked with fake tears after she and Kiki stopped their circling.

"I-I wasn't ashamed, you two never really came up in conversation!" Ravena managed to say.

"But little Whiskers has" Ginger chided here.

"Hey!"

"Whisk dropped in on us by surprised, almost like how you two are now nya!" Ravena yelled as her embarrassment seemed to grow the longer her sisters were online. "Anyway don't think we're done with what we talked about before?!"

"Ok, I'm lost." Rose said as she watched the sisters go back and forth. "The busty cat has sisters now…" As the verbal battle continued she at least had one thought as she saw Ginger and Kiki. 'At least they have more normal sizes, I can't take more than one girls like Ravena.'

"Enough, we do need to get back on topic!" Kiki said as it was her turn to stand between her sisters. "Ravena's choices of clothing since she's been in this game were gravely inappropriate and I will not allow my sister to go around wearing H-style clothes!"

"You don't even know what that means and, like what I was trying to tell you before you flipped out on me, it isn't like that!" Ravena interrupted her. "Those clothes aren't as bad as you make them out to be; plus out of all of us right now you're showing the most skin!"

"Girls simmer down and GET TO THE POINT KIKI!" Ginger snapped, letting some of her irritation go through. "Before we all die of cold and boredom get to the point since this was your mission!"

"F-fine!" Kiki said, although with some nervousness at her sister's temper. After clearing her breath she then continued with her rant. "It's not like you to wear clothes like that, so that only means…someone has forced you to dress that way!"

"What?!"

As the soap opera continued to unfold, Whisk was standing around Rose, Fraulein, the pets, and a still wounded Prey watching while eating a bowl of popcorn he got from out of nowhere. "And here comes the fireworks." He said, used to their fights.

"What do you mean fireworks, all I see are a bunch of girls bickering back and forth." Rose said while still confused.

"If only they would…"

"I'd stay my tongue if I was you Prey; otherwise something else might take another chomp out your bum." Fraulein interrupted him, causing him to sink back in silence.

"It's obvious that, this man was the one who put you in those outfits!" Kiki proclaimed while pointing at Shadow.

"Wait what?!" Shadow said in outrage. "I don't even know what you're accusing me off or what you are arguing about, how am I the cause?"

"Well you're the leader of Kurotsubasa, you could have easily taken advantage of Ravena by ordering her to wear these outfits!" Kiki then began to show the pictures again only for Ravena to block them before she got to the cosplay pics, the two then began to fight over the pictures while Shadow just stood dumbfounded.

"You think I'm the reason just because I'm in charge, which makes no sense at all. Ravena buys her own clothes. The bathing suit was for the summer all of Kurotsubasa went to a beach resort and you can blame Rose for the maid outfit, I didn't even know she still had that." Shadow defended himself.

"Oi, don't drag me into the grave with you!" Rose yelled from the sidelines while rejecting an offer of popcorn from Whisk.

After wrestling the pictures away from Ravena, Kiki then turned around to face Shadow. "Still, you haven't made a move to stop her so you must encourage these actions. I have other pictures that show our sister isn't the only one you put in cosplay!"

"What are you talking abo…"

"Also I research all around forums and chatgroups about you and all say that you're a wanted criminal evading arrest with a large bounty on your head. You repeatedly break the rules just to further your own actions and you cause large amounts of destruction wherever you go!" Kiki cut him off. "All and all, you're not the most trustworthy of people."

"As if I care what some hate group says about me. You need to look into some better sources." Shadow said. "The only true fact I ever heard you say was the bounty."

"Aha, so you are a criminal! Not only, that but an enemy to women!" Kiki once again pointed, shocking most of those them and some people passing by. "Not only do you involve my sister, but also several other girls!"

"Now you're just spilling lies!" Shadow said, frustrated with her ranting.

"Kiki, Ginger, where the hell did you even get that information. I told you that forums are all opinionated, they hardly have any facts about them!" Ravena tried to end the madness before it could continue. "What group did you get that information from?"

"From a very reliable source, the nice players on the Flamer Bounty Forum!" Kiki said confidently.

"She did not just say the FBF did she?" Whisk face-palmed at the mentioned of his sister's info source.

"That huge forum filled with nothing but Flamers, what kind of idiot even believes the information from that place?" Rose sweatdropped.

"Apparently my noob of an older sister…."

Kiki then cleared her throat again with a blush on her cheek as she heard Whisk's speaking about her and decided to continue. "Well the site is accurate, along with your picture and bounty info they showed you in the company of several woman. Even the redhead you were walking with."

"I can't even tell you how wrong you are." Shadow said holding back from snapping at Ravena's sister.

"Hah, I knew you were a love fiend and now there are others who know the truth!" Prey said triumphantly.

"Don't you start that again!" Shadow said, having no problems with turning his anger on Prey.

"Oh ladies, it is a good thing you found out before it was too late. This accursed fiend has managed to swoon many with his lies and charms. I was barely able to save poor Kitten before she was taken entirely." Prey kept on his monologue.

"Prey I'm warning you."

"And you're right; it involves more than just your sister. He has managed to capture a lavender haired angel, a silver princess, and even the rose princess here you see before you." Prey continued on ignoring all the hateful glares aimed at him. "It is as you say that this Accursed Shadow is an enemy to…" Instantly Prey was cut off by a ball of energy to the chest that sent him into a nearby wall. While powers aren't lethal during this time, that didn't mean they couldn't do any damage.

"I'll deal with you in a second Perv." Shadow said with his hand smoking from the attack, he then glared at Kiki which caused her to stiffen a bit. "Now back to those lies you were saying."

It was at this time that Ginger intervened. "Look, I'll admit that Kiki can get a bit spastic and times and while we may not know who is telling the truth or not, we are looking after our little sister." She said sternly.

"By calling me things like an enemy towards women?" Shadow asked.

"Sometimes she's not the best when gathering information." Ginger admitted.

"Hey, I got that information from other people who play this game. There are other forums that say similar things about you!" Kiki said, repeating her claims. "You even knocked out that gentleman from before for no reason at all."

"I think tarnishing my name is a reason to knock him out." Shadow said as a tick mark appeared. He then felt a tug on his shoulder and look down to see a shy and nervous Amaya which caused him to simmer down. "All right, it's ok Amaya I'm calming down." Shadow said while patting her Santa-capped head.

"Oh so you did take Amaya with you, I was wondering where she went." Ravena wondered as she saw the usa-manju's child form. "I was wondering where she disappeared to when you left the base."

"She was hidden in my hood when I got ready to leave. I guess she was scared by the surprise visit." Shadow said as he calmed down. He then turned his attention back to Kiki and Ginger. "Look I'll just say again that your information is wrong. I have the bounty because of circumstances and I don't even know half of what Prey is talking about. Ravena's a good friend of mine, why would I try to take advantage of her?"

"Hmm…" Ginger took a moment to think it over, not wanting to jump to far in conclusions as her sister did. "Well you aren't acting as bad as everyone says you are, so I guess I can trust your word for it."

"What, b-but all the evidence." Kiki reminded her. "Even if he isn't a menace I can't allow these pictures to pass. Not to mention the child he has at his side, could she possibly be…?"

"You two are hopeless." Ravena shook her head. "Amaya is a manju just like Punnya, they both can transform into forms like that." She then took a moment to lift Amaya's cap to show the two rabbit ears. "See." She said while handing the girl her hat.

"She does have you beat there Kiki." Ginger laughed a bit while Kiki blushed from embarrassment. "Besides, you're thinking too much into this again; there is no way that…"

"Hey there they are, Boss!"

"Ravena, Shadow!"

All conversation stopped as they turned to see Shade and Angel, along with, Minnya, ran towards them while waving. Their arrival was not what caused the talking to stop, but Kiki's wide eyed expression and Ginger's blank stare.

"Oh my…"

"Oh brother…" sighed Ravena.

"Present~!" chirped Whisk.

_**THUD!**_ Went Kiki as her eyes rolled back and passed out.

(Time Skip)

Kiki's eyes slowly fluttered open to see a large pair of eyes staring back intently at her. "WAH!" cried the elfen woman as she found herself suddenly falling off a bed and hitting the floor hard with a thump.

"Punnya~!" greeted the manju before flying to Ravena and resting on her head.

"I see you're up," stated Ravena bluntly while Kiki stood up a little painfully.

"Ugh…What just happened? And Where am I?"

"You passed out and we brought you to our Guild's HQ. You're in my room by the way," answered Ravena curtly who stood up from the chair she was sitting on. "Come on, the party's downstairs. Ginger and Whisk got a head-start."

Kiki nodded as she followed her sister down to the where the party was. Music was blaring all around as many different players moved past the elf. "Welcome to the Kurotsubasa Christmas Party," introduced Ravena as Punnya took flight and flew over to where the other pets were socializing.

Kiki blinked as she looked around absorbing her surroundings when a cup of punch was offered out to her. Kiki looked to see the smiling face of a demure girl with long purple hair. "Here, it will help you feel a little better," offered the girl politely.

"Thanks…" said Kiki as she gratefully accepted the cup.

"Sis, this is Illu, she's a fellow guild mate of Kurotsubasa," introduced Ravena as the girl bowed respectfully.

"Pleased to meet Ravena's older sister, I'm IllusionistOwl, but most people call me Illu for short."

"Kiki-Lemons, a pleasure," responded Kiki with a small smile while Ravena bowed slightly.

"If you would excuse me…there is something I have to deal with," said Ravena excusing herself disappearing into the crowd leaving Illu and Kiki together.

"So you're the Illu I've heard so much about," noted Kiki with a smile. "Are you close friends with Ravena?"

Illu's smile brightened as she nodded enthusiastically. "Hai~! Rave-chan's one of my best friends here~!"

"I see…."

(Elsewhere)

"Oh! So you and Ravena are sisters! I knew it!" exclaimed Sol excitedly some time talking with Ginger.

"Yeah~! You two look so alike~!" noted Lu-Mi suddenly appearing on Sol's shoulders.

"GAH!" cried Sol in shock as the Draculina hopped off Sol as she bent slightly and stared intently at Ginger's bust making the older woman suddenly feel self-conscious as she backed up slightly.

"Wow, these are surprisingly modest compared to Neko-chan's – OOH! BON-BONS~!" exclaimed excitedly Lu-Mi out of the blue, cutting herself off as she made a beeline for the buffet table.

Ginger and Sol exchanged weird looks before shrugging it off when Ginger felt a tug at her jacket. The bear-woman looked down to Angel staring up at her curiously. "Your name's Ginger right?" the girl asked.

"Yes I am."

"Can you do cool magic like Ravena does?" Angel asked seriously.

Ginger smiled a bit as she pretended to think. "Hmm….maybe not like my sister, but I can do this," said Ginger as she opened her palms creating a series of small fireworks to appear above their heads.

"Hmm, not as awesome as Ravena's magic, but just as pretty~!" Exclaimed Angel honestly as she turned to Ginger. "I like you~!" she declared smiling before skipping off.

'Abby sure knows how to meet people….' Thought Ginger sweat dropping.

(Scene Change)

"So let me get this straight. Not only did you run into Rave and her sisters on your way back, but they actually got on your case over some pictures they stole from Rave's laptop?" DB asked, wanting to get the story straight.

"More so Kiki, than Ginger but that's pretty much what happened." Shadow then downed the glass of punch in his hands. "It wasn't that bad, just I had to deal with teasing after the other one passed out. Honestly, I just want to get through the party."

DB let out a few laughed at his friend's misfortune. "You always seem to have family misfortunes. First Illu's brothers and now Rave's sisters; at least you're meeting the family early."

"Was that supposed to be comforting?" Shadow asked the rhetorical question.

"Nope, but once again your luck has failed you again." DB then finished his eggnog.

"Whatever, aren't you supposed to be expecting someone? This is usually about the time Naenia arrives isn't it, shouldn't you be with her instead joking at my expense?"

DB shrugged his shoulders. "She said she was on the way now, I guess she got caught up with a few things. Last I messaged her; she said she just got back in town." The vampire explained while finishing another glass.

"Try not to leave the party too early; we still have the Secret Santa thing planned." Shadow reminded him.

"Yeah yeah I know, but that isn't until the end right? We'll both have plenty of time until then." DB said.

"We'll?"

"Come on, you're not just going to stand by the punch bowl all day. There's already a bet on who you're going to spend your time with." DB chuckled at the joke. "You got to make a choice so some us can collect."

"Glad to know that my life is a source of enjoyment." Shadow said with a small glare. "You don't see me making fun of you sneaking out to meet Naenia."

"Well, honestly, the teasing stopped like a week after we started dating." DB said with a shrug. "Besides its either bet on you or bet on which girl can drag Key away the longest before they try and demolish the place."

"I need to start rethinking who we invite." Shadow sighed.

"Hey don't be like that, at least the parties are more lively." DB grinned. "I mean we're partying with some of our enemies but at least we don't have to worry about them trying to kill us. I mean with how crazy the day is now what's the worst that can happen?"

Shadow chose not to comment, knowing for a fact that the vampire had just jinxed them. As he finished his drink he was then dragged on his arm by an angry Rose. "What did I do this time, did someone clean out the sweets before you got a chance?"

"No, but a certain someone who just arrived with Grim seems to know you." Rose grumbled out as she dragged her former teacher away.

(Scene Change)

"So Shadow isn't a criminal, yet he has a bounty on his head?" Kiki said in confusion as she sat around with her new acquaintances. Illu was still keeping the elfen girl company to her left while the person Kiki was talking to sat at her right. Cast nodded her head, finishing her punch with Leon sitting beside her.

"The bounty is due to something in Shadow's possession and someone else's goals but it isn't because of his actions…for the most part." Leon said albeit a little begrudgingly.

"There is always some bad propaganda about Kurotsubasa and Shadow but most are just complaints from people they defeated. He's one of the most wanted because of circumstances, not because of his actions." Cast tried to explain to the concerned sister. "Was that information really all you wanted to know?"

Kiki nodded her. "I know that some of the information I got was false but I can't help but at least get answers from someone from the law. Even if Rave says not to worry I can't help but worry for her." She admitted to them.

"Ravena-chan is one of the strongest people I know, no matter what problem she always knows the best way out of it." Illu reassured her. "And Shadow isn't like what people would say, he does all he can to help others."

"Still, even if you say that…I can't help but wonder what all goes on around here, considering the pictures Ginger and I saw." Kiki said, she then noticed that Illu was turning a bright red.

"I-It's…just s-some of the usual thing that h-happen around the guild. Sometimes we run the base like a café if we need the money." Illu nervously explained the reason behind the maid outfits.

"Just another unusual event that happens when this guild is around." Leon slowly sipped his drink.

"You don't say….." said Kiki inwardly as she looked around. 'I wonder what else I don't know about my little sister….'

(Elsewhere….)

Ravena heaved a huge sigh of relief as she managed to steal out of the party. Grabbing her cloak from the rack, Rave quietly opened the door and snuck out. However, unbeknownst to her Whisk spied her sneaking out but instead of following Whisk just smiled a bit and shrugged. 'I guess being in large crowds still gets to her… some things never change…'

Rave walked a bit until she came to a bench and sat down while looking up at the sky looking up at the scattered stars of the sky. "How did things become so complicated?..." she muttered to herself.

"Come now Pet, I figured you of all people would be used to 'complicated' by now," chuckled a familiar voice making Ravena snap her head upright and looked to see RoM smiling and pushing up his glasses. He wore a simple dark green winter jacket and a black beanie on his head.

"Master!" said Ravena in surprise. "Why aren't you at the party?"

"I was on my way there, you know punctuality is not my best strong suit," RoM said with a smile of his own as he sat down next to Ravena on the bench. "So whatcha doin' all by your lonesome?"

"Just needed some fresh air…" replied Ravena with sigh leaning back on the bench.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Ravena was about to tell him to bugger off but then she stopped herself and instead began to tell him the craziness that went on earlier.

(Sometime later….)

RoM threw his head back and laughed loudly in amusement while Ravena face-palmed herself blushing a beet-red. "HAHAHA….Boy you really have a knack get into the most awkward situations don'cha Ravena~? HAHAHAHAHA…..!"

"You asshole…." She groaned. 'Why did I even bother….'

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry~," apologized RoM after his laughing fit and wiping the tears from his eyes. "But you know? I haven't laughed like this since you left."

Ravena frowned and turned away from him. "I'll bet. I'm only your clown after all."

RoM smiled as rubbed Ravena's head. "Now don't be like that. I think it's just like you to be really cute as always~"

Ravena's eyes widened as she blushed a deep red, pulling her hood down to hide her face. "You really are an ass…."

RoM laughed again but instead of long tirade laughter it was just a small chuckle. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. We both know a lot has changed since we've last talked like this. I've kept my own tabs on you but even I never expected you to settle down with a guild."

"Guess that proves that the informant isn't all knowing." Ravena commented aloud. "We've both changed, though I can hardly sense your change Master. Still a small shop in place of that old dusty library, why the changes of scenery to a town like Tokyo anyway?"

"I enjoy working with newer players. They less experienced, sometimes more trusting, a good revenue of clients that come in frequently for information…all they have to do is be able to afford it." RoM adjusted his glasses. "Besides, gossip travels faster in places like this than in an old library." With that said he then straightened his posture. "Now, Rave, shouldn't you be back inside with your family and friends?"

Even though her ears were now hidden under her hood, Rom could tell that they were lowered due to the Nekomata's emotions. "I don't think I'll be able to face my family after what has happened tonight. I thought I would just have to worry about Whisk but I hardly have time to be a good older sister. Not to mention, both Kiki and Ginger are on my case about my own free time." Ravena then released a sad sigh. "And I don't need to drag my friends into anymore of my problems; after a hectic year they deserve to relax with a party."

RoM was silent during Ravena's answer. He could tell what she was saying was genuine, but at the same time he could easily read her and saw that she was just finding another way to bear the weight of her own problems. "I see…well I think I've heard enough." He then turned to leave the Nekomata alone.

"Master…?"

"Give my regards to everyone at the party…you'll be going back eventually. I have some other business to attend to." Before RoM could walk further away from his former servant he then reached into his coat. To Ravena's surprise, RoM had tossed her a wrapped gift that she had almost let slip due to shock. "Think of that as my gift to you MataHari, I've been waiting for the perfect time to give that to you." Rom then disappeared in a storm of pages but a voice still lingered.

"_You should try letting your friends in more. Start with that mark on your chest."_

"My chest, nya?" Ravena then clutched the front of her coat; her hand rested on her collarbone…where the taboo mark lied on her skin. _"I wonder if RoM really does know about the Taboo mark and the spell I used?"_

"_**I wouldn't put it past Master to have found out. He has his own way of observing us it seems, he must have found out about the mark a long time ago. Maybe even when it was first branded to our skin."**_Felis answered Felidea's question. _**"Speaking of mark, it seems Master has thought ahead again."**_

"Nya?" Before Ravena could ask what her other self meant by that she did feel a pulse coming from the mark; a moment later Shadow appeared walking to the bench with Amaya and Punnya along with him.

"There you are you know you had us all worried when you decided to leave." Shadow said as he joined her by the bench. "Kiki was about ready to blow another fuse until Whisk mentioned seeing you slip out."

"Oh right, I guess next time I'll tell them where I'm heading so they don't try another manhunt for me nya." Ravena joked a bit. "Sorry, I just needed to get outside and clear my head a bit."

"Is it because of all the people?" Ravena's eyes widened a bit but before she could ask she saw Shadow was pointing at his own collarbone. "These marks aren't only for feeling pain, I felt a bit of your emotions too. Not to mention I have the lapis after all…I used the mark to find you."

Ravena's look of shock then turned to a small grin. "Guess that's why I felt a small bit of magic coming from it. You're really coming along as a magic user."

"Haha~, I'll have you know I was once adept with magic but had to leave it behind for a while." Shadow said just as the two manju joined them. Amaya jumped inside Shadow's coat where she could stay warm with a candy cane in her mouth while Punnya had flown her way into Ravena's arms.

"Punnya!" Punnya yelled out as if to scold her master.

"I know and I'm sorry I worried you Punnya. I figured you were having too much fun with Mazy to come." Ravena said as she held the Neko Manju close; she then turned back to Shadow and only now noticed the small differences in his appearance.

Shadow's winter clothes were now a bit ruffled, as if he had gotten out of a fight and she that a bandage was placed on his right cheek recently.

"What happened after I left? From the looks of it you looked like you came out of a fight." Ravena noted to the guild leader.

"Yeah about that…" Shadow seemed to hesitate as he recalled the events that happened before the search.

(Flashback)

"Rose do you really need to drag me along the whole way?" Shadow asked as Rose continued to pull on his arm towards their destination. "I can walk on my own, but what's so important that you had to almost tear my arm off?"

"Shut up, like I enjoy doing this but I'm making sure you don't run away!" Rose said angrily as they continued walking.

"Run away from what?" Just asked Shadow asked that question Rose then stopped walking but she did not release her grip off of his arm.

"Apparently from her!"

Shadow still stood confused wondering who she meant as he looked around the room. "What are you talking about Rose, and what do you mean by he…" He was then cut off by hands covering his eyes but he did hear a surprise gasp from Rose who was still nearby. "Why do I have a feeling I know who this is?"

"I knew you would be surprised to see me." A new voice said as he felt someone pressed against his back.

"H-Hey! Get your hands off of him!"

"Why should I, weren't you just dragging him across the room as if you had some claim on him?"

"It wasn't like that, but at least, I'm not draped all over him like some hussy!"

"Hussy, that's a surprising word coming from you. I thought the Bloody Rose was not just known for her skills but also for her vulgar language."

"Oh you want to see vulgar?! I'll show you…"

"All right, enough" Shadow said cutting off the two girls argument. "And Yukari, can you please get your hands off my eyes." He said while removing the Rare Hunter's gloved hands from his pupils.

"Aww~, you act like you're not glad to see me." Yukari giggled a bit.

"What do you want Yukari?" Shadow said in a dull tone to the girl.

"Now is that really a way to talk to someone who came all the way to the area to see you? I literally took time away just to come to this party." Yukari seemed hurt and pouted a bit as she released Shadow from her grip.

"Hey don't you just ignore me, and who is this girl?!" Rose asked, demanding an explanation. "You're acting all nonchalant about this, does that mean what she said was true?"

"That depends on what she said, but for starters what did she do to get under your skin? I haven't seen you this upset in a while" Shadow asked, turning his attention back on Rose.

"You would feel the same way if you were brushed off by some person you never met." Rose said as she took a second to calm down.

"Now I didn't exactly brush you off, I just asked if you could show me the way to your teacher. It was a simple enough request." Yukari said.

"And how exactly did you know that, and he isn't exactly my teacher anymore." Rose glared at the black haired girl.

"Oh it's easy information to come across. You're the Bloody Rose; a well-known bounty hunter or huntress as you prefer. I know that and many more things about you." Yukari then gave her a closed eyed smile. "Even your, or should I say lack of, enhancements."

"The hell you say?!" Rose said, just letting her anger explode at the moment. "You're not exactly the Ms. Busty poster girl! Heck I can tell you just by looking that don't have much underneath that oversized coat."

"Ah, but I thought you of all people would know." Yukari's sly smile never left her face.

"Know what?"

"That's it's not about what a warrior has." Yukari walked forward a little bit only to stop and lean on Shadow shoulder (much to the latter's annoyance). "It's how she uses it." She said, enunciating every word slowly.

"That's it, screw the rules, you die…RIGHT NOW!" Rose then activated her Rinnegan.

(Present)

"Ahahaha, guess that's what I get for leaving too soon, I miss all the action." Ravena said. "Well you look like you came out of everything ok despite being caught in the middle. What happened with Rosy and the Princess?"

"Cast and Leon were able to break them up. Rose calmed down after agreeing that I owe her some favors and Yukari only stopped to give me a gift before leaving." Shadow explained the aftermath. "But right now we're about to have the holiday toast and we seen you weren't there. I decided to go search for you with Punnya since it would be faster."

"Hence your use of magic; was Whisk the one who told you I was gone?" Ravena asked, quickly changing subjects.

"Yeah he was the one who saw you leave, but told your sisters not to worry. He was able to keep them calm while I went out to look." Shadow said.

"Guess no matter what side he's on, he's still my nosy, annoying, yet caring little brother." Ravena said. "I just needed some air from the party after everything, but I'm feeling better now nya." She grinned. "Now let's head back before anything else crazy happens."

"Please don't say that," Shadow sighed as they began to walk back. "Remember if you have any problems; don't be afraid to come to us to talk about it."

"Can the same be said about you nya?" Ravena asked. "The mark works both ways you know."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get that, but I, like everyone else, would like to see our favorite catgirl partying with the rest of us than out here in the snow by herself." Shadow then offered his hand. "Ready to head back?"

Ravena smiled and took the hand.

"Let's."

(Kurotsubasa Base)

"Rave~ You're back~!" exclaimed Bella pulling the Nekomata into a hug while Illu watched and smiled.

"Tone the drama Bells…" squeezed Ravena jokingly as Bella put her down. "It's almost time, isn't it?"

"Hai~" "Choo bet~!" replied Illu and Bella simultaneously.

"Alright, see you backstage in five," said Ravena as the other two nodded and walked off while Rave teleported herself and Punnya into her room.

Inside, Ravena took out the gift that RoM had given her earlier and undid the wrapping on it to reveal a thick leather bound book with four interlocking circles decorating the center of the cover. It had a lock on it with a red jewel adorning the golden lock-piece. Ravena widened her eyes little before running her hand over the cover, slowly breaking out into a small smile.

"The Book of Mystics….the first artifact I ever retrieved…he remembered…"said Ravena quietly as she nostalgically hugged the book to her chest. 'Thank You …Master…'

"Punnya?" called Punnya tilting a little, snapping Ravena out of her slight daze.

"Huh? Oh right! Lets go!"

Ravena and Punnya quickly raced out the room and towards the stage area.

"Wait Ravena!" she heard Kiki call out.

The Nekomata stopped as she turned to see her sisters walk up. Kiki looked like she was struggling to say something, but a quick nudge from Ginger got her to spit it out. "Look…Rave…Abby…we…I just wanna say…" Kiki tried to say when Ginger rolled her eyes.

"What our dear sister is trying to say is, we're sorry for dropping in unannounced….And…?" prompted Ginger.

"And…we're sorry for harassing you about the pictures, and interrogating you…and accusing your friend and-" Kiki began listing begrudgingly when Ravena held up a hand.

"Eh, don't worry about it… you wouldn't be good sisters if didn't care for my well-being, right?" said Ravena with a smile. "Although, I would appreciate it if you guys don't tell mom about this."

"Consider it done," replied Kiki smiling back.

"And quit snooping on my laptop?"

"Yeah sure~" sighed Kiki as the three sisters reconciled and hugged each other.

"And you guys will do my chores for a week?" asked Ravena instantly making Ginger and Kiki quirk their eyebrows at her.

"Ahaha…Nice try..." said Kiki sarcastically with a smile.

"Get out of here you cheeky little…" Ginger playfully scolded tapping Ravena on the back as she ran off laughing.

"Worth a shot~!" Ravena exclaimed over her shoulder as she finally met up with Bella and Illu.

Meanwhile, Kiki and Ginger watched proudly at their sister from afar before exchanging glances as an idea struck them. The two nodded as they quickly moved off somewhere.

(Backstage)

"About time Kitty! Got it?" asked Bella as Ravena smirked and held up the Melodic Mic in response.

"Let's do it!" exclaimed Ravena as all three girl held the mic together.

"_**IDOL LIVE, START!"**_ all three exclaimed as the Mic glowed brightly.

_**(Transformation Sequence)**_

_Strings of glowing Musical Notes began streaming out of the Mic as it swirled around the girls and lifted them in the air._

_Their clothes glowed and disappeared as new articles of clothing began to appear._

_Bella's hair bellowed about her as full body black leotard appeared followed by a red padded vest with a furry white ruff and red shorts. Brown leather gloves and ankle boots trimmed with white fur simultaneously appeared on her hands and feet as her transformation ended with a red Santa hat appearing on her head._

_The notes wrapped around Illu's body as a red long sleeved Santa dress appeared with a black belt along with black leggings and brown leather calf boots on her legs. A short red cape with white fur also appeared and draped around Illu's shoulders as black mittens and a white furred hair band completed her look._

_Ravena smiled as a white long sleeved, turtle-neck, short dress appeared on her followed by a red sleeveless hoodie also trimmed with white fur. Black leggings along with mid-calf brown leather boots matching the other two also appeared as her outfit finished off with black gloves and a red and gold striped ribbon appeared on her left ear. _

_Three matching microphones appeared before each girl as they struck a pose ending, their transformations._

"_**Idol Group: R.I. !" **__announced the trio radiantly._

_**End**_

Out in front, all the guests had gathered to the stage, waiting for the show to begin. The place was dark, and the silhouettes of a band could be seen waiting in the shadows.

Shadow, who was running things back stage saw that the girls were ready and gave a thumbs up to Key before he nodded to Mukurowl and Punnya up on the beams. Both Pets saluted as they shone a spotlight on the stage where Key waved to the crowed holding a microphone.

"Hi Everybody! I just want to thank you all for attending this little Christmas party!" began Key cheerfully. "But to truly show how thankful we are to all our guests, Kurotsubasa has come up with this show as a present from us to you. And now without further ado, starring Tokyo City's very own Idol Group, making their holiday debut, I present to you all, R.I.B-BON~!"

Cheers and applause sounded all around as Key took his leave while the stage darkened a bit. Little fairy lights began to twinkle in tune to a xylophone as a small tune began to play before transitioning into a keyboard just as a spotlight slowly glows onto Bella who stood at stage left.

_**Bella:**__ I~ don't want a lot for Christmas…_

_There is just one thing I need…_

_I don't care about the presents_

_Underneath the Christmas tree~_

(Spotlight appears on Illu on stage right)

_**Illu: **__I just want you for my own…_

_More than you could ever know~…._

(The final spotlight appears center stage on Ravena)

_**Ravena: **__Make my wish come true~….._

_All I want for Christmas~…._

_Is~… you~… Yeah~_

A short harmony of sleigh bells, drums and piano began to play as stage lit up to show DB on the drums accompanied by the members of Kotsubasa who formed the rest of the band, promting the crowd to cheer madly.

Mirage held a tambourine while both Angel and Minnya had sleigh bells. Cadet and Shade were rocking out on a guitar and bass respectively. A circle of floating keys surrounded both Beat-Boy and Sora as they harmoniously played piano together to the song. The three Kurotsubasa girls smiled and jived to the music as Bella and Illu made their way towards Ravena.

_**Bella: **__I don't want a lot for Christmas,_

_There is just one thing I need,_

_(__**Kotsubasa: **__And I~…..)_

_Don't care about the presents,_

_Underneath the Christmas tree!_

_I don't need to hang my stocking_

_There upon the fireplace_

_Santa Claus won't make me happy_

_With a toy on Christmas Day_

_I just want you for my own_

_More than you could ever know_

_Make my wish come true_

_All I want for Christmas is you~_

_**Illu: **__You… baby~_

_Oh, I won't ask for much this Christmas_

_I won't even wish for snow_

_(__**Ko: **__And I'm~…)_

_I'm just gonna keep on waiting_

_Underneath the mistletoe~_

_I won't make a list and send it_

_To the North Pole for Saint Nick_

_I won't even stay awake to_

_Hear those magic reindeer click~!_

_'Cause I just want you here tonight_

_Holding on to me so tight~!_

_What more can I do~?_

_Baby all I want for Christmas is you~!..._

_(__**Ko: **__You Baby~!)_

_**Ravena: **__OH~ all the lights are shining,_

_So brightly everywhere_

_And the sound of children's_

_Laughter fills the air~!_

_And everyone is singing_

_I hear those sleigh bells ringing_

_Santa, won't you bring me the one I really need?_

_Won't you please bring my baby to me?_

_**All: **__Oh, I don't want a lot for Christmas_

_This is all I'm asking for_

_I just want to see my baby_

_Standing right outside my door,_

_Oh, I just want you for my own_

_More than you could ever know~…_

_Make my wish come true~…_

_Baby all I want for Christmas…. is_

_You~!_

At that exact moment, several beams of light of various colors shot into the sky and exploded into a magnificent display of fireworks. The various lights illuminated swirling streams of snow that weaved through the air forming intricate patterns creating a dazzling shimmering effect as the crowd stared in awe. Even those performing on stage looked surprised along with Key and Shadow. Curious, Shadow activated his Byakugan to see that Ginger and Kiki had somehow made it to the roof of the Kurotsubasa HQ, responsible for the extra special effects.

Beads of sweat rolled down the sisters brows as they pushed themselves activating their limited powers. Ginger fired shot after shot of her Combustion powers to create the firework display while Kiki had her full concentration, swinging her arms and whole body, using her Water-Bending powers manipulating the falling snow to form the beautiful patterns.

Ravena also was able to see them from her she stood as she smiled to herself as she and the girls gave it their all as well.

_**A: **__All I want for Christmas is you, baby~!_

_All I want for Christmas is you, baby~!_

_All I want for Christmas is you, baby~!_

_All I want for Christmas is you, baby~!_

With one final effort, Kiki heaved the snow high into the air while Ginger gathered as much magic as she could muster before combusting the snow. This created an extra-large firework that shimmered brilliantly onto the crowd as the words 'Merry X'mas' illuminated the sky.

The astounding performance and grand display sent the crowd wild with cheers and cries as they exploded into applause. Ravena, Illu and Bella smiled breathlessly at each other as they hugged before beaming and bowing to the crowd.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR~!" cheered everyone on stage.

Ginger and Kiki watched proudly at how their sister had turned out from the roof before they both collapsed on their backs, completely exhausted but with huge smiles on their faces.

Meanwhile Whisk applauded from the sky, with the former levitating easily while the Draculina floated next to him hanging on to her rotating parasol. "Sugoi na~! As expected of Whisk-sama's family~!" cheered Lu-Mi happily while Whisk just smirked and readjusted his jacket. "It's almost a shame we're going back to being enemies with them tomorrow~."

"Well, we had our fun. Come on Lu-Mi, let's go home," said Whisk turning away and sprinting through the air as his partner looked at him with sparkly eyes and saluted.

"Aye sir~! Arf~!" yipped Lu-Mi as she snapped her parasol shut and straddled it like a witch's broom, riding after Whisk in the air.

_(Time Skip)_

"Aww, you guys have to go already nya? I was starting to get used to the idea of having the whole family online." Ravena said as she talked with Kiki and Ginger at the front door. After the performance and final minutes of the party they all had noticed the logout of their younger brother. Now it was time for the older sisters to return to the real world.

"Going to miss us on your online world little Sis?" Ginger said giving her a large grin. "I didn't think you would be so attached to us in one afternoon."

"Puh-lease, nya, it's just not like either of you to just up and quit something this early. I figured that you two would still need tips about FFW since you both wore your powers out." Ravena said, waving off what Ginger had just said.

"Hey it is our first time playing, so what if we don't have complete control! A few more days and I bet you can't even keep up with us Abby. Still while we did have fun we do also still have work to do back home. We can at least cover for you so that you still have more time to spend with your friends here." Kiki genuinely smiled only for her expression to turn a full 180. "Just promise that there won't be any more pictures."

"Once again the pot calling the kettle black. I can explain a swimsuit during summer but I don't think you can explain why you look like an Arabian showgirl." The two sisters began to taunt each other back and forth until they both went silent. "Be sure to come and visit, but message me before. Don't be strangers."

"We'll try and maybe we can try some of these quests as a family party." Kiki offered, for once getting her terms right. "In the meantime we do have to go; you do have some good friends Abby. I can see why you took the volunteer job."

"And I wouldn't trade them for anything nya." At that response Kiki smiled before she disappeared in a shower of sparks, signaling that she had logged out. Ginger was getting to leave herself, but before she did…

"Oh and Abby, I approve."

"Nya?!" Before Ravena could ask for an explanation Ginger gave her a grin as she then vanished leaving a stunned catgirl. Ravena then sighed and then walked back to where the rest of Kurotsubasa were gathered.

"Well that's the last of everyone. I guess, despite everything, that this party was a success."

"It was lively Ravena-chan and it was nice talking with your sisters." Illu said sincerely. "All though, I wonder where they got the…"

"D-don't worry about that. I was able to straightened everything out and they got rid of it Illu-tan." Ravena apologized to her best friend. "I'm just glad that they didn't cause too much trouble; I love them and all but they are embarrassing."

"That's how Chocobo is sometimes." Illu sighed.

"Hey come on girls, we had a great party, put on a great show, now it's time for presents so let's start!" Bella was about to dive into the small pile but was held back by Key. The Beta then pulled the chibified shapeshifter back.

"Slow your roll, chica." Key chastised her. "You know how Secret Santa works. We got to distribute the gifts to the right people."

Before Bella could try and escape the Beta's grasp a box wrapped in green and omnitrix printed wrapping paper. "I knew you would be the first to try and grab your gift so I pulled yours out for you Bell." DB handed it over to her, saving everyone from seeing Bella's devious plan.

"Yippee!" squealed chibi Bella happily as she snatched the gift and bolted to the sofa, like a trigger happy kid.

"Well since we're starting now, here are everyone else's gifts." Shadow said as he used gravity to help levitate the rest of the presents to their recipients. DB found himself with a red box with black bat print. Key's present was wrapped in black with silver key prints. Ravena also got a red box but hers had her bell symbol printed on hers. Illu's present was a lavender box with purple owl prints. Next to Shadow was a blue box with black moons printed on it. The last of the presents went to Punnya, Amaya, Mukurowl, and Nyoka.

"We got gifts as well, what is this supposed to mean Illu-sama?" The snake asked in surprise.

"It thought it wasn't fair if it was just us who gave out gifts so us pet owners did an exchange and bought gifts for all of you." Illu explained to the small serpent. "It's not a problem is it, Nyoka-chan?"

"-N-no, just surprising." Nyoka said, trying to conceal the red growing on her scales.

"Well it's time to open gifts before we all log off so who starts?" DB asked.

"The general rule is ladies first! So I guess I'll be the one to start things off." Bella then had a greedy smirk as she began to unwrap her present with anticipation. "Ooh I wonder which one of you was chosen to buy my present."

"Sorry Hy-Nya, one of the rules of Secret Santa is that you can't tell who bought what." Ravena waved her finger.

"Fine, fine" Bella then finished her unwrapping and froze in surprise. "Wow…I…CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" The shapeshifter stood to her feet as she raised her present in the air in joy. "I can't believe that one of you got me the complete Prank Master's kit! I've been trying to find any gag and joke store to get this!"

"Enjoy while you can Bella." Shadow said with a sigh. 'I can't believe that she just got more supplies for her prank arsenal. I guess we'll let it slide this on time.'

"Seriously which one of you bought this?! Words can't explain how happy I am, I need to pay you back!" Bella said with her eyes sparkling.

"Can't tell you Bella, but you can at least promise that you won't use that kit on any of us." Key said.

"Ok, that's the least I can do!" Bella smiled and then turned to Illu. "Well let's keep going, Owlgirl you're next."

"M-Me?! I don't know I'm o-ok with going last." Illu said, hiding her blush with her scarf.

"Come on, no need to be shy Illu-tan. Go ahead and let's see what that special someone got you." Ravena said.

Illu seemed to hesitate but she then relented as she opened her gift slowly. Mukurowl and Nyoka took the time to open their gifts as well seeing as their owner was opening hers. Illu the released a surprised gasp as she pulled out a pendant which was shaped like the mark of Saturn with an amethyst gemstone. "Th-This is too much! Y-you didn't have to…" She was almost speechless looking at the gift.

"That gem, let me see that Illu-sama!" Nyoka asked as Illu then showed the snake the pendant. "This is one of those gems that help Hybrids like Illu-sama evolve their transformations. These are almost impossible to find."

"Nya well…you won't believe what one finds in Cheshire's Path. Sorry to spoil the mystery Illu-tan." Ravena smiled and was then hugged by her friend.

"I d-didn't expect y-you would go so far. Arigatou Ravena-chan." Illu said gratefully. Mukurowl then flew on Illu's head with a gem that matched the one on Illu's pendant and Nyoka now also had a silver ring around her with the same gem.

"You even got enough of them for Muku-chan and Nyoka-chan!"

"Well if you can do some surprising things with your hybrid form then imagine what you guys can do with it!"

"As heartwarming as it is girls it is time for you to open your present Kitty." Bella said. "Don't keep us all in suspense."

Ravena nodded and then opened her gift as eagerly as Punnya did. The Nekomata then pulled up the lid and to her and Punnya a light then shined from the present's contents as their eyes lit up with sparkles. In both of their boxes, in perfect condition, was a large selection of creampuffs.

"Nya, creampuffs~!"

"Punnya~!"

Both of them chimed in happiness as they enjoyed their pastries. Ravena then smiled towards the rest of the guild. "It's not even that hard to guess who got me this, but I think I'll still keep it a secret!"

"Punnya?" The neko manju then dug through the cream puffs to pull out a circlet with a glowing gem embedded in the front.

"Really, you got a prize?" Ravena said as she went through her present and well and pulled out a gem as well. "A Quintessence Gem, wow I can't believe. These usually cost an arm and a leg…and that's from dungeons nya." She said in wonder.

"Wow, the bar has been set pretty high for the girls huh?" DB chuckled a bit.

"It's the thought that counts usually, though the one who picked Bella's gift may had got a gag gift but Bella isn't the type to accept jewelry usually." Shadow commented on the gifts.

"You're darn right! I'm not the type of person you can please with a mere shiny. It has to blow my mind!" Bella said.

"Whatever you say Bella, well I guess it's our turn huh?" DB said as he then began unwrapping his gift and pulled a pair of red drumsticks. "Whoa you guys got me a new set of sticks. Not that I mind but how are these different from my usual pair?" He asked as he began twirling it.

"How about you try channeling some fire into one of them?" Key suggested.

"Ok but I don't see how that will…Whoa!" Following the Beta's advice DB used his pyrokinesis with the sticks and flames began to extend from the drumstick. The vampire then checked with his own eyes and saw that the stick was still intact. Using some concentration he then willed the flames in the shape of a hammer. "Now this is awesome!"

"I thought that you would like it. It adds a bit more to your arsenal besides your blades; people won't see it coming." Key smirked.

"No one would ever expect the DrummerBoy using drumsticks as weapons now." Ravena giggled a bit at the irony of the weapon. "Well would you like to go next Ani-Key?"

"Sure" Key then opened his gift and pulled out what appeared to be two key chains. One had a gold chain that led down to a small red sun at the end of the chain. The other had a regular metallic chain but led to a small simple silver key. "Are these what I think they are."

"TaaDaah, a Hyna Dimension original! I was able to work a few favors and travel to a few places to get these made for you Key." Bella said innocently. "So meet your new keychains for your blades: Solar Flare and Celestial Key!"

"I don't know what to say. I didn't think you would be able to make custom chains; they usually take forever even if you have the right ingredients for them." Key said, impressed at the craftmenship of the weapons. If he could summon his keyblades now he could see how it looked like.

"You forget that you are talking to the Hyna General, nothing is too impossible for me and my men!" Bella said proudly. "Though I will say; that we don't deserve all the credit for crafting these beauties alone."

"Huh?" Key asked in confusion.

"Nope, that would be telling." Bella said leaving the Beta hanging on his question. "Besides it's Shads turn to open his gift, so let's see what you got."

"No need to hype up the gift Bella." Shadow said. Before he started with his gift he noticed that Amaya was having a small trouble with opening hers; he spared a second to help unwrap hers to reveal a large carrot shaped pillow.

"U-Pyon~!" Amaya squealed in happiness as she hopped and snuggled against the soft fabric of the pillow.

"Looks like Amaya-chan liked her gift." Illu said as she smiled at the small manju's cute behavior. "Amaya-chan sleeps almost as much as Shads, so a pillow for her would give her something soft she can rest on!"

"Well that was a thoughtful gift. At least you know it's a pillow so you don't try and gnaw it apart Amaya." Shadow chuckled a bit.

"U-Pyon!"

"I know, I know…I'll make it up to you later." Shadow petted the small manju, receiving a satisfied look. He then turned to his own gift and finished unwrapping it to pull out a large, ornate grimoire that featured many different celestial bodies. "This book…I didn't think there was something like this FFW. It must have been a really rare thing to come across." Shadow said with clear interest as he began to go through the book.

"Looks like all you have to do is know the right people." Ravena said joyfully as she pulled back a bit with Illu. "See I told you not to be nervous when picking out gifts and look he loves it." She whispered to the owl hybrid.

"Na-Nani, what m-make y-you think I was the one?"

"I can smell all the scents on the presents so I know who bought what for who. I will say nice choice of gift, where did you find a book on magic like that?" Ravena asked her.

"W-Well first I went to Saphir-nee and then she pointed the way. I knew Shadow would always stop and look at the stars and everything so I thought he would like a celestial tome." Illu explained nervously.

"Looks like you chose right there." Ravena said, patting the shy girl on the back.

Shadow then stood up and held his drink up, the guild leader's action was then copied by the rest of Kurotsubasa as they raised their drinks as well.

"Well guys and gals; we've had a lot of good and bad times this year, but that's only help us grow closer together as a guild. And while I can't predict the future I can definitely see lots more challenges coming our way." Shadow began. "And we'll meet all those with everything we've got! Kurotsubasa!" He raised his glass higher for the toast.

"KUROTSUBASA!" Glasses clashed together and the guild enjoyed the final hours of their celebration.

(Scene Change)

It was late night on back on Infinity Island as Hikari sat alone in her office. She was the only one present at the facility as she dismissed the others to go home for the holidays. That and also because her office is also doubles as her private residence. She had just finished up signing papers before taking a sip of her coffee before glancing over at a picture frame by her computer.

It was a childhood picture of her and another girl who looked exactly like her sister hugging and an older boy who also shared the resemblance. Hikari sighed sadly as she stroked the picture while smiling reminiscently when a chibi Masukomi suddenly appeared on her screen in her usual attire.

"_Are you ok? Ojou-sama?" _asked Masukomi out of concern.

"I'm fine, just thinking of some good times that's all…." Replied Hikari. "How was the party?"

Masukomi tilted her head at Hikari before smiling. _"It was a lot of fun~!"_ she piped up. _"Ah~! By the way, Kurotsubasa said they wanted to give you a little special something,"_ informed Masukomi holding a small wrapped present. _"Would you like to open it?"_

Hikari straightened herself in her chair as she sat at attention and nodded. Masukomi beamed as she undid the ribbon. Data streamed out of the box as it converged to form a video screen recording of the Kurotsubasa gang in their FFW avatars.

"_Hi Hikari, we felt you would be feeling lonely this Christmas so we wanted to give you a present from all of us as thanks," _explained Shadow.

"_So from all of us here at Kurotsubasa, we have put together a little show just for you," _said Ravena putting on a head set microphone before the camera panned to show the Guild gathering on their stage taking up different instruments.

DB naturally took the drums, Bella who also wore a headset mic held the guitar, while Shadow strapped on a bass guitar. Key stood in front of a silver xylophone, while Illu stood ready with a piano/keyboard, adjusting her own headset. Ravena took her place with a tambourine while the pets were on stools holding their own instruments. Punnya and Amaya held sleigh bells while Mukurowl held maracas and Nyoka had a shaker coiled in her tail.

"_Merry Christmas, Hikari!" _cheered Kurotsubasa as Ravena silently counted down with her fingers before pointing to Key who started the intro. (Play: Holy Night, Toradora)

_**R.I.B: **__Saa CHRISTMAS~ ippai no egao,_

_kimi ni todoketa PARTY NIGHT,_

_saa CHRISTMAS~ ippai no negai,_

_kimi ni chikaunda~… HOLY… HOLY… NIGHT~_

Hikari's eyes widened in surprise and awe as the guild began jiving and harmonizing completely in sync as she began seeing flashbacks of wonderful memories of her and her siblings when they were children. Playing, crying, warmth, comfort…love…. Such nostalgic feelings were coming back to her.

_kotoshi no CHRISTMAS chotto tokubetsu sa_

_WHITE CHRISTMAS janaku datte!_

_hoshikuzu no ILLUMINATION,_

_hora furitsumoru yo~!_

(Brief rewind in time…)

During the recording of the video, each member of Kurotsubasa also began to reminisce some memorable moments of the year.

_**Illu: **__Kira-kira kagayaite~_

_minna ga shiawase de,_

A smile played on Illu's face as she remembered when she first met the Guild, random moments they had together and her most recent memory of her birthday.

_**Bella: **__Chika-chika matataite,_

_minna ga yume wo mite~!_

Bella began to reminisce all the times she had fun teasing and pranking her friends such as the time she laughed her head off after causing Illu and Ravena to blush heavily and there was the moment during summer when she had Sol run for his life whilst chasing him with her water gun.

_**R.I.B: **__Saa CHRISTMAS~ ippai no egao,_

_kimi ni todoketa PARTY NIGHT,_

_saa CHRISTMAS ippai no negai_

_kimi ni~ chikaunda ~…HOLY~… HOLY~… NIGHT~…_

Key recalled the good times he had laughing at some of his guild mates crazy antics, first meeting Rina and TPB and of course running away from them, making him sweat-drop a bit. DB smiled tenderly at the fun times too, as well as meeting Naenia and sharing his first kiss with her.

_Kotoshi no CHRISTMAS kitto tokubetsu sa_

_LONELY CHRISTMAS ja tsumaranai_

_egao ha ILLUMINATION_

_hora! Kazatteageru~_

_**Ravena: **__Yura-yura~ yurameite~_

_minna de te wo tsunagi~!_

Ravena thought back amusingly on when she first joined Kurotsubasa and got involved with their shenanigans, such as the drunken trouble during Summer on Ember Island, facing some old faces of the past like BoP and Rose along with the really tender moments they shared as a team.

_**Illu: **__Pika-pika~ kirameite~!_

_minna de hoshi miage~!_

Finally, Shadow reminisced on the times he had fun hanging out with his guild, trouble-making and all. That along with some tender memories of some private moments he had individually with the women in his life.

The most memorable moment that stood out in everyone's minds was when they finally met each other in Real Time on Infinity Island and met Hikari.

_**R.I.B.**__: Saa CHRISTMAS ippai no egao,_

_kimi ni todoketa PARTY NIGHT!_

_saa CHRISTMAS ippai no negai…_

_kimi ni ~…chikaunda~… HOLY~, HOLY~….. NIGHT~!..._

Back to the present, the music gradually came to an end as the shot in the video changed to a group close up of everyone who beamed brightly at the camera.

"_Once more, a very Merry Christmas! We Love You, Hikari~!" _cheered the group before the video finally ended.

A couple of tear drops formed a tiny puddle on the desk as tears began to continuously stream down Hikari's face. Despite the tears, Hikari had a big smile on her lips as she unsuccessfully tried to dry her eyes. It had been so long since she had felt the warmth and love of others especially since she had spent so many years feeling alone. This was the first in so long did she receive such a beautiful warm present from the kids she had begun to consider as family.

"Thank you…_sniffs…._Thank you so much everyone….~" she sniffled through her tears with a big appreciative smile as she clicked the video to replay it once more as snow began to fall gently outside.

_**End…**_


	33. Chapter 25: Kurotsubasa vs Dead Bloods

**Hello everyone, here I am bringing another find chapter of FFW. I will be honest with everyone else that work and class, as well as other things, really cut into my inspiration so I can't really write much but I'm going to try and update and look through my other stories to continue them. In the meantime I'll try to get a good flow of stories coming so enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

><p>In a vast land like FFW; players expect to find a large variety of areas. Small medieval villages, great stone fortresses, floating futuristic cities…these are the types of areas that await many coming into the open, virtual world. However; as with the real world there are locations that come out in the light and then there are those that only truly thrive in the darkness of mankind.<p>

The Network Slums, or what many jokingly call FFW's downtown, an area that greatly contrasts the almost fantasy feel the world gives. Factories with large stalks that bellow smoke into a bleak sky, tall buildings stretching up into the clouds, the large metropolis almost seems to be steampunk homage to the big cities on Earth. Past the Slums appearance, it was one of the areas of perpetual night. No sun-light shines on this dark city. Despite its threatening appearance the residence have no problem with the city, though they all have one thing to repeatedly say to newcomers…

_Keep away from the Asylum District, if you value your innocence._

**(Asylum District)**

*Huff…Huff…Huff!* Large gasps of air escaped out the runaway's mouth as he sought relief behind a dumpster within the alleyway. In the moments he used to catch his breath he would take quick peaks around the corner to see if he had lost his pursuers.

"Not even the Admin are this relentless in the District but…" After another quick scope around the entrance he then let out a few relieved breaths. "At least I lost those psychos."

"Psychos, now that's just impolite."

Those blood-chilling words was then followed by the quick rush of wind and his source of cover was then swiftly cut th?rough. The runaway then began quickly began to crawl away as soon as one half of the dumpster was picked up and chucked aside followed by an angry groan. Crawling on the ground he was thrown pulled off the ground by a large tendril and was then blow away by a small projectile.

"As much as I like the thought of groveling on the floor we do have a job that must be completed."

"I really wouldn't mind taking the time to tear you apart, but wasting of my sister's time is a sin."

The wounded man slowly got up and crawled back seeing silhouettes of his pursuers. One of which making their way towards him slowly allowing him to see the attacker's features, his fear filled eyes widening spying a familiar mark on the person.

The person's more identifying features were hidden by the hood of the black straightjacket that was kept closed but he saw the jacket had no sleeves allowing him to see the scar filled scrawny arms along with silver rings that cover the fingertips shaped like claws. Plain black trousers led out the jacket to the man's unclothed feet. The victim couldn't look past the black within the hood but he has no doubt the assailant's cold eyes were looking down on them.

"Speaking of sin; you must know why we're here if you recognize who we are."

"No shit, everyone in this area knows who you guys are, but that doesn't explain why you've been chasing after me-Aargh!" The talking quickly ceased as he was then levitated off the ground. He seemed to have no control over his body as he looked to his captive who had his hand raised, still illuminated by the red moon in the sky.

'A red moon?'

"Art thoust truly ignorant; someone wanted thee dead, they wanted revenge." The man heard one of the female shaped silhouettes speak.

"Who could I have possibly…?"

"Can't tell we are professionals after all; just know that you were unlucky enough to step on the wrong toes. We've been paid quite handsomely to see to your death." One of the shorter figures spoke as he stood in front of a much larger figure.

"This might sound ironic coming from me but can we skip the torturous small talk. Despite the payment this small fry isn't really worth talking with." Another female voice spoke cruder than the first. "I mean look at him, the only reason he hasn't pissed himself yet is because of Zaraki's bending."

"Hey, if the peanut gallery would stop talking we carry this on before the damn night troops get here." The straight jacketed man turned back to say, his victim still suspended midair but now his eyes weren't focused on just the man alone. Zaraki's left hand…the one that was not raised; was clenched tight enough to draw blood. In fact it was dripping out his closed palm now; black droplets bleeding from his new cuts.

"Right now let's just finish our contract and kill this one." Suddenly the blood stopped dripping and began to congeal forming a long black solid blade. The blood sword was raised to the victim's chest and stabbed through; the man's face twisted in obvious pain but he kept the scream inside.

"Oh so you can become brave when the time calls for it, but then again this isn't enough to instantly kill." Zaraki then began twisting the sword in the new wound and though it couldn't be seen his face twisted and formed a large smirk. "If we weren't on a time limit I could torture you all I want…but the damn Admin would be arriving soon. So I'll give you this one favor and keep this killing time short!" Clenching his raised palm he victim's body then exploded as black spikes exploded out his body.

At that time Zaraki then dropped both his hands to his pocket causing the corpse to fall and dark red blood pooling out the wounds as the body slowly disintegrated into pixels.

"I never get tired of the job." Zaraki said pulling down his hood, exposing spiky blood red hair and crazed brown eyes.

"Calm down Zaraki, let's just get out of here before the Admin show up." A snark remark escaped from the cruder woman's mouth as the group behind him began to leave. Zaraki just let out a scoff but chose to follow her advice as to avoid any possible consequences. The group took off and vanished into the city's night leaving behind the aftermath of their target.

After taking a second to make sure that they weren't pursued; the group of misfits settled back ground level in front of a large rundown warehouse.

"Next time I get in the mood, don't go about interrupting me! I don't get in the way when you start carving bodies Whip!" Zaraki turned to the one who cut him off from his craze.

"Like I give a damn if you wanted to push the torturing as much as possible. We all do it, but don't do it on runs where our leader is away and the Night Troops are out and about lurking!" The now named Whip called out to him.

The short male of the group allowed a small groan to escape his lips as he reached up and tinkered with the large bolt that went through his head. "Must you two really begin bickering already? If the Troops weren't out before they will be when the body is discovered."

"'Tis doesn't help us when thou is particularly…moody when Shiro is away." The regal woman said as she stood near Whip.

"Because I don't need someone like her telling me what to do! I've been doing this thing longer than she's been in the guild; I'm not going to wait around when we receive a target!" Zaraki hollered back as he turned to the short scrawny male who was right now conversing with the giant. "Doc, get your freak to open the door. I have a feeling if I do it I'll tear it off from frustration."

"Well seeing as you aren't the most mello of us right now." Doc then stood straight and got the attention of the bulky giant. "Meat, be a Gent and raise the door."

"Raise?"

"Lift…Door." Doc pointed while dumbing it down. Meat seemed to comprehend after that and made his way to the entrance. As the large player began to lift one of the members then began to stiffen a bit; the action did not go unnoticed as Whip turned to her.

"Is there a problem Queen?" Whip asked in genuine concern.

"We hast thought Shiro was away on another of her 'runs.'" Queen stated. "So why do we sense another presence inside?" Before her question could be answered they all heard the loud rusted groan of the warehouse door as Meat lifted it away with his brute straight. Before anyone thought to go inside Queen chose to stop them. "Thou can come out now, lest thou wishes a painful bloody death."

"Ahahaha, as if we'd give this person a choice. How about I skip the middle man and…" Zaraki tried to used his bending only for a red haze to form around his arm causing him not unable to move any of the limb.

"Now let's not be hasty…and I thought I was well hidden too." A female voice spoke from the darkness.

"We can say the same place about this hideout, how did you find it?" Doc chose to ask, not bothering to try and look for the voice with his eyes.

"For someone like me, it's easy to find those who've bathed in blood. However; I'm not here to talk about me…I'm here for a request."

"Request ha! We don't do requests lady we do business, the bloody kind, and if you don't have the courage to even show up to our place face to face!" Whip yelled starting to lose what little patience she had that night.

"Now aren't you all rude, even ruder since I am in front of you." Suddenly the lights within the warehouse then flashed on bathing their eyes in intense light. After adjusting to it, they could all see the woman standing inside the warehouse.

"Now that all the formalities are out of the way, back to my request, what do you know about a guild called Kurotsubasa?" The woman asked.

**(The Next Day - Tokyo City)**

"And another Guild bites the dust as Kurotsubasa earns themselves another victory in this still ongoing Guild Wars!" cheered Masukomi to CAM who was recording her.

Behind in the background, Illu politely waved goodbye as the defeated Guild left the field sadly while DB and Bella were hugging the two large bags of munny they had just received. Both of them were chuckling creepily as their eyes had munny symbols in them.

"I can finally get that new upgrade to my drums~" DB said in glee while Bella chuckled even more.

"Joy buzzers, whoopees, gummy shocks, soda bombs, Firecracker-jacks~…." She muttered in delight until the munny bags were suddenly snatched away by Shadow who gave them a look.

"This munny is for the Guild Fund guys, with all the surprise challenges we've been getting we need to up the system and everything," said the Guild Leader sternly while Ravena and Key both smacked the two upside their heads to snap them out of their fantasies.

"Ah come on, give us a break. With the number of guilds challenging us don't you think we at least deserve to enjoy the spoils of war?" Bella rubbed her abused head. "We've must have a lot so that we can take care of expenses."

"You forget the costs it takes to have your pranks cleaned up nya, not to mention those guys you scarred for life." Ravena pointed out.

"It's their fault for calling me flat-chested."

"Point taken."

Illu then turned around to join the rest of Kurotsubasa. "Ano, I get where you come from Bella but the munny does have to be budgeted properly. We won't be able to get the things we need if everything goes into your pranks." The hybrid reminded her.

"Plus the majority goes towards the guild anyway; you'll get your piece of the munny Bella." Key also stated as he saw Shadow then put the munny away using the Zipper.

"I take it we're going to be taking some downtime from dealing with the duels and requests?" DB asked. While the Guild Wars was still a factor, Kurotsubasa still have their request jobs as well as training the members of Kotsubasa; eventually the amount of freetime that the members were familiar was shrinking more and more. "I can go for another battle, but even we need another vacation."

"We've dealt with another Guild War so do whatever you want." Shadow said as he began walking back. "I'm going to…"

"U-pyon!" Amaya squeaked as she popped out of Shadow's hair.

"Right…we'll put the munny in a safe place then probably just settle at the base before the kid and his friends arrive." Shadow said.

"Oh, trying to get out of some magic lessons? Isn't today a day where we work more on your magic?" Ravena asked.

"One day away isn't going to be a factor. I'm trying to master one element, not magic as a whole." Shadow said. "All-though I'm surprised you agreed to keep this up seeing as you now have Angel who needs training too."

"I can multi-task nya, plus it's not a good idea to shirk off responsibilities." Ravena lectured. "You might become a bad role model for Amaya-chi."

"Punnya!" Punnya agreed.

"Just think of this as a raincheck, besides you, Illu, and Bella have to go check on something. A thing you called a Melo…"

"Nya, I can't believe I forgot!" Ravena then grabbed both surprised and confused girls by the arms. "Let's go girls; there is something that I definitely need to show you!" The nekomata then proceeded to fly off taking the toon and hybrid with her.

"Hey Kitty what's the rush?!"

"Matte, Ravena-chan!"

DB stared clueless at the dustcloud the catgirl left behind while Key let out a sigh seeing that Shadow was also walking off back to the base. "I guess I might as well go to the Admin, at least see what our current rankings and standings are. Plus I'll probably have to deliver the results of this fight to Rina personally."

"Right, right, hey isn't there a thing about dating your boss that's not allowed?" DB smirked as he asked.

"We're not dating!"

"So you are going out with TPB! Better not let Rina hear that." DB teased.

"You should talk! I wonder Naenia would say if she found out about that incident with Valley-Bell?" retorted Key.

DB widened his eyes a little in fear. "T-T-That was accident and you know it!"

"Was it really? You looked like you enjoyed it."

"F-k you Key!"

"Right back at'cha."

"GUYS!" snapped Shadow breaking up the fight. The two guys looked over to see their frowning as he held his hands over Amaya's ears blocking out all sound as the baby manju blinked in confusion. "Language!"

"Yes Mother," said DB jokingly before crossing his arms behind his head and walking off. "I've got a date anyway, later!"

Key sighed and shrugged. "I should be going too, see ya Shads," said the Beta waving a bit before going his own way.

Shadow released a huge irritated sigh as he let Amaya climb back on his shoulder. "I seriously need to lie down…"

"U-pyon…." Said Amaya sympathetically patting his head with her ears.

**(Scene Change)**

A long yawn escaped the jaws of the sleeping player as he rose from his nap. When he opened his eyes he was greeted with the same sights of the usual hotsprings day, though there seemed to be a shortage of peeping toms around…not that the lazy security minded that fact. He then stood to his feet looking over as another figure lied slumped on top of a magic array.

"Slow day, no perverts, and you're actually behaving yourself?" Grim asked as he stretched his limbs getting back into the movement.

"**Like I can do anything when you got her spells set up, at least you didn't go and use the tags she gave you."** Doppelman complained from his local prison.

"I usually save those for when you get caught so that the ladies at least have a chance to release their aggression." Grim smirked. "Besides you helped raise us more munny, seeing as you help reduce their stress and anger levels."

"**I didn't sign up to be a punching bag!"**

"But you're such a natural…" Feeling a shift of wind Grim then stopped his banter and turned to the new arrival. Doppelman also got up from his spot on the array and tilted his head. **"Hey, who's the chick in the mask?"**

As Doppelman had pointed out; it was a young woman wearing a white, porcelain mask on her face shaped like that of a bird. The masked maiden wore a black top with the sleeves cut off, exposing her arms. Above that was a thick, grey vest and on her arms were elbow long black gloves with steel plates pressed along them. She had on form fitting black pants and grey armored boots. Completing her image was a large white cloak with a hood.

"Are you the one known as Mister Grim?" An emotionless voice asked.

"That depends…what reason does the Night Troop's Hummingbird have for this meeting?" Grim replied back.

"**Hummingbird?"** Doppelman asked confused.

"You know my codename but unlike others you know I work for the Night Troops. That means you know where we are primarily stationed. My Master would like to have a meeting with you." Hummingbird continued.

"**Hey Bird Brain, didn't you hear him before?! We aren't leaving until we…" **Doppelman's rant was stopped when he saw Grim raise a hand to silence him. The shade looked confused until he then noticed that the two were surrounded on all sides by men dressed exactly like Hummingbird, though with featureless masks and black coats. **"Whoa, what did we do that these guys have to bring along an army?"**

"Troublesome," Grim sighed as he focused on Hummingbird. "We'll come to your meeting, but I want your master to know that I do have the right to decline if I decide to." The Demon Weapon made his intentions clear.

"Of course, now if you would follow us, we'll escort you." Hummingbird said as they began to leave with the group still encircled around Grim and Doppelman. After reassuring the owners that everything was fine the Night Troops proceeded to lead the two mercenaries.

Grim could have easily sidestepped this step and just have said no before taking care of any consequences, but that would've went against his lazy nature. Plus he may have an idea why they would come find him of all people to deal with Night Troop business.

'Night Troop usually adds up to Network Slum and the Slums usually added up to _them_.' Grim walked in thought. 'What kind of problems have you got into this time Grim?' He was then pulled out his monologue seeing as the two were lead into the Admin base.

"**Hey isn't this the Admin's stronghold, why do these Night Troop guys have a key? Plus it looks like no one is in a rush to stop us." **Doppelman pointed out the fact that any other Admin Guards they passed were either glancing at them or completely ignoring them.

"That's because Night Troops is the term for these specific people in the Admin. They have a different name but they're the same as Admin Guards in format; they take care of crimes that happen in the Server and have a captain that's second only to the Admin." Grim explained.

"**Yeah but isn't the Admin of this Server that Cast girl?"** Doppelman asked catching no sight of Leon.

"I think you seem to be forgetting that this Server has two Admin because of its size, but then again I think I prefer that lack of knowledge." The two lookalikes then turned to see the new arrival.

"Cast can be the public face, let her deal with the light; meanwhile I deal with this Server's more…darker circles." Speed said.

"I completed the mission as requested, Master." Hummingbird bowed towards the Admin.

"Right, good work." Speed addressed her while still looking to Grim. "Now Mister Grim; as you know by now that these are my Night Troops. The part of the Admin that deals with the more destructive issues around FFW; one such issue would be in Network Slums."

"The Asylum District right?" Grim asked boredly.

"I see, straight to the point right?" Speed chuckled a bit. "Ok then I'll get to the heart of this meeting. The problem stems from a guild known as Dead Bloods who reside in the Asylum District. A bloodthirsty guild, yet surprisingly evasive of the Admin's eyes."

"Last I checked they seem more mellowed out." Grim said.

"Maybe; however, more so often they are going back to their old ways of contract killings. Leaving their emblems painted in their victim's blood like back in old times." Speed then last the smirk and became serious. "While they may be evasive of us, you had run ins with them before. In fact you happen to know the current leader."

"And what does that have to do with anything? Even if I know her it's not like she'll understand what you're trying to say. Dead Blood isn't going to stop killing and they're not going to hand themselves over." Grim stated the facts.

"That's right, but what if the members of the guild happen to say…go missing?" Speed brought up the possibility.

"Are you hiring me to take them out?" Grim asked.

"Why not, do you support what the Dead Bloods do?" Speed asked back.

"I'm not on for violent killing sprees, but criminals are usually put in a holding cell by the Admin before their punishment can be decided. You're basically saying execution without a trial."

"As if those blood soaked dogs deserve any trial when everyone knows that they're guilty."

"But you can't exactly locate them." Grim brought up. "You wouldn't be coming to me for this type of job if you weren't down on your last options."

"Of course, I can't do a mandatory sweep of the area because that requires both Admin's approval to sweep an area. This is something I don't need to have that little girl and her armored security blanket on my case about." Speed said. "And think of it this way, I'll let you decide the outcome."

"Outcome?" Grim asked.

"Capture or Kill; do whatever you think you should do oh great Bounty Hunter." Speed smirked. "I want this deal with the Dead Bloods over and done with. As long as you can end their murder sprees I'm happy."

"**Yes, because that's what we all really care for."** Doppelman rolled his eyes at the job stated.

The emotionless Hummingbird seemed to not take this well as a ninjato materialized in her hand, but before a move could be made she was stopped by Speed. "Don't allow this shade to rile you up; you're of no use in battle if you go flying off the handle."

"…yes Master." Tsubaki said submissively as the ninjato vanished in the same light it was summoned with.

Seeing his second in command settle down; Speed once again addressed Grim. "Well do we have a deal?"

"I want all of this down on paper just so this is official; from a certain incident a long time ago you aren't that keen on keeping your literal word." Grim said.

"Tch, just be lucky this is a professional visit. I can have you arrested along with the Dead Bloods for being an associate to one." Speed warned him.

"But you need me, because you know no other way to actually get close to them or pin them down." Grim shot back. "I don't really care for a reward; I can bill you later for the trouble. I do however know that if I say no you'll default to more extreme methods."

"Hey, don't play me off as the bad guy, I just want to get results besides blood smears on the walls." Speed said and with a snap of his fingers a mercenary contract appeared in hand and he tossed the paper to Grim. "Do we have a deal?"

Grim took a moment to stare at the specifics of the mission on the contract, scanning for any fine print the Admin may have not spoken of. Finally he walked over to Speed with his hand offered out.

"We have a deal, but as you said. I do this my way."

Speed just continued to smile darkly as he accepted the handshake. "Why of course, as long as you take care of the problem I don't care."

Grim just nodded as he took the contract and left the building with Doppelman.

'**Are we really going to trust that guy?' **Doppelman used his link to communicate silently.

'Speed, no, he may be an Admin but he still in the job for his own goal. The only reason he would come to find me is because he can't tear the area down and he actually needs my services.' Grim thought back. 'It's best if I really do take care of this problem.'

'**I get that you know some of these Dead Blood guys but how are you going to take them down if they aren't friendly?' **Doppelman asked.

'Easy, I may be outnumbered but I know a place where we can get help. In a Guild War, what better way to take down a guild than with another guild?' Grim remained cryptic as he made a call to a certain rogue when he got away from the base.

(With the Night Troops)

"Must we really go to a mercenary for such a task? Give me a day to go through the town myself and I'll…"

"Tsubaki! While I don't doubt you, even if you do find them I doubt you can kill them all and you would be useless to me dead." Speed cut the hummingbird masked girl off. "This way we can watch and wait. We'll have sensors on Grim the whole mission. If he's not effective he can at least leave them in a weakened state…that's enough for us to haul them in."

"Master, I don't doubt your plan but…"

"So why do you question me still?" Speed countered.

Humming-bird, or Tsubaki, stiffened a bit before regaining her composure. "I do not question I serve. I just do not see how one mercenary serves my Master's plans." Tsubaki was expecting some form of punishment for her statement but she was met with an amused laugh.

"Well said, but the plan is already moving forward. Knowing his record he won't kill them unfortunately, but if he's going to abuse a certain system to bring Dead Bloods out he's going to need a guild to do so."

"Those ones who've opposed you before?" Tsubaki asked.

"Correct…Dead Bloods, and even Kurotsubasa. If all goes planned, there will be two less thorns in my side." Speed said as he then dismissed them while he left the room. The rest of the Night Troops left except for Tsubai who walked at Speed's side. "I thought I dismissed you."

"An Admin Guard Captain's place is beside their Admin." Tsubaki stated.

"Sometimes I swear you're worse than Leon, the dog, at least take off your mask when not on duty." Speed said as he continued walking.

"As you wish." Tsubaki removed her mask revealing flawless ivory skin and jet black hair kept in a long ponytail when she put her hood down. Her eyes were a deep purple that took in everything around her, but where solely focused on the one she was walking with.

**(Scene change)**

"And you found it down in Cheshire's Path, just like that?" asked Bella excitedly bouncing on Ravena's bed as she looked over at the white and gold microphone with its musical patterned design in her hands.

"Yeah, I had it restored and apparently it still works," replied Ravena hugging Punnya. "Unfortunately we're still trying to figure it out."

"Punnya-Nya~" agreed the manju with a nod.

"But still, a Melodic Mic is a rare find nowadays," noted Illu sitting on a nearby by bean-bag chair when a beeping was heard.

Simultaneously all three girls pulled up their screens to see if it was theirs. However, only Ravena's showed the incoming call. "It's Grimmy!" noted Ravena in surprise as she answered the call. "Hello?"

"_Hey Rave, do you have a minute?" _

"Sure, what's up?"

"_I need a favour…"_

Bella and Illu quickly leaned in to listen with interest.

"_I need to join Kurotsubasa."_

**(Scene Change)**

Not long after having Grim explain his situation the girls wasted no time in bringing the rest of the Guild to attention. This led to a quick gathering in the meeting room. Since Key and DB were still some distance away, the rest had the two on video-conference along with Grim.

"So what's this all about suddenly Grim?" asked Shadow.

"_It's just what I told Ravena over the line. I need to join Kurotsubasa, but only temporarily." _Grim explained.

"That doesn't really answer much; if you're doing this because of a job you've been offered why do you need us? You've taken care of your mercenary work alone before." Shadow said, trying to find the reason behind the mercenary's request.

"The only you would need a guild now is because of the Guild Wars right, is it because of that?" Bella tried her hand at guessing.

"_That's part of it…"_ Grim was almost pushed out the way by Doppelman as he invaded the screen.

"_**The thing is we've been given a job by this Admin guy. His name was Speed or something like that."**_ The shade said causing most of the guild to become stiff.

"Speedgain right, he's the only Admin in the Server that goes by that name." Illu said nervously as she recalled her memories of the Admin. "And now he's given you a job because of the Guild Wars, does that mean he wants you to hunt down a guild?"

"Yeah, what's the guy's angle nya? The guy's shifty but from all that I hear he's got a purpose for doing the things he does, so why come to you Grimmy to go after a guild? Can't he take care of them as an Admin?" Ravena asked raising suspicions.

Doppelman was then shoved out the way as Grim cleared his breath. _"I guess I'll have to explain this from the beginning for this to make sense. Anyway it wasn't from lack of trying, the Admin has been trying to pin this certain guild since it was founded."_

"So what's this mysterious guild called that they can avoid the Admin? I thought only we were that clever?" Bella asked. The answer then came when Grim sent an image so that the guild could see it. The guild's emblem was of a smiling devil, but the image seemed to be formed by black blood. Below the image lied the name of the guild, Dead Bloods.

"Whoa, that's one creepy emblem nya." Ravena voiced her thoughts.

"_It's too early to be creep out yet. As you can see that's the emblem of the guild called the Dead Bloods. They're a murder for hire guild that can be found in one of the eternal night area, Network Slums. A fact about the guild is that all members have two similar powers: the Black Blood and the Branch of Sin."_ Grim spoke.

"Murder…for hire?" Illu asked, though her tone seemed to suggest she rather not know.

"_Just as they say, it's like mercenary work only they take it further than most others, they kill or PK their targets. However; that's just what they've become. In the past the guild put Jashinist to shame, they're motto used to be outright slaughter. They would go through areas and reduce entire player populations."_

"No wonder the Admin would want these guys pinned, if they had a PK streak as long as you say they are." Shadow said as he then took control of a terminal. After a minute of searching he then came up to the Dead Bloods guild page. "Too bad I can't pull anything up, without Key we can't get much information on the members."

"_If you need to know about the members, than give me a moment."_ Grim said as he pulled up six different images showing the members of Dead Bloods.

"You know, when you said they put people like Hidan to shame. I kind of expected more members to be honest." Bella pointed out at the lack of members.

"_Well the Admin can't get the whole guild, but they were able to prison and ban several members and some have been put on heavy probation, rarely leaving the Admin's sight. There have also been some who just up and left."_ Grim said to Bella as he then went over the images. _"Now the ones who have stayed, in no particular order…"_

The first image was definitely the strangest thing the guild had seen in a while. The man, they assumed, stood about twelve feet tall and was broad as he was tall with large, bulging muscles. His face was hidden by a white ivory mask that looked like a flat hockey mask with six slitted holes arranged into two columns with glowing red eyes visible from the middle slits. The helmet continued, with three protrusions that covered the sides and back of his head though it allowed scruffy black hair to run out halfway down to his back.

He only wore an open white sleeveless haori and ripped black shorts, nothing else except for his large armored hands and skeletal feet that supported him, every visible piece of his body was riddled with scars…and something else. His legs were bandaged up to the knees and embedded into his forearms and back causing him to hunch over where thick, black cylinder like protrusions.

"_This one is Meat-Head, despite his looks he can't do much…literally. The guy's a simpleminded hollow, who's appearance and actions where really caused by someone else. Meat-Head's really only a beast that attack whoever his tamer points to."_ Grim then pulled up another image that greatly contrasted with the first one.

This player was really short, standing a few inches from five feet. Kurotsubasa could instantly tell who he was portraying as he had short, silver scruffy hair, honey golden eyes, and pale skin as if he never saw sun. He wore a lab coat with zigzag patterns over it with a plain black shirt underneath, tan slacks, and dress shoes. The one thing that stood out about the man was the large bolt that ran through his head.

"_The Tamer in question is Mad Doc, as you can see he didn't need to do much to get the name. Despite his looks, the guy's actually one of the many reasons why Dead Bloods have evaded the Admin. He's smart and just as deadly as the others, especially with his knowledge of the body."_

"Oh great a psycho doctor, just the last thing I wanted to hear." Bella said after a quick shiver.

"Bad memories Hy-Nya?" Ravena asked.

"Let's just say there have been a few who wanted to see how toons tick." Bella answered. "So who are the rest of these psychopaths, I can tell that from the way you're going he's not he leader."

"_You're right, he's got the smarts but that's it. Doc is only average in battle but he has tactics to make up for it."_ Grim said as he then pulled up the next image. This time it was that of two young women, twins to be exact, as Kurotsubasa could see.

They both were extremely beautiful, 6'6 with tan complexions, blue eyes, and hourglass figures. However, they appeared to be fraternal twins as one had long flowing blond hair and the other had shoulder length black hair. The blond one had a very regal air about her. She wore extravagant clothes, attire very similar to Boa Hancock from One Piece. On her head, she wore a golden tiara with a ruby, emerald, and sapphire placed in it.

The other one wore an incredibly revealing outfit reminiscent of a dominatrix. Her outfit resembled the character Ivy from Soulcalibur 3, but instead of it being white it was black and it lacked the metal gauntlets. She also had a pair of mini ring blade earrings.

All the boys' eyes popped open a little at the revealing clothes as Shadow quickly placed a hand over Amaya's eyes while Punnya in turn covered Shadow's with her tail. DB let out a wolf whistle only to be smacked by Bella who had simply stuck her hand through the screen to hit him.

"Your toon abilities never cease to amaze me Bella-nya," said Ravena to the girl who grinned as the two fist-bumped each other.

"_Anyway, these two are dubbed the Domina-Twins; the blond is called QueenDestruction and the other is her sister, Whip-Mistress_." continued Grim with his explanation. _"Both of them function as Dead-Blood's informants with QD being a specialist in torture tactics while Whip is the Lead Informant. By themselves, they are both deadly but when you put them together, they become twice the destruction."_

The image suddenly shifted to another image of a scrawny young man with spikey blood red hair and brown eyes. He wore a modified sleeveless black jacket designed after a straight jacket with a hood attached at the neck along with plain black trousers and for some reason was barefoot.

"_This guy here is the Second-in-Command, 'Devil Blood' Zaraki. Extremely violent in nature and also a master strategist. Not the best combination you would want in an opponent. He was the former Guild Leader of Dead Blood until he got booted to his current level by __**her…." **_explained Grim before he shifted to the final image, which showed a rather innocent, cheerful looking young teenage girl who wore the same attire as Shiro from Deadman's Wonderland except she had long flowing black hair and purple eyes.

"_**That's**_ Dead Blood's Leader?!" asked Bella incredulously. "She's adorable!"

"_On the contrary, this girl, Shiro, is far from it. Despite her looks, she has been called 'Wretched' Shiro and the Terror of Death. Do not underestimate her; she's a lot more powerful than she looks. It took her a mere week to steal the position of Leader from Zaraki since she joined."_

"So is she the cause behind the recent attacks?" Shadow asked as he pulled Punnya's tail from his eyes. The images may be gone from the screen but his cheeks still carried a soft pink hue. "If she's the leader she must be leading the assassination missions right?"

"_That would make sense but not in this case. Shiro was not a part of the original members, in fact when she became leader is when it was dropped down to just assignations and not mass murder."_ Grim answered_. "However; I found out that she wasn't even in the area last night when the last victim was found."_

"Hmm, maybe a certain second-in-command is still pretty salty about losing his position. So he must be taking the missions his own direction, you did say Zaraki was one of the last members of the original guild." Ravena pointed out. "Perhaps it's just a little coup d'état."

"_Mutiny within a guild?"_ DB said questioningly while rubbing his sore cheek.

"_I wouldn't call it that, even if the rest are following Zaraki on missions they wouldn't turn against Shiro. Though you are right that I believe Zaraki is most likely the prime suspect to the murders as well."_ Grim said as he turned a serious look to Kurotsubasa. _"To be honest, I shouldn't be involving you guys in a mission like this; you have your own problems to deal with. But…honestly I don't see myself being able to take out the whole guild successfully and then there is Speed to take into account."_

"_Perhaps his strategy is to swoop in and take down all of them after you weakened them from your battle and after that take the credit if you did fail."_ Key hypothesized. _"Speed wants the Dead Bloods dealt with, but there is no telling what his plans are."_

"Only one way to find out." Shadow said as he turned from the Beta to Grim. "We'll help you out Grim, though I do have one condition."

"_A condition?"_ Grim asked, surprising him and the rest of Kurotsubasa.

"What's up Shads, you're not thinking of charging him for this are you?" Bella asked.

"No nothing like that; Kurotsubasa will challenge the Dead Bloods…but it will be Grim who will be the leader for that battle." Shadow said, straight to the point.

"_Me, lead?"_ Grim said.

"You know more about the Dead Bloods, which will save us time from pointless research. We'll send a Guild War challenge to them, and on the day you fight with us as the temporary Guild Leader." Shadow said.

"What about you Shadow-kyun, sure you can stand being on the sidelines?" Ravena asked.

"Who said I'm not fighting? I'll still take place in the action, though in fairness with Grim being the leader that gives him an easy shot at Zaraki who is the main target." Shadow explained.

"_All right, we'll meet tomorrow to plan out the challenge, though there is one final thing I have to look into. I'll meet you guys there."_ Grim said as he vanished from the screen, dismissing the meeting.

**(Scene Change)**

"So not only did you leave Shiro behind, you took on a mission without Shiro's say-so?" Shiro asked as she hung upside down on a low rafter inside the warehouse that the Dead Bloods were using as their base.

"Please, you were the one who decided to fill your gut with sweets while off on a candy raid and even if you went you would have accepted sweets instead of munny! We wouldn't be getting anywhere with the income we have now!" Zaraki raged back but Shiro seemed unaffected by her second-in-command's barking.

"Shiro's rules are Shiro's rules, and one of them is to not have fun without Shiro there!" The black haired leader said from her perch.

"Oh then he hasn't broken much rules, dipshit here is as dull to follow as ever and he's a hypocrite. Whenever I tried to have fun on the jobs I get scolded, but when he tries to he tries to bite our heads off..." whined Whip. "Besides shouldn't we do something about her?" The scantily clad member of Dead Bloods pointed to their guest.

The woman who they have met the other night was still there, enjoying the guild's hospitality since she was a client. Now that they were all in the light of the building and out of the darkness of night they could view her more clearly.

The girl has long black hair that was pulled into two long pigtails that fell all the way to the small of her back. She had fairly pale skin and one visible violet eye while the other was hidden partially by her bangs and with a metallic red and black eyepatch. Around her neck was a black choker with a white crescent moon and her clothing was that of a fishnet shirt underneath a black top which both stopped short revealing her midriff and black tightfitting shorts. She also wore black fingerless gloves with padded guards on the back of the wrist and black boots that led up her thighs. Over all of that, she had a large formfitting dark blue long sleeved hooded cloak.

"Oh, are you finally ready to hear my proposal?" The girl asked, not bothering to hide her amusement of their bickering.

"More liking trying to decided what to do with thee?" Queen retorted. "Thou must have confidence breaking into our base, or is that confidence merely foolishness?"

"More so strategic; trust me if I wanted to actually kill you I would have done so right when your friend caught the person with his blood-bending." The girl answered.

"How did you find out about that?" Zaraki asked angrily.

"Not like you made much effort to hide it, plus I've done my research of this guild. Besides this guilds basic repertoire of powers, you possess the ability to bloodbend, which you use almost in tandem with your other ability." The visitor quickly stifled a yawn. "A boring combination, it would reason why you would stick to areas with perpetual night as to not exhaust yourself calling for the moon."

"What did you say?!" Zaraki then move to draw his blood only to stop when a chain of hexagons almost slices his arms off.

"Bad Zaraki! Let the night lady finish." Shiro spoke of if she were disciplining a dog, causing both Queen and Whip to laugh at the man's humiliation.

"Night lady…oh how rude of me, I haven't introduce myself have I" The girl said with a smile. "I am known as Yukari."

"Yukari? You wouldn't happen to be the Yukari from that guild?" It was Doc who asked the question. "It would explain what you meant by you could have taken us out if you wanted to."

"What are you talking about Doc, a thin twig like her against all of us? Even if she shook off Zaraki's Bloodbending it was probably a fluke." Whip said in disbelief.

"And how does one break from the grasp of Bloodbending?" Doc strike an interested question. "Plus say we succeed in killing her, the rest of her guild would steadily wipe us out."

"Ok, I'm curious of this guild that's gotten thou so afraid?" Queen asked.

"Let's not get into that right now." Yukari said. "Back to my proposal, would you care to listen Shiro?" She asked the leader who had now moved from the rafters and was now occupied with a large bowl of sweets.

"Ask away, Shiro will listen since you bring lots of sweets." Shiro happily said.

'Hook, Line, and Sinker.' Several members of Dead Blood thought.

Yukari merely giggled as she started. "As I said, I want to challenge a specific guild for your next target. Specifically Kurotsubasa; out of the many guilds only several have the potential to actually bring them to battle seriously and your guild is one of them."

"Hah! That guild isn't as great as everyone says they are; a bunch of rising superstars. When's the last time they've been in serious battle besides that age long tournament ago, in a Guild War we would rip them to shreds." Whip said.

"Oh quite confident."

"You speak as though you would know the results, but what do you gain by us targeting them" Doc asked.

"Oh…there's a specific person in that guild who I want to see fighting seriously. What better than a bloodthirsty guild like this to push Kurotsubasa to its limits." Yukari explained. "Of course, if you defeat them then that is one less guild to worry about for a while and you won't have to worry about my guild's leader claiming any territory here."

"It would be beneficial of we do not have to deal with the hunters." Doc said.

"So you want us to slaughter a wimping guild like them. Consider it done, those guys don't look like much of a challenge to us; we'll paint the area red with whatever is left of them." Zaraki said.

"That doesn't sound fun at all." Shiro said in a disappointed tone.

"What, who cares about fun it's a job!" Zaraki said.

"The guild looks like they're having fun, but Shiro thinks that it would be boring fighting them. Shiro won't fight, but we'll…"

"Well speak of the devil, take a look at this." Doc said getting all of their attention as he pulled up a screen showing a message from a certain person. Zaraki skimmed over only to stop himself from punching the wall seeing the signature at the end.

"Grim." He said in a low growling tone.

"Yay, Death-chan sent a message!" Shiro said rushing to read only to blink as she finished reading. "Death-chan wants to battle, with these Kurotsubasa people."

"Wow, Grim sure knows how to jump ship. Hey Zaraki, how does it feel having to go against the real second of this guild?" Whip snickered.

"Shut up!" Zaraki then turned to Yukari. "We'll take your stupid job; I hope you enjoy the show because this will be your last chance to see them!"

"Hmm, somehow I doubt your words but, do we have a deal?" Yukari asked.

"Yep, Shiro accepts just so that Shiro can play with Death-chan!" Shiro smiled.

Yukari smiled and then stood to her feet getting off of the Dead Blood's couch. "Good, I recommend having the battle a week from now. There will be a nice blood full moon to take advantage of, a little handicap for you Mr. Zaraki."

"Like I need it." Zaraki said. Yukari then wave his words off as she then left out the entrance of the warehouse. After taking a step out, she then vanished into the night.

"Night Queen Yukari indeed." Doc commented as they all turned their attention back to the note.

"So what doth we do about the challenge?" Queen asked.

"I got an idea, I'll use the fight against Grim to prove that I'm the one who should be in the guild!" Zaraki said.

"Boo, Shiro wanted to play with Death-chan first, and you're just a stand-in!"

"I don't care; I'm tired of your stand-in crap! I'm taking this fight against Grim and nothing is going to stop me!" Zaraki said allowing his anger to boil over; while he was frustrated he could never take it out against Shiro besides words. The innocent girl had demolished him before and would do so again, but against Grim he wouldn't hold anything back at the chance at facing him on the battlefield.

"Fine, but don't expect Shiro to fight then!" said the girl with a pout. "If Shiro don't get to fight Death-chan then Shiro don't wanna fight! Shiro will just watch. "

"Like I even give a shit…." Retorted Zaraki while Shiro pulled faces at him while he had his back turned.

(Change Scene)

Grim had only just arrived outside of the Kurotsubasa base when his inbox sounded, prompting him to quickly pull up his screen.

"**They answered already?"** asked Doppelman leaning over Grim's shoulder. Upon reading the destination of the match, the shade widened his eyes a little in shock. **"They're not serious-?"**

"They are…"replied Grim solemnly. "Looks like we are going to be fighting a week from now….. at the Devil's Playground…."

(A Week Later)

The week flew by quickly as the day of the Guild War finally arrived. The Kurotsubasa Van drove through the ominous, dreary streets of the Asylum district. If the crooked crumbling architecture is not enough to give you the willies, then maybe the dark looming clouds threatening to shoot lightning at any moment might just do the trick.

"Welcome to Creepy-Ville…."muttered DB just as Key pulled the van to a stop at their destination.

The group quickly piled out while Key quickly turned on every possibly alarm system installed to the vehicle for safety. With Grim leading the group, the Guild walked the rest of the way towards an abandoned construction site. Based on the atmosphere, everyone could see why the place was called Devil's Playground.

The place gave off an incredibly dark aura, almost evil. It was as if just taking one step in the place would be condemning your soul. Twisted metal structures were all over the place, along with large construction vehicles threatening to fall apart. The girls huddled a little closely to each other nervously. Illu and Ravena clutched each other's hands tightly while Bella took to hanging on to one of the Nekomata's tails. Amaya was huddled close to Punnya who protectively had the younger manju wrapped up in her tail.

"We're here!" called out Grim, his voice echoing about eerily.

At that moment, creepy childish giggling rang out followed by the quick patter of feet as something white shot out from the shadows.

"DEATH-CHAAAAAAAN~!" squealed an extremely happy girl who jumped in the air and made a dive at Grim who simply side-stepped.

_**WHAM!**_ Kurotsubasa flinched at the sound of impact made by the girl who had just done the mother of all face-plants into the ground. "YOU BIG STINKY MEANIE! Why'd cha dodge Shiro's Big-Super-Duper-Huggle-Cuddle-Death-Chan-Glomp?!" demanded the girl childishly immediately getting up after dusting the dirt from her face.

"Anybody with a brain would dodge someone coming at them like an atomic bomb you psycho!" retorted Grim loudly as he held the girl at arm's length by her head while she waved her arms at him while trying to get at him.

"But that's because Shiro Loves Death-Chan~!" exclaimed the girl like a child. "Death-chan was gone for so long~! Shiro felt so lonely because the others didn't want to play with Shiro! Shiro missed Death-Chan soooo MUCH~!"

Grim grabbed the bridge of his nose in frustration knowing that he wasn't getting through to the girl and he could also hear some of the others snickering behind him (or in Bella's case outright laughing). He regained his composure quick enough to dodge another Shiro Death Glomp.

"When Grim described her to us I didn't think that she would be as bad as he said but it looks like I was wrong." DB commented on the girl's actions.

"It's a big world out there, who knows what kinds of people are online." Shadow released a sigh. Though he was as surprised as the others he didn't physically show it.

"Speaking of worlds, where in the world are the other members of her guild. This is the place where they said for us to meet." Ravena pointed out on the fact that Shiro was the only face they could see in the desolate area.

"It could be that she decided to fight us alone." Illu guessed though from the childlike woman's actions she as well as the rest of Kurotsubasa could see that that was not the case. "They could also be out hiding in wait for something." The hybrid also guessed.

"Just give me a minute." Key said as he immediately began scanning the area using his ESP. Once he sent out the pulse all around his face lit up in shock before he turned to the others with a serious expression. "They're here, from the looks of things they have been for a while…and they're not the only ones."

"Well I guess hide and seek is over. We might as well come out into the open."

From on top of one of the half completed buildings, a few figures could be seen landing down to the ground. A large figure followed them and slammed into the dirt leaving a large dust cloud, as the dust cleared out of the crater walked out the rest of the Dead Bloods. Feeling the arrival of her guild Shiro turned to the others with a look of irritation. "Shiro told you guys to keep hiding. Shiro wanted more time to play with Death-Chan!" The leader voiced her tantrum.

"Well your time is up and if you wanted to play so badly you should have agreed to actually fight." Zaraki said walking ahead of the others as his heated gaze was focused only on Grim. "I didn't think you even have the guts to even come back to this place, but not only did you; you've brought along some upstart guild just to start a fight."

"Hey who're you calling upstart!" Bella yelled; before she can retaliate she was stopped by Illu.

"Calm down Bella-chan, if you start a fight before a Guild War is called you could end up disqualifying the whole guild." Illu explained as she covered the girl's omnitrix before she could use it. "I-its best not to let them rile you up." The owlgirl said to her friend.

"Doesn't mean I have to like." Bella mumbled with her arms on her hips.

"Funny words coming from you fledgling; we've got a special game lined up for you all tonight." Whip said cryptically, though her words carried a sadistic undertone. "I don't know what other guilds are out there after you guys recently, but let's see if they can have a Guild War with what's left of you." Whip smirked at a slightly shivering Illu.

"Now Sister, thou words are rather crude. Thy must ask that thou not destroy our competition's confidence before the battle starts." Queen turned to Whip and spoke but then turned back to Illu with an equally sadistic grin matching her sister's. "After all, fun like that is best left on the battlefield where all types of words and blood can be spilt." Queen added in her cold yet refined tone of voice; the voice that caused Illu to stand a bit behind her female friends.

"Scary~" Chibi-Illu spoke out as Ravena tried to calm her friend down.

Shadow then chose to step over to Grim and glared clear to the Dead Bloods. "We didn't come here to just throw words at each other or we'll be here all day. Now name your game, you should know the rules by now. You're the challengee you got to name the stage, now name the game." Shadow said wanting to move the event.

"Ooh that is an awful glare that thou has there. So thou art the Shadow whose name seems to be appearing all over. And from what our contact has told us thou reputation definitely precedes thee."

'Contact?' Shadow thought but none the less kept himself silent.

"Though…words from her and forums can only tell me so much. Thy definitely need to test thou's abilities firsthand." Queen sultry voice spoke as she leaned a bit forward, emphasizing her cleavage. The woman's actions and tones did cause a few faces to redden but otherwise had no effect as Shadow just seemed to scoff off her response while he let the blush fade.

"Did she just try and…flirt with you?" DB asked Shadow curiously.

"Does that really matter right now DB?" Key answered.

"I'm just asking, man these guys are starting to get more and more weird. Seriously Shads, why do you always attract the weird ones?" DB said avoiding a fast strike from the one in question. He let out a few snickers until a large mallet slammed into his head.

"This is not the time for jokes nya." Ravena said seriously, holding Punnya in the shape of a mallet.

"Right" Db said nursing the new bump on his head.

"Whatever, get to the rules…or is this just another all-out brawl?" Shadow asked turning away from Queen to Shiro and Zaraki.

Queen seemed to freeze in place for a second at that response. She then eyed the rest of the members of Kurotsubasa and she set her eyes on a few of them. The regal empress lost her flirtatious mood and turned her attention towards her sister.

"Now that sounds like a plan, but ours will make this battle a bit more…enjoyable." Zaraki then grinned, "I would like to explain but we're waiting for a few more people to make their way here before we can begin."

"And who are these people?" Grim asked.

"Oh you'll see, though I'm really restraining myself now from just waiting. Just being in the same space as you makes me want to rip you to shreds Grim." Zaraki replied darkly, flexing his ringed fingers.

"You're still as unpleasant as ever; trusts if I had things go the way I wanted I'd never have to deal with someone as troublesome as you." Grim groaned ignoring the audible snarling coming from the man. "So how long until we start?"

"Just give it a minute and…"

All of them then heard the roar of thunder and looked to see that Devil's Playground then became surrounded on all sides by a magic barrier.

"It looks as if it is time to start." Mad Doc grinned.

"A barrier?" Illu said in worry.

"What kind of playground is this?!" Ravena yelled out.

"Don't worry about the barrier; it's just a precaution to make sure the participants cannot leave the battlefield." Everyone then turned their attention to the sky again to see Masukomi land in midair along with C.A.M. and set her looks on the two guilds below. "Now that the two fighters are here we can then start with this Guild War!" As the reporter spoke several sounds came around the area. On top of various walls, roofs, and construction equipment were several players all seated to watch the battle in process of starting. "I see our audience has arrived."

"All of these people…I didn't even hear any of them move until now, and there are so many of them. How was a crowd able to get here and around without any of us noticing?" Illu asked as she looked at the audience in the outskirts of the area.

"I don't know but they didn't appear when I used my perception. They must be recent arrivals; all of their talk must have been a way of distracting us while they all got to their position." Key theorized; the audience was all in different spots, but none of them appeared in a hurry to move. They all had a look of anticipation on their faces. "This doesn't look like an ambush though."

"Well they do look like an audience; I guess they just wanted to take their seats without us noticing." Bella suggested.

"Or maybe a spell that was able to mask all of their movements, but why would someone do that nya?" Ravena asked.

"Punnya?!" Punnya agreed.

"Pyon~~!"

At that moment, Shadow felt a very strong a familiar presence appearing. Quickly he scanned the audience and was able to catch a face in the crowd. A familiar face that caused his eyes to widen for just a moment, but enough for Ravena to catch.

"Is something wrong?" She asked catching Shadow in a daze.

"Just Amaya's a bit scared; I think this place is getting to her." Shadow said as he began to calm Amaya down. Ravena wanted to ask more but knew that she wasn't going to get anything else so she just let it be. "The sooner we get this Guild War over with the better."

After a small ping was heard Masukomi then summoned her mike and then began her announcement.

"Hello all you Dwellers of the Dark, and welcome to this exciting Guild Wars matchup! As always, your host is me, Masukomi!" The reporter chimed out allowing the audience to let out applause for the start of the battle. "This battle may not go online to your channels this night but for all of you here you've got a front row live seat to all the actions!" As the applause grew Masukomi turned the audience's view to the barriers. "Those little additions to the battle are a gift from the competitive division of the Admin; they are Field Walls!"

"Field Walls? What purpose do they have besides keeping us in the area?" Illu was the first to ask.

"I'm glad you've asked; see for Guild Wars like these some of the guilds feel the need to just try and run even after all this planning. While it's their choice to quit it's starting to become bad for ratings." Masukomi said causing a few of them to sweatdrop. "So these walls determine the parameters of the battlefield as well as absorb all damage and impact on both sides. These Field Walls aren't dropping unless I give the OK."

"That's good, though we definitely aren't running away from this. I don't know about our competition though." DB said.

"And miss the chance of new fresh meat? I just hoped you've said your prayers." Whip smirked.

"Looks like we've got a battle here people! On one side we have the dark horses that have been rising in popularity lately, ladies and gentlemen Kurotsubasa!" Masukomi said just as a screen appeared in the air large enough for all to see displaying the guild below. "And their opponents, it seems that Kurotsubasa with their temporary Leader Mister Grim has strived high as they face off against the blood thirsty demons, the Dead Bloods!" The cheers grew in octaves as crowd's excitement grew. "Now let's start by introducing the game, we'll have the Dead Bloods start us off!"

Hearing his cue, Zaraki smirked and took a few steps forward. "The game we're playing is a Dead Bloods classic. We like to call it Hunters vs. Hunted." Zaraki announced. "The rules are simple; We play five rounds, each round a player from each Guild will hunt each other within Devil's Playground. Each Hunt ends when the other party is unable to continue."

"To put simply, it's like Hide-and-Seek meets Tag and both players are 'It'~!" chimed Shiro cheerfully as she popped up next to Zaraki much to his annoyance for throwing him off his game. "Oh, and there'll be blood, and pointy things, and agonizing screams…."

"Go away Shiro!" said Zaraki irritably pushing Shiro away.

"Oooh! Maybe someone will die~! Did I mention the blood, pointy things and agonizing screams?"

"Yes, now beat it you creepy little freak!" growled Zaraki but not before Shiro pulled some faces behind his back while Meat-Head picked her up and slung her over his shoulder and walked back to the others with her.

Zaraki coughed a bit as he regained his former composure. "For the wager, we are going to up the stakes here. Whichever Guild loses this challenge, each member from said Guild will have to give up their most precious item, one they treasure more than their own life," he said with a smirk as the Kurotsubasa members all tensed up at the idea. However, Zaraki was not finished. "Oh Yes…there are two conditions...First off, No Pets or Familiars. Secondly, **WE** get to have a choice on who our opponents are going to be."

"What?!" exclaimed Bella incredulously while Grim and Shadow narrowed their eyes. DB began biting his thumbnail while Key and Illu were exchanging looks. Ravena on the other hand kept her head down as she hugged Punnya closer, her hands trembling.

(Ravena's mind)

"_**How interesting…."**_ noted Felis when she heard of the conditions and the wager in Ravena's mindscape. While naturally she was intrigued, Felis had a look of concern on her face. _**"But will we be able to keep it together, I wonder?..." **_Felis asked out loud as she looked down towards a dark abyss below her where a dark energy was swirling about.

(FFW)

Grim looked to the others in concern. "Are you guys willing to through with this?"

"We wouldn't be here if we weren't," replied Shadow as the others nodded behind him in agreement. After those words Kurotsubasa then stared determined at the Dead Bloods who mostly smirked back.

Zaraki then turned to Masukomi. "You heard them right? We gave the conditions and they've accepted, there ain't no going back in this playground." The Dead Blood said to the reporter on duty.

"Noted…" Masukomi said uncomfortably as she proceeded with her job. "There you have it folks, we got the game and the conditions are set! A game of predator and prey, hunters vs hunted…who will be the ones to survive and carry their guild to victory and who will be the ones to fall! While some of you have come here for long hours of bloodshed let's keep this in regulation; the guild at the end with the most conscious members will win!"

(Audience)

"A survival game huh, well I did say that they could use any methods that they like." Yukari said as she watched from her view of the field. "Hopefully I'm not kept waiting long. While information on the other members will be good there is only one person that I came to see." Yukari said aloud.

"So this is where you snuck off to? Didn't Kaoru give you a specific assignment, why are you out watching a Guild War?" A deep male voice asked but Yukari didn't appear startled, neither by the ominous voice or the wisps of smoke that appeared around her from out of thin air.

"My assignment was to access the power of this area's guild; what better way to see that than watching the Dead Bloods battle?" Yukari deviously asked with a look to match.

"And not challenging them yourself?"

"I know you've kept your eye on me since I was allowed to travel to this area but even without knowing your presence I couldn't take the guild down alone…at least not without demolishing that section of town. Attracting attention towards us is the last thing we need to do." Yukari stated, her face missing the humorous expression it had before.

"I see…though you know I'm not stupid Yukari. The reason you told them to battle this guild…"

"It's been two years since we've last saw him and only just recently he allowed himself to appear on the map again. Can you forgive a girl for getting a little stir crazy?" Yukari said, shivering as if to hold something back. The smoke seemed to have increased in volume only for it to swirl around behind her and form a figure.

"Yukari"

"I know we're not making a move in Tokyo City yet…but my mission is to scout out our targets. This Guild War will kill two birds with one stone. Now you may wish to take a seat, the show is about to start." Yukari said, with her now predatory like red eye looking down at the arena.

(Battlefield)

"Ok, since Dead Bloods are the ones choosing they get to select their first fighter and their first target! As these battles are one on one the rest of the guild only allowed to watch and not interfere, also hiders are given a five minute head start!" Masukomi explained.

"You know a lot of this stuff is not sounding fair." DB said as he began to dislike the rules placed on them more and more.

"Welcome to the Guild Wars, you need to expect all kinds of things when you fight in an enemy's home turf." Shadow said.

"Under the cover of night and even if the moon isn't covered there are several dark places to hide; lots of areas to take cover." Illu pointed out as she already begun scanning the deserted lot. "Head on battle or not, this is going to be a defensive battle for us."

"Whoa, hate to break it to you owlgirl but defensive isn't exactly my best style…in fact!" Bella then jumped forward and turned mockingly to their opponents. "Let's not make the first choice a big deal; I'll go first if any of you have the guts!" The toon-girl offered, sticking her tongue at the deadly opponents.

"Hy-Nya…." Ravena sweat-dropped at her friend's actions.

"Let it go; it's Bella's way to keep the situation upbeat. Besides from the way they've been treating us they've barely seen our battles so they don't even know half of what Bella can do." Key said to the catgirl. "Next to DB, Bella is the only one who can really take these guys on a head to head battle." The Beta said.

"Looks like the madchen believes she is ready for the hunt." Doc chuckled a bit to himself.

"So what, are you going to go first ya' old fart?" Whip asked.

"While I would like to open her up and see how the fraulein ticks I think it's best for her to go up against someone a bit more…durable." Doc said as he backed up towards Meat and tapped the giant's huge bicep. "Meat you're up; the little blond one has volunteered to be your opponent."

"Oppo…Appo…Oppooneent?" The giant tried to repeat the last word.

"She bad, you smash." Doc repeated simply which was enough to get the giant up and moving.

"Wowzers, I get the big guy as my hunter huh?" Bella said as if she had not been chosen to fight against a walking deformed, behemoth.

Meat-head stared Bella in the face and growled threateningly making Bella recoil and pinch her nose as she turned away while fanning the air in front of her. "EEEEWW! Two words buddy! Breath! Mints!"

Meat-Head briefly was taken aback as he breathed into his own hand and sniffed before shrugging in confusion.

"Meat! Focus!" scolded Doc irritably making the behemoth nod and revert back to growling while Bella cracked her knuckles.

Masukomi, seeing that the two players are ready, nodded as she turned to the crowd. "Well, the players are set which only leaves one thing. Everybody, you know the words so let's begin this countdown and say it loud!"

"**3!"** began Masukomi.

"**2!"** yelled out the Kurotsubasa members joining in.

"**1!"** yelled the Dead Bloods along this time.

"_**GUILD WARS LET'S GO!"**_ roared everyone including the audience in unison. The Field Walls began glowing brightly as multiple streams of data flew out from them and weaved around Devil's Playground.

The ground rumbled violently as a crudely-built building began erupting from the ground. Some parts of metal began to warp and weave around each other around and through the building until finally a twisted, ominous skyscraper stood. There was a flash as Kurotsubasa and Dead Bloods were transported to their own individual spectators' booths on opposite ends of the field while Masukomi appeared in her own commentator's box. Multiple screens projected in front of the audience showing various shots of the interior ranging from different floors to rooms, down to every last corridor, shaft and stairwell. Multiple smaller screens appeared in the Guild's booths as did in Masukomi's box. On the screen, two lights flashed as Bella was shown to have been transported somewhere around the 2nd floor while Meat-Head was transported to one of the Upper floors.

Inside the building, an image of Masukomi projected in front of the each player. _"You and your opponent have been transported to different parts of this building. There is no time limit and as the rules say, last one standing wins this round. Will you be the Hunter or the Hunted? No matter what, the choice is yours. Are you Ready?"_

Bella and Meat nodded in response.

"_Then may the Hunt begin…"_ replied Masukomi solemnly as her image vanished.

"MEAT-HEAD! HUNT!" Commanded Doc from the outside, his voice reaching the ears of the behemoth as he roared as he began lumbering through the large building in search of Bella.

Elsewhere, Bella looked up as she heard the roar permeate the multiple floors above her head before looking around. There was mostly darkness around her save for some dimly lit areas and occasionally brightly lit areas. Bottom line, it was downright creepy and abandoned. "Time to go Ghost!" exclaimed Bella activating her Omnitrix as she transformed into a ghostly alien. _**"Ghost-Freak that is!"**_ she added as Bella fazed through the ceiling above her.

"And both fighters are off using their own tactics; it seems the GeneralHyna has something tricky planned by going through the building." Masukomi stopped her report just as all of those watching heard a loud rumble; all the monitors flickered to show Meat-Head rampaging his way through the structures, ignoring all wall and obstacles in his way. "Though it seems Meat also has a way of going through the walls as well, literally; I wonder how Bella is going to deal with this juggernaut of an opponent?!"

"So Grim, from the information you gave us I can already tell that the tamer and the one who did this to that guy was Doc but does that really explain how he's acting?" Key asked as they all watched as the bulky menace ran amok, tossing up rubble and construction equipment about in search of the shape-shifter.

"As far as I know, there are rumors around that said that before Meat became this, he was once normal. The guy was one of those 'traveling FFW in search of strong fighters' kind of guys." Grim answered while he eyes stayed glued to the screens. "He had some lucky breaks but his luck ran out with Doc. Doc tore, rebuilt, and repeated the process until he got what you see in front of us."

"Some kind of monstrous amalgam of parts, it's almost like he's his own version of Frankenstein's monster." Key concluded. "I don't what went through the guy's mind, I mean just look at him." The Beta said as Meat released a loud roar of frustration. "There are bad people in the world, but to find one who will literally push a person's mind like this."

"It sort of reminds me of that guy Sin from long ago; about how he many people he must have killed or tortured when he made that giant Philosopher's Stone." Ravena said lowly, though she did hiss when she mentioned her one time captor. "I always hated to admit it, but people like those guys do exist."

(Battlefield)

'**Boy if I had any ears right now they'd be ringing.'** Ghostfreak said to himself as he phased out of a nearby pile of rubble behind the behemoth. The alien specter turned intangible again and flew over to attack only to be bounced off by an invisible field. Before he could process this he was already inside of Meat's grip.

"_Better pull something out quick!" _Bella struggled, failing to phase out of the crushing hands of Meat. Ghostfreak's body then opened up slightly allowing a tentacle to sprout out and lash at Meat causing him to slide a small distance away from the exhausted ghost.

"**What kind of trick was that? I know you look like a wall but I pass through them all the time!" **Ghostfreak complained.

"H-nt…"

"**Something you want to get off your chest, come on use your big boy words." **Bella goaded him on.

"Doc said…Hunt. Hunt, means smash…rip…KILL!" The low grating voice turned into a howl as he stampeded his way over to the specter.

"**On second thought…"** The ghost winded back a punch just before he was enveloped in a green light. The light was enough to blind her attacker as Meat covered his eyes…just as multiple blows to the chest that sent him flying.

"**You can keep your words to yourself, plus you're going to find it kinda hard to rip rubber!" **Luffy yelled out as winded and stretched his right arm. _**"**_**Gum-Gum Pistol!"** The rubber pirate released a blow that sent Meat flying back even more.

"Looks like we found our answer to the Dead Bloods' path of destruction. Hyna's usual tricks might not be able to cut it but it looks like she's still able to put her powers to work when it comes to a full on frontal assault.!"

Meat grabbed the ground bringing himself to a sliding stop and roared, charging full tilt and Bella who quickly transformed into Humungosaur and grabbed his fists stopping Meat in his tracks as the two began to square off in a battle of strength.

"**Woah! Ok, seriously man! Eat a tic-tac or something! I don't even have a nose and even I can smell your breath!" ** growled the dinosaur-like alien before using his tail to whack Meat into a wall. Outside, a dust cloud could be seen erupting from the side of the building indicating the location of impact.

Bella grinned as she reverted back to her original form. "Had enough big guy?" she taunted when Meat's hulking silhouette rose through the dust not even one bit shaken as he growled even more menacingly than before.

"Oooh boy..he's mad…." Said Bella out loud when Meat roared so loudly that the whole building shook. "Exit; Stage Right!" exclaimed the toon girl bolting off down a corridor leaving a dust cloud in her wake.

"Betcha' can't catch me!" her voice echoed back tauntingly.

"Blondie….DEAD!" roared Meat taking off after Bella.

Outside, Kurotsubasa watched on the multiple screens of Bella appearing and disappearing, keeping just out of Meat-Head's reach while the giant literally plowed through walls and pillars trying to catch Bella. Just when Meat thought he had got her, Bella would appear somewhere else, egging him on. At one part, Bella just stood at a particular area, seemingly backed up against the wall. Meat grinned as he began advancing on the girl, prepared to crush her with his bare hands when Bella gave him a devious smile and stomped the floor. Suddenly there was a series of loud cracking as the weak floor suddenly gave way underneath Meat, causing him to drop several floors.

"Sucker!" called Bella as she blew a raspberry down the hole. _**"Meep-Meep~!"**_ she went before taking off like a rocket in a perfect imitation of the Road Runner.

Outside, several clouds of dust arose from the building indicating the many floors Meat was falling through before a loud crash which caused everywhere to shake showed that he had finally reached the bottom.

"Leave it to Bella to go classic Toon on Big, Brawny and Brainless…" stated DB who was actually getting a good laugh out of it.

"Don't mess with Toons as Hy-Nya would say nya!" cheered Ravena pumping a fist in the air.

"Pun-NYA!"/"U-Pyon!" cheered Punnya and Amaya copying Ravena.

"Aarghh! How long are you going to let her get away with this Doc? She's making a fool out of your freak out there!" Whip yelled to the screw-loosed doctor as she grabbed the front of his coat and shook him back and forth before dropping him. "Hell, normally I wouldn't care but he's making the rest of us look bad!"

"We disagree with Whip. Could thou please, quit thou's observations and have Meat possibly end this fight?" Queen spoke while stifling a low yawn. "The only reason thou hath kept this battle going is so thou can gather information correct? We say thou hath enough data for whatever experiments thou hath lying back in your labs."

"I would ask you two to be more patient with my creation, but knowing you and Whip that would be impossible. Not to mention, Queen is in no hurry to stay your foul tongue." Doc chided the girl while dodging a rock aimed to his bolted head. "I do agree that while the girl's actions are definitely interesting, I can always dissect whatever parts are left behind." The doctor then placed his hand on the bolt going through his head.

"Finally going to let Meat off his leash Doc?" Zaraki said with a sly grin as he waited in anticipation for the sparks to fly again on the battlefield.

"The Hyna girl is indeed confident…" Doc twisted the bolt in a specific combination instead of just a mindless gesture; starting three turns to the right, followed by five turns to the left. "But I feel that she would be a bit disappointed if the battle happened to be too easy; the first battle of a Guild War should be an exciting battle for both sides. She wouldn't mind if I…upped the level." He finished followed by seven twists to the right.

(Battlefield)

"Looky, looky here Meaty!" Bella smiled as she held up a clean and shiny rock that she pulled from some part of the arena. "See the shiny rock, huh do ya?!" She called out to Meat while keeping the item in clear sight. Meat's full attention was on the toon girl; though he was now on all four and growling at her. When Bella flashed the rock in a way that it sparkled it was able to draw the simple minded brute's attention.

"Shiny…" Meat was able to say through his mask.

Bella's grin seemed to grow as she pulled back her arm while at the same time transforming. Standing on the field now was the Number 10 Espada, Yammy Llargo, clutching the rock in a tight grip as he got ready to throw.

"**See the shiny rock boy…well go get it!" **Yammy threw the rock, but due to his enhanced strength the rock went flying over Meat's head as if it was a comet. As Meat took off to chase after the rock, Yammy then opened his palm to show the screens that the rock still stayed in his hand. **"I didn't really throw the rock." **Yammy said just as there was an explosion off in the distance.

"**Aren't I just evil?" **Yammy laughed before changing back. "I did leave him with a nice delayed Bella to play with, so I'm not that bad am I?" Bella asked the crowd rhetorically.

"And it looks like the Hyna General has once again played with Meat-Head as if he was just a playful animal. Now that Meat is now under the remains of a building, I think it's safe to start calling the match." Masukomi said as all the monitors turned to the smoking rubble that Meat lied underneath. All of the crowd could see the exposed arm sticking out into the air. "Seeing as Meat is no longer moving, the winner of this round is…" The reporter was then cut off by the sound of the limb moving.

In the rubble, Meat forced himself out of the pile of destroyed building with his body only barely scratched by the explosion from before. The giant then let out a roar as his body went through a change. Instead of hunching over he stood up bold and straight; the black cylinders protruding out from his body dropped, further increasing the behemoth's muscle mass.

"Hey wait…that's Vilgax's trick from the first Ben 10!" Bella realized as she noticed that the muscles of her opponent increase in size. _**'That's the last thing you need to worry about. It's more than just copying Vilgax's move.'**_ Ben spoke from within Bella's mind. _**'We can all feel it from inside of your body. That guy's power is skyrocketing!'**_ The toon continued to warn the Hyna General.

'And now to have Meat truly begin this fight.' Doc thought as he began to twist out another combination from his bolt.

8 turns Right.

3 turns Left.

9 turns Right.

At this time the large weights attached to Meat's legs then fell, leaving two large craters beside the fighter. Within the holes of his helmet, two gold eyes appeared through the darkness as a wave of power exploded from out Meat's body along with an inhuman howl.

"Well….Shit…." Bella bluntly spouted. Before Bella could even realize it, Meat had disappeared into a blur was in front of her in a matter of seconds as the giant mutant sent her flying through several walls.

"ACK!" cried out the Toon girl as her back smacked hard against a metal beam with a sickening crack as she fell to the ground and coughed up some blood. "Ow…."was all she could squeeze out as tried to get herself back on her feet. All of a sudden she heard another roar as she looked up to see a large chunk of concrete coming at her.

_**WHAM!**_

Went the concrete as it slammed down on the girl.

"NO!" screamed Ravena while Illu quickly turned buried her face in Shadow's shoulder.

Meanwhile, Doc and Zaraki smirked mockingly to themselves while the sisters exchanged sneaky looks with each other. Shiro on the other hand who was sucking on a lollipop looked down at where Bella apparently went splat with indifference. "Ara…Is it over already?..." she asked as she watched Meat-Head trudge up to the slab.

"Hehe….Blondie splat…" chuckled Meat to himself as he lifted up the slab to find a ragged flack jacket. "Huh?" he asked in confusion when he heard someone whistle at him from above.

Meat looked up to see Bella hanging from the ceiling. "Meaty…..STUPID!" growled Bella as she dropped and planted both her feet on his face using her whole body weight to crack his mask before she jumped off and landed a few distance away.

Bella breathed hard. She had only just barely escaped that slab after being hit with force of a high-speed locomotive. Her pony-tail had come undone, causing her long hair to fall on her shoulders. There were scraped and bruises everywhere on her person while her clothes were in some places. Her black t-shirt had a sleeve half torn which Bella immediately ripped off and used it to wipe the blood trailing from her mouth and head. The bandages on her arm had come undone and were hanging off her arm loosely.

"Alright Meaty, if you're pulling out the big guns…." She said smirking as Bella ripped the bandages of her arm to reveal a nasty scar and a silver ornate bracelet with a round red gem fused to her fore-arm. Bella lifted up her arm to show the Omnytrix and bracelet decorating her right arm.

"Then so am I!" she declared as the gem glowed.

Suddenly Bella's eyes became black with yellow irises as her hair increased in volume while the bracelet began forming armored plates around the girl's arms, shoulders. Armor also began appearing from Bella's feet upwards , ending at her knees along with a chest plate and ending with an ornate armored head gear that went around her forehead and framed her face. The girl grinned to reveal her teeth had become sharpened.

Everybody gasped at this new development. Masukomi quickly readjusted her glasses. "Just when thought that this was over, each opponent has revealed they had more than what they have been showing!" she exclaimed excitedly. "CAM are you getting all this?!"

"PUPU~!" replied CAM.

(Kurotsubasa)

"It looks like Bella had more up her sleeve than I thought!" exclaimed Doppelman in surprise.

"Damn right she does!" cheered DB loudly while Shadow folded his arms and smirked.

"Ano….what is that bracelet?" asked Illu out of curiosity. "Do you know Rave-chan?"

Ravena looked impressed as she looked at a close-up of Bella. "It's an ancient sentient artifact called a Witch-Blade. It's almost like the Omnytrix in a way that it always chooses a host, and latches on to it. How long has she had that?"

"For quite a long time, but she only uses it when the Witch-Blade wants to fight," replied Key who never took his eyes of the screens. "I guess Meat's sudden transformation really got it in the mood." He noted to himself.

(With Bella)

Bella grinned as a blade shot from her right gauntlet as she held to her lips and licked the blade. _**"Finally, someone I can actually use this on! I've been waiting years for this moment!"**_ she said in glee. The Hyna General then turned her new battle-crazed eyes onto her opponent.

"**Looks do no good…I still squash you!" **The massive fighter declared as he once again disappeared with a blur. Meat then appeared before Bella with his fist stretched out only for it to go through the toongirl before she faded away.

"_**I can see your moves now."**_

Instantly an armored foot found its way on Meat's head as he suffered from the girl's dropkick. Meat staggered a bit, his vision swirling from the kick only for a blow to the gut that sent him sliding across the battlefield. Bella then dusted off her hand and smirked, _**"Come on, don't make this too easy when I can finally cut loose. Tell you what; hit me with your best shot!"**_ She called out with her arms spread wide in anticipation.

"What's this, not only has Bella embraced a new attitude she's actually letting Meat try his best shot at her! Hopefully she doesn't live to regret that decision!" Masukomi spoke to the crowd. "One thing Meat is known for is the devastation he leaves at his wake, especially when he starts using his more destructive powers!"

"PUPU!"

"Exactly C.A.M., these two know how to give an intense first battle!" Masukomi agreed.

"You heard her Meat, no holding back…destroy." Doc said as he continued to speak to Meat through his hidden mike. "Break everything in your path to get to her." With every word the mad doctor spoke, Meat's eyes would repetitively flicker red with rage.

"Let the beast loose."

Meat slowly nodded his head as the mouth of his mask then opened to reveal another one hidden behind. With his mask and mouth wide open a ball of spiritual energy began to charge right in front of the behemoth's maw. Bella's smirk only grew in anticipation as she made no move to dodge the attack she knew was coming.

"_**That's it big guy, don't hold nothing back. Hit me with your best shot!"**_ The battle-crazy girl called out as she clenched her fists. _**"Better make sure that Cero's a good one, you only get one shot!"**_

Thought it couldn't be seen from either's viewpoint, both Meat and Doc then grew a smirk that matched the girl's own. Instantly, the small ball grew into a colossal sphere roughly the size of Meat's body, shocking most of the people in the crowd as well as Bella with the sudden change of attack.

"It's important not to leave a lady disappointed, so a little boost of power should be to her liking." Doc said as a wicked gleam overtook his glasses. "Now go ahead Meat show her your…"

"**Cero de Gigante!" **Continuing with surprises; the cero fired in the blink of an eye and soon all Bella could see is red. A mass explosive shook the arena and caused dust to fly overtaking the cameras.

"My, my! The suspense just keeps growing! Did Bella just have another close call or has her incredible luck finally run out?" Masukomi said, letting a small bit of worry slip into her reporter persona.

(With Kurotsubasa)

"I know the Witch Blade was basically a massive boost for Bell, but do you think something like that could take a Cero that huge? I mean, Bella didn't even move or try to get out of the way, that crazy side of her just stood and took it." DB said in worry as the dust still covered the vision of the cameras.

"Bella-chan…" Illu said as she sunk into her scarf in worry before a look of confidence took over. "This can't be how the fight ends; Bella-chan can't fall to an attack like that."

"That's right; Hy-Nya isn't the kind to go down without an amazing explosive scene! Bella can't lose and even then, she would still take that guy down with her!" Ravena said, agreeing with her friend as she looked at the screen. "Come on Hy-Nya, give him hell!"

Shadow then activated his Byakugan to try and get a better lookat the situation only for his eyes to widen in surprise before he smiled. Key noticed the changed and wondered what the guild leader was thinking. "What did you see, is Bella all right?" The Beta wondered.

"Bella's fine, in fact…she's about to cut loose."

(Battlefield)

As the smoke began to clear Meat wondered if the move was successful as he slowly stomped his way forward; he then stopped when he saw a light began to shine through the clearing and saw that his Cero was being hold back by Bella's clawed hands.

"_**Geeze and I was expecting something better. I figured an attack like this would've turn half of this place into dust but it's just a useless bomb." **_Bella said as she studied the blast she kept at bay. _**"I could've just went Neliel and Cero Doble your ass but this isn't worth the effort." **_She spoke as if the explosive blast in her hand was like a rock that was tossed at her…and similar to a rock she then crushed the attack in her hand, dispersing it. _**"Well that was your one chance and you blew it, guess it's my turn." **_The insults continued to fly.

Meat glared, having enough of the 'blondie's mean words' and vanished only to appear in front of Bella. Gripping his hands together he then slammed them right on top of the toon girl's skull only for her to not flinch at all.

"_**Now now, you had your fun."**_ Bella then lifted the fists off her head and stared back at the masked behemoth. _**"Now it's my turn."**_

In a flash, Meat was sent sliding back from the kick to his bare stomach. Even with his reinforced muscle he still held to wound in slight pain and didn't even see that Bella was gone. Just then a girder came from the right and sent him flying like a baseball. Bella then dropped the dented steel and rushed forward towards her target.

"_**It's time the hunter became the hunted, ahahaha!" **_She laughed as she continued her pursuit.

(Dead Bloods)

"Ooh~, now this battle just became more and more fun. Shiro wonders if she can play with Shiro sometime?" Shiro asked aloud as the whole area was rocked with the sounds of the two warriors clashing.

"Thy doubt that very much." Queen disagreed while flinching from the sucker punch that Meat had just received.

"Doc, I don't like the thought of starting this battle with a loss. I thought you released all of the restraints on Meat." Zaraki growled out, irritated at the fact that the Soldier of Slaughter was getting out-slaughtered by the new Witch Bladed Bella.

"I never anticipated her transformation would affect her battle style by this degree. Meat should've been able to endure any attack and be able to take out her transformations with ease." Doc tried to explain the situation. "I did release his restraints; it's all up to his quick thinking."

"So in other words, the Meat-Head is basically f-ked." Whip bluntly concluded as she popped a gumball offered by Shiro into her mouth and chewed while her sister leaned against her and filed her nails.

(Battlefield)

Two fists met together as both fighters tried to overpower the other. Bella then opened her free clawed hand and slashed at Meat's unprotected side, leaving a few gashes in her opponent's body. Suddenly, something poured out of Meat's new wound and smacked Bella away allowing Meat to jump back to catch a breath. The toongirl then spat something out, only to see something black land on the ground.

'_**That's weird' **_Bella then turned and saw that the tentacle that had slapped her had originated from Meat's clawed wound. However; there was no crimson blood dripping, but black fluids that also made up the tentacle. _**'So that's his game huh?'**_

"_Oneesan, that power…it's the same power Okaasan had that gave me Ragnarok. His blood is black, how are you going to deal with that?!" _Crona asked in concern within Bella's mind.

"_Hold on a moment. It is Black Blood but the way he is manipulating it is different. Crona's black blood is controlled by Ragnarok and likewise Maka's by Soul but he doesn't have any spiritual bond that should move the blood like that." _Stein made the observation.

"_Sure it's blood? It's kind of reminds me of Venom or Carnage a bit."_ Peter Parker thought aloud.

'_**Point is, I don't care how he doing it. All it means is that it will take longer just to take him apart.'**_ Bella thought as she then began to run forward. _**"Better for me, I might not get bored too fast!"**_

Instead of meeting the girl halfway like usual, Meat then took out two nails and them jabbed them into his hands drawing out blood from them. Bella slowed down, confused at the scene only to watch the blood move and form around his hands, making large fists of black blood. Meat slammed his fist into the ground causing ground to fly up and knock Bella back. The Hyna then flipped in midair and landed back on her feet.

Meat then began rushing, throwing punch after punch with his enhanced fist. Bella kept on the defense this time and kept dodging as on fist hit a nearby wall and caused the entire build to fall to dust and debris. She then crossed her arms to block a fist that would've met her chest and was sent flying away, leaving trenches with her feet as she traveled ways away from Meat.

"_**Well this fight just got a lot more annoying." **_Bella said as she rubbed her abused arms. _**"I want to keep trying my Witch Blade toy, but if cutting you up just gives you more blood to use I'm just making you more powerful." **_She frowned before sighing in annoyance. _**"I hate strategy thinking, why can't you go down when I punch you?"**_

"_While I like this certain side of you showing up, it won't help your chances if this battle keeps going on. The Witch Blade will just keep sapping more of your energy before you're left exhausted."_

"_**Oh, you're a new voice. Well you sound smart, so why don't you help me beat this guy, oh mighty Mister Terminator."**_ Bella playfully said.

"_My dear, I would prefer to be known by my other titles, but given the situation at hand I will let it slide. You can't use the Omnitrix to transform because you are using the Witch Blade; you may not be able to control whatever the blade corrupts. However; you can still draw powers and properties from one of us without transforming completely." _Slade continued to lay out the situation for his host. _'Now use one of those powers and turn that colossus' strength back at him.'_

"_**Ugh, using Marie's powers always leave my skin all tingly but I guess I can give it a shot."**_ Bella then took a deep breath and began to channel the powers of 'The Rouge' inside of her. _**'Kitty told me a story about some lady with this power, let's see I can make it work.'**_

"_Trust me sugar, it'll work but this shiny little jewelry of yours is gonna mess us up bad if you overuse it," _reassured Rogue indicating the channeling was successful. It was done in good time too because Meat was charging at them with full force. _"You only have one shot at this, make it count."_

"_**I hate limits…"**_ muttered Bella in disdain when at that moment Meat appeared ready to smash her in. Bella quickly jumped into to the air, narrowly avoiding the attack as she flipped through the air. _**"We gotta find an opening on him!"**_

"_There! The back of his neck!"_

"_**I see it!"**_ noted Bella pushing herself of the ceiling and landing squarely on Meat's shoulders.

"_NOW!"_ commanded Rogue as Bella quickly deactivated the armor covering her arms and placed her hands on the exposed skin.

"_**GAAAAAAAARRR!"**_ roared Meat in pain as his whole body began convulsing whilst his power was getting drained.

"_**ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR….GGGGHHHHH…..!"**_screamed Bella in agony as well feeling the overwhelming power surge into her as she had a brief glimpse of Meat's memories.

It was all fragmented, but Bella saw momentary flashes of Meat when he was a normal player followed by the repeated torture of experiments done on him by Mad-Doc which turned him into what he was. However, the Toon Girl saw something recurring in the memories of him fighting. Something that made her incredibly suspicious involving Mad-Doc.

Finally, Bella was able to tear her hands away from Meat's neck as she snapped back to reality. Using her new-found strength, Bella clasped her hands together and raised it high above her head.

"_**For the last time! STAY DOWN!"**_ cried Bella at the top of her lungs as she swung her fists down on Meat's skull. An audible crack was heard as the giant mutant, already severely weakened from overexertion and Bella absorbing his power and energy, finally succumbed to his injuries and came crashing down to the floor. Bella stumbled a bit as she fell off his shoulders and hit the ground rolling as her Witch-Blade finally deactivated.

In that tense moment, everyone looked on in anticipation as neither player seemed to be moving until Bella began shifting. Slowly and painfully, the girl dragged herself over to Meat's unconscious form as she gently placed a hand on the mutant's head and stroked him. Her hair and the minimum lighting concealed the look of pity and sadness on Bella's face.

"_I'm so sorry….what has he done to you…."_ Bella whispered in sadness with tears trickling from her eyes before finally losing consciousness.

Masukomi clumsily fumbled with her microphone after almost dropping it before raising it to her lips.

"I-i-i-it's finally over! After a long and grueling battle, both players have fought themselves to a standstill and are both down for the count! This first round between The General Hyna and Meat-Head has concluded as a DRAW!"

The audience roared in applause mixed in with some protests as the two players were transported back to their respective Guilds in a flash of light.

"Hmph! Useless lump of shit, making us look like goddamn fools!" growled Zaraki, angrily kicking Meat's almost near- lifeless body as soon as it appeared on their side.

"Ara…you only just realized it now Dunder-Head? Somehow that hardly surprises me," stated Whip indifferently as she folded her arms and blew a gum bubble before letting it pop and chewing again.

"We agree with thy sister, tis natural that Meat proved his incompetence as usual as well as thou portraying a spectacular lack of intelligence by pointing out the obvious," added Queen admiring her manicure.

The twins smirked in amusement as Zaraki glared at the two and flipped them off.

Meanwhile Shiro knelt by Meat and poked him all over. "Wowzers….Meaty's all messed up!" she stated as she turned to Doc. "Can you fix him, Maddy?"

Mad-Doc pushed up his glasses that had glazed over concealing the expression in his eyes. "Naturally, Shiro. It looks like I have more experimenting to do…"

"Yay~!" cheered Shiro happily throwing her hands in the air. "For now, Shiro will cast her special healing spell!" she declared standing up as she held her hands over Meat-Head.

"Pain-Pain go away~! Pain-Pain Go Away~!" she chanted as Shiro pranced around Meat's body.

Meanwhile, Doc glanced over at the Kurotsubasa side, narrowing his eyes as he saw Bella's body appearing.

(With Kurotsubasa)

"Bella!" "Hy-Nya!" "Bell-chan!" were the various exclamations of worries that were heard as soon as Bella appeared.

"Punnya!" called Ravena sharply as the manju nodded and opened her mouth wide.

Ravena quickly reached a hand in and pulled out a large rolled up futon and laid it on the ground. "Quick put her here!" instructed the Nekomata.

DB didn't hesitate to comply as he quickly picked up Bella bridal style and lay her down on the mattress. Illu and Ravena both exchanged looks and nodded as they set to work healing Bella to the best of their abilities.

"Bella-chan really gave it her all, going up against someone like that." Illu spoke as she and Ravea used their healing spells; they all knew Bella had a healing factor but their powers help to accelerate the process. "And like you said Grim-san, _**that**_ was their weakest member."

"Hy-Nya did her best, that's all we can ask for…" Ravena then stared off from their platform at the opposing team's platform. "Still, they've got some scary powerful guys still left over if that's their weakest nya. And we still have no control over the order."

Key nodded his head in agreement. "As of right now the score is still a draw, with no victory from either side. The next one to go up will probably be the one to set the momentum for the rest of the battle. Whomever they choose, we need to be able to score a victory. We can't afford to play defensive with a guild like this."

"This really is a tough turn of events." Grim thought aloud as he went over the results of the last battle. 'However; as they all could've figured out, Dead Bloods have revealed their trump card. Meat ended up using the Black Blood, plus _that_ ability. If they want to keep that a secret whoever goes next can't use their powers too wisely.' While Grim was strategizing, he noticed that the Dead Bloods were having a conversation of their own.

(Dead Bloods)

"I can't believe that pile of flesh already put a blotch on our record. Couldn't the idiot at least break her legs or did more than tear up the field?" Whip scolded the unconscious fighter while at the same time kicking his side. "Ugh, I can't stand this! Let me go and show you guys how we really get things done!"

"A moment please dear Sister; while thou's anger is in the right place it is not thou's time to act upon that rage. Thy time will come, but for now…" Queen then turned from her confused and angry sister to Doc who was now turning the bolt that went through his head. "The monster has failed, thus it is thy creator's job to rectify his mistake."

"You think so as well?" Doc said as he contemplated the situation. "The battle gave me a large amount of useful data, but the results left the experiment…unsatisfied." From his hunched crouch, Doc then stood at a proper posture. "Not to mention there is something that must be tested out for our client."

"Really, you're going to actually go with that bitch's plan. After that stunt she pulled in the base I planned on hunting her down and killing her after this fight is over." Zaraki commented on the doctor's words.

"I will say it again that it is wise not to get on the bad side of one of the Rare Hunters. Especially when that bitch is one of the guild's 'Great Ones.' That guild is one I rather not try to anger." Doc said. "However; I would also like to conduct some experiments of my own. With my primary interest unconscious it's time to switch to the next one."

"Those birdie wings right?" Shiro summed up after she was done dancing around Meat. She stared at Mad Doc with a bored expression only to stop as she saw something that caught her eye. "Ooh pretty light~!"

"What's airhead talking about now?" Whip asked. Her sister, however, followed Shiro's gaze and was almost captivated by the site before her. "Any clue Sis?"

"Thy believe Shiro must be speaking of the sky. It would appear that the storm has settled and the skies have cleared; Yukari's prediction seems to have some hints of truth." Queen directed their gaze by pointing up to the sky where a, larger than normal, red full moon sat in the dark sky. "The Blood Moon is upon us."

(Audience)

"So the two monsters ended up devouring each other. I honestly didn't know what to expect, but not a draw." Yukari made her observation. "Those little lovelies sure tore up the field, but it looks like it's steadily repairing itself," she noted referring to the building which had streams of data scanning it up and down as it repaired the excessive damage done to earlier.

"It would seem that you have chosen the perfect Guild War to be in order to study their powers and tactics. Kaoru would be proud." The cloaked man spoke beside her. "However the stage is set for the real battle you arranged am I right?"

"Indeed, I want to make sure that he hasn't grown weaker these few years apart from us. And even if he tries to suppress anything, the moon will bring out his more…fufufu." Yukari stopped to let a blush and giggle escape. "I'm sorry, but the possibilities of the next bout are making me tingle with anticipation!"

"I see that separation has done little to kill that part of you." The man then turned around as the wisps of smoke began to wrap around him. "I expect for you to tie up loose ends before you leave the area. After that, meet with Kaoru for your report." With that, he then vanished into the night.

"I'll give teacher my report…however now I get to see what I came here for." Yukari's eyes glazed over as she continued to watch Kurotsubasa's side.

(Scene Change)

After confirming the completion of the repairs, Masukomi adjusted her glasses and spoke up.

"Dead Bloods, please choose your next hunter for the round!" Masukomi said, breaking up all conversations that were going on between the two guilds. "Have you decided on who will represent you for the next round?"

"Yes, we've already decided that it would be me who will battle." Doc said walking forward.

"And have you chosen your opponent?"

A wicked light reflected off his glasses before he grinned, nodding to the reporter. "Of course, the prey that I have chosen would be…Shadow."

A series of gasps went through the crowd at the surprising choice that the doctor had made. With Kurotsubasa, the members were surprised all the while Shadow already was taking steps forward while Amaya hopped off Shadow's hood and quickly made her way to Punnya who protectively wrapped the baby manju up. Just as Shadow made it past Grim they began a quick conversation.

"Sure you want to go out there; you know what you're getting into."

"That doesn't matter; we need a win right, well I'll get us on the board as well as try and prevent any more fights." Shadow said as he then stopped. "You'll have your fight with Zaraki or Shiro or whatever, but if I can net two wins you can have that fight and this war will be over."

"You have that much faith in me?"

"You're not exactly weak Grim. Just let me deal with this fight." Shadow then continued to make it to the platform only for his vision to completely fade to black. Feeling a presence behind him, he let out a sigh and kept his calm. "What are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious, I came to wish you luck in your upcoming battle."

"You're in the audience?"

"Possibly, who knows where exactly I am. Just do your best in this fight; let your power loose and show me how much you've grown."

"If you want me to use _that_ then…"

"Oh no matter what you do, just don't lose. A Queen can't bear to watch her King be defeated by a lowly peasant."

Before Shadow could retort that sentence he found himself back to reality standing on his platform waiting to get teleported. He pushed that conversation to the back of his mind as he focused on the battle at hand. Shadow had pulled out his scythe while Doc seemed to still by fiddling with his bolt.

"Here you have it folks, round 2 is the match between Shadow and Mad Doc! Let's see if any one of these two fighters can score a win for their side!" Masukomi said as C.A.M trained all cameras towards the two. "Ok…begin!"

On command, both players were teleported into different areas of the building just like the ones before them. Shadow tightened his grip a bit and he concentrated his energy into his eye.

"_**Byakugan!"**_ exclaimed Shadow activating his eyes. Through the vision of the Byakugan, Shadow quickly scanned the entire building until he found exactly where Mad Doc was. On the cameras, everyone could see Shadow taking off while Mad Doc made no indication of even taking a step.

"And the hunt begins with Shadow making the first move while Mad Doc makes no move at all! Based on what we've seen so far, I believe it's best to assume that he has a plan up his sleeve!" announced Masukomi.

(Dead Bloods)

Whip gave the screens a quick glance before turning away. "Doc, he's on the move, coming your way right now," she muttered as her voice was picked up by a hidden ear-piece within her ear.

Inside the building, the message was instantly conveyed to another hidden earpiece Mad-Doc wore. The man smirked as he sat down on a random metal that stuck out from the ground and folded his arms. 'Now to play the waiting game….'

(Kurotsubasa)

Key narrowed his eyes suspiciously on Mad Doc. "Is he really just gonna sit there and wait for Shadow to find him?"

"That's _**precisely**_what he's gonna do, Key," replied Grim observing the screens carefully. "Unlike Meat, Mad Doc is more brain than brawn. But even he knows that tracking is not his strong suit. When he hunts for prey, he lets the prey come to him…."

"U-pyon…." Squeaked Amaya worriedly as she watched her 'father' on the screens while Punnya began grooming the bunny to calm her down.

Inside, Shadow finally found himself where Mad-Doc was. The doctor had not moved an inch from his spot, instead he was casually sitting on a beam, cranking his screw as he always did.

"Ah, my prey is here," Doc said casually with a smile on his face.

Shadow narrowed his eyes as he brandished his scythe. "Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing."

Doc chuckled a bit. "Ah, a smart alec I see. I wonder what other interesting quips you would have for me…."

"Just this one for now." From his hiding spot Shadow then pulled a few kunai from his pouch and threw them towards the stationary target.

"_He just threw multiple knives; they're coming towards your right."_

"This is becoming too trivial," A scalpel suddenly fell from Mad Doc's sleeves into his hands and he used them to deflect the kunai causing them to fall to the ground. He then looked from the knives to the direction they have flew from. "Is that truly the best you've got."

"I don't know tell me after this…" A calm voice spoke from behind the mad scientist.

Mad Doc's eyes widened a bit as he was then sent flying a small distance, tumbling along the ground. Shadow was standing with his scythe after he successfully landed an attack on his opponent's back. He stood still in a readied stance as he watched Doc slowly stand up.

"Amazing, in the beginning it looked as if Mad Doc could possibly predict and counter all of Shadow's moves. However; a surprise attack seems to show that this might not be true!" Masukomi then had C.A.M. replay the footage that showed Shadow suddenly appearing from out of thin air behind Mad Doc.

"Hmm, it's not his usual style but I guess some things have to have changed. He'll find a way to make up for his loss of speed." Yukari said, calculatedly. "All he needs is an available shadow and he can attack from any direction, how exactly will your tricks work now Dead Bloods?"

"Why didn't you warn me about the attack beforehand Whip? I could've made measures to dodge." Doc whispered into his mike after he checked that nothing was broken.

"_Don't place that shit on me; I'm not a damn mind reader. He literally vanished from all the cameras. No one saw him appear again until it was too late."_ Doc then heard a small scuffle until he heard another voice take over.

"_It would appear thy opponent appeared directly on thou's shadow before he attacked. It may be a link to how he was able to attack from behind without notice. That being said we cannot keep track on all his movements if he can travel by shadows."_

"That's fine; just keep a closer eye on all of his general movements. Besides he'll need more than that if he wants a chance at winning."

"Are you done talking to yourself? I know you're not a psychologist but that's the first step towards insanity." Doc stopped talking as soon as he heard Shadow's voice. Shadow made no other movement besides activating his Byakugan again. "No I should be more specific; are you done talking to your teammates?"

"Oh, so you've figured that out?" Doc gave a small grin as he adjusted his glasses. "I take it when you used your eye under cover you must have spotted it. Oh well; I won't be relying on it much considering your unpredictable movements. That was Shadow Step am I correct?"

"It seems you know a bit about me." Shadow said.

"This world, and in turn the network, is a big place. You'll be surprised how easy it is to gather research on a certain topic. Information about you especially in recent FFW news, you've become popular very quickly." Doc began his research tirade.

"I'm willing to bet that you didn't get your info from some backwater player. Either you learned from someone I fought, watched all my battles or…" Shadow then held the curved end of the scythe's blade towards Mad Doc. "Or you got some Intel before this battle."

"I don't see how any of these factors are important, aren't you the ones who challenged us?" Doc asked rhetorically.

"Like you wouldn't have sent a challenge to us first after you got your information." Shadow retorted.

"Touché"

"Now let me ask this, who hired you?" Shadow asked seriously.

Doc released a chuckle as he looked to his opponent. "Oh I can't reveal that information. Customer confidentiality and all of that, we'd be out of a job. Plus I did take a doctor's oath." He kept going, a smirk still on his face from the oath comment. "You might find out soon enough but you don't have time to be asking me questions."

"Oh, am I mistaken or did I not leave a good sized scar on your back by now." Shadow said, referring to the last hit.

"You mean this little flesh wound." Doc then turned around to reveal his back. While the back of his coat and shirt have been cut through underneath all that was shown was bare skin. "I can't really call myself a good doctor if I can't patch simple wounds like this."

'No blood, or scars…and I know that I did cut through skin.' Shadow's thoughts were soon interrupted.

"I can tell that you have a lot of question, but we've been ranting along for too long now. Right now I too wish to see what our client sees…what about you have captured their attention." As he talked Doc then reached into his coat and pulled out rows of syringes. "So now…let the experiment commence!" He then threw his wave of projectiles towards the guild leader.

Shadow remained stoic as he manipulated his scythe, easily deflecting all the syringes as he made a dash for Mad Doc who suddenly swerved to the side avoiding a deadly swing as he spun around to Shadow's back. His palm crackled with static as he quickly drew it back for a strike.

"_**Soul Menace!"**_ he yelled as he went in for the attack.

"_**Rotation!" **_Sparks flew all over the place as the palm strike made contact with a wall of chakra as Shadow quickly performed a Rotation in time.

The impact caused the two to repel away from each other as Shadow back flipped before coming to a stop while made Doc dug a pair of scalpels into the ground for leverage. Doc smirked in amusement as he straightened himself up. "Hmmm, not bad I must say. I do believe you have proven to be a lot more enjoyable than I thought," commented Doc as he began removing his lab coat and tossing aside. "How about it? No weapons, just bare-handed combat?" suggested Doc getting into a fighting stance.

Shadow narrowed his eyes as he let his scythe disappear while he removed his own jacket. "I accept," replied Shadow shifting into a basic Jyuuken stance. "Bring it!"

"With Pleasure!" replied Doc enthusiastically as he launched himself at Shadow who side-stepped and struck with a palm thrust only to be deflected by a strike from Doc.

Strike after strike each hit connected and was countered with the other as sparks of soul wave-lengths and chakra illuminated the dimness of the building with multiple flashes.

Masukomi stood up excitedly as the cameras narrowed in on each individual. "OH! Here's a treat! This Hunt has turned into a pure bare-fisted fight between Shadow, who uses the Gentle Fist Style of the Hyuuga clan and Mad Doc, who according to our data happens to be proficient in Soul Wavelength techniques!"

(Deadbloods)

"Fight-O Maddy!" cheered Shiro waving a purple flag with a badly drawn doodle of Mad-Doc.

Zaraki folded his arms and raised his eyebrows. "So Doc is actually personally challenging his prey to a hand-to-hand combat? Shadow must really have caught his eye."

"No shit Sherlock," said Whip bluntly blowing another gum bubble.

"Piss off, bitch," retorted Zaraki while Whip double flipped him off behind his head.

Back with Kurotsubasa, Ravena and Illu slumped by each other exhausted after healing Bella as much as they could. Even if they wanted too, the two girls knew that neither of them could afford to exhaust their power too soon. With order being decided by the opposing Guild, the possibility of either Illu or Ravena getting picked next was high. Also, even if they weren't selected, they had to be there for the others and eventually one of them would have been selected later on.

"You two better sleep and conserve restore your energy as much as possible you," instructed Grim looking over at the two girls.

"We'll fill you in on the good parts!" said DB reassuringly.

"Hai…" "Thank you-nya…" said the two girls as they closed their eyes and relaxed as much as possible.

The boys smiled before returning to the seriousness of the battle. "How do you figure this will turn out Grim?" asked Key as he watched Shadow deflect another strike.

"Hard to say, based on prowess alone Shadow is no doubt the better fighter," noted Grim just as Doc dodged and countered an elbow jab with his arm. "However, I have mentioned that Mad Doc is more brain than brawn. Coupled with his sadistic twisted mind, it won't be long now before he starts to fight dirty."

Chakra and menace clashed again causing another spark to fly, separating the two fighters from their stalemate. Doc waited until Shadow chose to gain some distance before enacting his plan. 'Now' Doc then went on the offensive with his fist charged with soul energy. Shadow was a bit surprised at the change in strategy but he did deflect the attack with his arm.

"You'll need to do a lot better than a punch Doc." Shadow comment on the weak form of attack.

"Oh I have plenty planned up my sleeves just you wait." Doc then this time pulled out two scalpels from out of his coat.

Shadow then raised a brow. "Plan on abandoning this fist fight?"

"Naïve boy, who ever said I would be using these as weapons?" The mad doctor then did something that threw Shadow and most of those watching for a loop; holding both in reverse grip, he then proceeded to cut into his own arms…drawing…

'His blood…is black.' Shadow watched as his opponent continued his act of self-mutilation.

"I-I can't believe my eyes…not only did he receive the first injury of the match but Mad Doc is actually cutting into his own body. What could this possibly accomplish, how will this play into winning this fight?" Masukomi asked, a bit appalled at Mad Doc's actions.

"And just wait, I'm not done…"

Just as he spoke, the blood that came out his wounds then moved and flowed as if it were alive. They poured out in an angle and began to collect and solidify in midair; soon Mad Doc had a pair of black, curved, blades attached to his arms. "I wonder if this is familiar to you, but if not allow me to give out its name. This is my Branch of Sin…Crow's Claw." He said, brandishing his new scythe blades.

"Blood blades, nice and morbid, just like everything else about your guild. However; I didn't expect for you to have that kind of branch. How exactly are you going to try and reach me?" Shadow asked as he reminded him of his situation. "I think you know that I am faster than you."

"I know, but I have a feeling that now that won't be much a factor." Doc then began to run, ready to put his new weapons to work.

'What's he planning?' Shadow prepared to teleport again only to find that he could barely move. He looked down to his feet and saw that his boots have been 'sewn' into the ground with some kind of glowing thread. "The hell, when did he?" He had less time to ponder this as Doc drew closer and closer with his blades aimed to cut him down. Reaching back he was able to grab his scythe and block one of Doc's blades.

Doc ever-present smirk stayed on his face as he pressed the Crow Claw into the pole of Shadow's scythe, inching it closer to his target. "I see you noticed the little addition to your footwear. Had to limit your movements to make this much easier." He then readied his other blade.

'I got to get these soul threads off, but first' Shadow stopped his train of thought as the edge made its way closer.

Before Doc could attack with his second blade he was then blown back by a sudden blast of wind. After dusting himself off he heard another explosion coming from where Shadow once stood, Doc waited for the smoke to clear before seeing that his target was gone.

"So, back to this type of game huh?" Doc asked no one. 'I'm learning more and more every moment. I was sure from the research I gathered that he prefers not to use magic so I assumed that he couldn't. I have got to continue with the experiment, if I push him further…'

"_You seem to have the right idea, Monsieur Doctor."_

"Hmm, pray tell, how were you able to hack into this private line?" Doc whispered to his client.

"_Oh need not worry about that. As I was saying you've got the right idea. They say you are really the strategist of your guild, well you should plan on ways to have Shadow show more and more of his strength. Press him until he reaches his limit."_

"Yes I remember that was the mission. However, I will remind you we play for keeps, these blades on my arms aren't for show. The chances of Shadow dying are quite high…is that acceptable?" Doc asked.

"_Those odds are fine. If the outcome isn't in my favor then oh well, but I do see this battle ending that way. You just be sure to deliver on your end of the mission."_

"It's our policy to never leave a client unsatisfied with our work." Doc said before communication was cut. He then began surveying around with his eyes and the help of his team on the other end of his ear. "Now where did you go?"

(Scene Change)

"I guess I really shouldn't take what he could do for granted. If I can avoid that sewing attack I would have a better chance up close, but right now this fight is troublesome." Shadow said as he still had view of Doc from his hiding place. 'With Black Blood he has greater defense and regeneration not to mention he can control the blood freely with branch of sin. Those soul techniques are bad as well unless I can counter them. I only have limited ways of cutting him." He then clenched his right hand.

"Long range isn't a factor; I'll just have to attack him a different way." Shadow said as he peered from his cover. "It may be my only choice considering the options. Soul Eater attacks the soul, not the body so I doubt he can heal. With the moon like this I can't be using it too much though. Better time myself right…"

"It would seem that both fighters have reached another strategic stalemate. Mad Doc is actually going in search of his target while Shadow lies and waits. This is truly a battle of the minds, as well as a battle of strength!"

"Shadow~? Oh Shadow? Where thou art are you Shadow?" taunted Doc as he slowly walked around, keeping his senses sharp for his opponent.

Shadow kept silent as he stealthily moved in the cove of the dark. Ducking behind pillars and beams whilst monitoring Doc. In one hand, dark energy began to gather and form a tiny sphere.

_**Shadow Sphere!**_

Doc jumped to side quickly as a shadow ball zipped past him and exploded into the wall. Doc stumbled back a few steps when suddenly tendrils of darkness grew out from the shadows behind him and held him in place.

"Not so good when it happens to you, huh?" asked Shadow's voice when another Shadow sphere was thrown at Doc directly from the front. Unable to avoid the attack in anyway, Doc went flying from the force of the attack.

"Tch, I see you've decided to be more offens…" Doc then stopped seeing as Shadow now appeared in front of him with his fist charged with energy.

"Well Doctor, I hope you can heal bruises as well as you heal cuts!" Shadow smirked as he right arm was then engulfed in darkness. **"Hell's Fang!" **The punch hit Doc dead in his sternum causing him to stagger from the pain, before he could even complete a thought he was then launched into the air by claw swipe from Shadow.

When Doc finally landed he immediately returned to his feet and spat out a glob of blood from his mouth. 'Is this his tactic now, rush me? Guess this really shows how strong he is, I won't be able to survive an onslaught.' Doc then sensed the shadows moved behind him and moved from the lightened area to inside a darkened building. "I bet you can't manipulate your shadows in an area where there is no light."

"Yeah that is a problem; however, you just picked the wrong place to stand."

Doc raised a brow in confusion but since he was inside the building he didn't see the aura that began to overtake the building. The same dark blue aura was present around Shadow's hand as he focused on the building.

"It's time for some early demolition, **Gravity Crush!**" He then closed he hand tightly. At the same time the building seemed to explode and come down on itself as if crushed by an invisible force. Seeing the debris and dust fly around Shadow took the time to wait and watch, though he was unconsciously clutching his right arm.

'Hopefully that's it, this night is just making it harder to use most of those moves.' Shadow thought as he watched for any signs of movement.

"Amazing, way to bring the house down on your opponent! Doc thought that he would be safe from Shadow's attack by hiding away, but he seemed to be playing right into the guild leader's hand. Has a clear winner been decided?" Masukomi asked as she and everyone else all stared at the screens.

"Great, there he goes down again. For a guy that says he's the smartest one of us he sure is dumb getting caught like that. If Shadow didn't kill him I'll killed him myself when he gets back." Whip said, staring at the screen in frustration.

"Save that anger for when you actually get a turn and pay attention. No one knows if Doc really is dust under there, that announcer hasn't called anything and there is no signal saying he's dead, as far as we know Doc is just buried there." Zaraki said, making a quick guess at what was happening. "He may have something under in that lab of his for this."

"Did he get him?" DB asked as he and Kurotsubasa stared at the results of the attack. "All I see is an even more ruined building. You think someone like Doc actually survived that?" The vampire asked.

"Doc isn't that strong physically, if the whole place did cave down on top of him he would be dead if not trapped." Grim spoke his opinion. "Right now there is no way to tell what is happening under that rubble."

"Hey Ani-Key, think you can sense if he's still there?" Ravena asked having woken up a few minutes earlier.

"I can try." Key said as he closed his eyes. He tried to focus on the battlefield as hard as he could since he was not close physically. "Being this far away makes it hard but I can make out something. Doc is still under there but…"

"But?"

"The reading that I'm getting is strange. I know it's human but…" Key then opened his eyes. "That small signature, that's one from something already dead."

"Hold on, do you mean that Doc is a zombie?" DB asked.

Grim then shook his head. "No, despite everything, Doc is human. So the only signal you can see is from a corpse…that means.

Suddenly; something from behind burst through the ground stabbed Shadow through his right shoulder. He then tore the object out and clutched his bleeding wound as he saw the bloody tip of a black spear had come from the hole behind him. Before Shadow had a chance to even ask, he heard a sound coming from the rubble.

"I will admit, you almost had me with that attack. You could have seriously wounded me if I was actually there." A curved blade burst from the top of the wreckage and helped create an opening for Doc to crawl through. While there was dirt and black blood on the doctor's stitched coat, he appeared fine.

"How did you dodge that, I even saw your body." Shadow asked, trying to ignore the waves of pain that shot through his body.

"Oh, my body, you mean this?" Reaching from out of the hole Doc then pulled out something that shocked both Shadow and the crowd. It was a body, an almost perfect replica of Doc. The few things different were the stitched limbs and the lifeless stare in it's eyes. "I keep a couple of cadaver clones handy in situation like these. You let your guard down long enough for me to run enough black blood underground."

"And how did you manage that? That amount of blood would've made you bleed out." Shadow made his point clear.

"Ah, but the blood that hit you was special. Out of all of us, Zaraki is the only one that is able to control his blood over vast distances. It took vast days of experimentation to replicate the same ability." Doc smiled in pride. "What you see is the result; I keep a certain amount on me. It's child's play to leave them inside these corpses."

"I can imagine someone like you carries bags of blood behind his coat, but I think I would've noticed you carrying bodies around. Where did those come from?" Shadow asked again, wanting to keep Doc talking.

"Oh, the answer to that question is the same way I was able to escape your attack moments ago." Doc then pulled down his sleeve to show a small gray bracelet around his wrist. "All I did was open a quick doorway to my lab. A good doctor is never too far away from his equipment in an emergency." As if demonstrating, the ring then began to glow light silver and then there was a warp in space that sucked in the body.

"I see, so you basically went to your happy place right when the building came down, though from the look of yourself not fast enough. I can tell one of the drawbacks of using that in battle, you have to be careful where you open it, since it's where you also have to leave." Shadow said.

"Clever observation; yes you are right with the drawback but it's useful for laying traps. You would know from the new hole in your shoulder. I made sure it was nice and serrated to give you a harder time healing." Doc adjusted his glasses. "That's why you kept me talking right? Trying to heal yourself by some method?" The doctor didn't need to hear anything else as Shadow's silence said everything.

"It really matters not; I still have a job and a battle to win." Doc then took out another scalpel and began to cut into his palm. "Let's keep this party going. **Bloody Slicer**!" The doctor then fired his black blood at his target.

Shadow dashed to the side to avoid the attack before disappearing in a flash of speed.

"Oh, using that Shadow Step of yours again? I won't allow you the chance!" Doc then pulled out three bags of blood and threw them high into the air. "Don't think you can hide forever, you can't go far!" Pulling out some scalpels he threw them through the bags releasing the blood.

"Let's see if I'm lucky tonight. **Bloody Needle**!"

From the sky, the droplets of blood then became sharp needles that rain down upon the battlefield. The needles pierced the ground, buildings, rubble, and everything else without discrimination. After a few minutes the rain finally subsided and Doc then began to walk around the area.

"So, how close did I get to the target?" Doc whispered to the mike through his ear.

"_Yeah you got him. He was over towards the right just when you did that little rain dance. I think he tried teleporting again but still got stab a good bit." _Whip answered back.

"Just towards the right?"

"_I don't know exactly where he is dumbass. He's a ways away, just keep walking and I'll tell you when he's close."_

"Testy, testy…all right just lead the way." Doc said as he walked in the direction his teammate has spoke. 'I'm starting to get a bit impatient. If he really is as special as she says, I might as well discover it the easy way. A nice and slow…dissection.' Doc stopped his musing as a he saw a small light in the distance; trusting his instincts he decided to make a quick call.

"Whip, that light wouldn't happen to be coming from…?"

"_Hell if you don't believe that take a look at the moon."_

Following her advice, Doc looked up to see an unusual site. The moon still retained its red color but several small white sparks seemed to fall from the celestial body down to Earth where the first light had come from. Seeing as they fell to the right, Doc decided to follow the moonlight to his target.

(With Shadow)

'_Note to self, I owe Bella one. Who knew a Pokémon TM move would actually work on a person.' _Shadow thought as he rested against a hill. His body was glowing a light silver as the moonlight fell on his body and healed his wounds.

Moonlight, a Pokémon technique that healed the user with the light of the moon. That was the name of the power that Shadow was using now. He received the TM as a birthday gift from Bella and while he thought he would never use the move he learned it on a whim.

'_I'm not regretting learning this move, I just wish it could get rid of the pain.'_ While the wounds did end up closing, he still had to deal with the pain. After narrowly avoiding the spiked rain that was the Bloody Needle, he was able to escape with only a few cuts and puncture wounds. _'I don't have long to stay here. I need to move, find a way to end this fight quicker.' _Just as he thought that, his arm throbbed in pain, causing him to grab it. Unlike the rest of his pains, it wasn't caused by the mad doctor.

Shadow took a quick breath and then used his Byakugan to see how long he had left to recuperate. Formulating a quick plan, Shadow concentrated on the shadows around his opponent.

Doc continued walking only to jump back to over a large moving mass. The Doc then looked and saw the many tendrils that were formed from the darkness around him.

"So you're trying to delay me again aren't you? I told you I'm not giving you a chance!" Doc reached into his coat and pulled out another bag and scalpel. Throwing the bag in the air he repeated his technique causing another rain of black needles. The needles forced all the threads down and continued to fall until a few of them were blown away nearby.

"There you are." Doc then shot off towards his target.

"Dammit" Shadow cursed as he revealed his location when he blew away the needles with a burst of gravity. He then got on his feet and began to make some distance from the attack site. Also, from the rush between healing and defending he had left his scythe back at the rubble. "I'm half healed, and I lost almost all my means of long range attacks. The only one I can use is the gale but I can't use it repeatedly on a night like this."

"_Oh, has the Blood Moon finally begun to affect you?"_

'_Can't you haunt me another time?'_

"_Haunt you? I just came to offer you some simple advice. Stop limiting yourself and go all out. If you use darkness you can been done with him within seconds."_ The voice continued to speak through his head.

'_Yeah and possibly lose myself in the process.'_

"_So you intend to run away forever?"_

'_I'm not running!'_

"_From Doc maybe not, but you are running from you-know-what. Seeing you stumble around like a wounded animal is pathetic and I rather not have Doc open you up with his blades…that's my job._

'_I knew you would go there.'_

"_You know me so well…and I know you just as well. Think, if you keep this up and lose then you'll have to watch him do this to someone else on your guild. Maybe something even worse? Just let go, and use your power to wipe them all out."_

At those last words Shadow had stopped running. His hand never left his arm, but his grip then tightened. While she did make a low blow, Shadow knew that the person was speaking truth as well. After Bella's tie that left both sides with no points, if he were to survive long enough to take out three of the Dead Bloods that would end the fighting.

"_Nice to see you're seeing things my way."_

'_I'm going to kill you…Yukari.'_

"_Fufufu, you may want to save that aggression for your guest. I can't wait to see what you can do after all these years. Good luck, darling~"_ Just as Yukari's voice faded he didn't need to turn around to know that Doc had just arrived.

"Finally starting to see reason; ready to face the inevitable?" Doc asked as he brought out his branch of sin. "And hear I thought I would have to chase you around a little longer." As he began to walk closer with his scythe arm he notice Shadow made no movement. "What no retort, no last minute quip? I see you've been holding onto that arm, allow me to do my work as a doctor and help you."

Doc then raised the blade and grinned maniacally. "I say the best way to treat that wound is to remove the limb completely." He then raised the blade high ready to slash his prey to pieces.

Blood soon flew in the air, causing him to stagger.

However…

The one that was staggering and bleeding…was Doc.

'Impossible, he not only cut through the Crow's Claw but also my reinforced black blood?' Doc's eyes were wide in confusion as black blood dripped from his broken blade and the four slash marks on his chest. As he then closed his wounds he took a look at the weapon that had made it through his natural armor.

Shadow's right arm was replaced with a large pitch black claw, which now had Doc's black blood dripping from its large nails. Shadow himself had a glazed look in his eyes which soon disappeared along with the claw, but his eyes were now glowing red as red as the moon that was hanging over them.

"**Looks like you get to find out why someone like me knows about **_**them**_**. You better get a good look, because you're the first person in three years to see me use this."** Shadow said as he began to glow a dark aura. He then held his hand open and the darkness formed together to create a sword.

"You-you think some magic trick is enough to detour me? As if all that power was from you, you could have easily used another trick!" Doc said before calming down and reforming his claws. "I must have let my guard down which is how you cut through my blood is all!"

"**Care to test that again?"** This time Shadow appeared instantly before Doc.

The doctor barely had enough time to cross his arms and make a makeshift shield with his blood before the sword of darkness slashed through it, sending him flying a ways away. Before he could even recover his stance, Doc saw Shadow already in front of him with his sword raised. Instantly feeling it pierce his shoulder he let out a loud wail of pain.

"**I know, doesn't feel too good huh?" **Shadow smirked and then backed up with his weapon leaving Doc to hold his new injury. **"Too bad I couldn't make the edges nice and serrated for you Doc."**

"Bastard!" Doc said as he already closed the wound. "It has to be a trick, some cheat or the Wings. No way you could easily cut through my body when I have the black blood on my side!" Doc then charged in with his claws ready. His rage only grew as Shadow just swatted him away with one hand as if he were an insect. "I'll be the one to have the last laugh, do you hear me?!" With that yell, spikes of blood fired from the wounds on his chest.

Shadow's eyes narrowed and he let out a roar of his own, summoning a large wall of black wind that blew Doc away. For the audience watching, they could all see a large tornado of darkness and on the screens that zoomed in, showed a pair of glowing red eyes from within the twister. A few of them swore that they saw something more. A transparent pair of large wings.

Masukomi sprang up from her seat so quickly her glasses almost flew off but she quickly caught them and adjusted them as she grabbed her mic. "Wha-Wha- What is this frightening black tornado?! It's completely covering the field and blocking the fight inside! What could be happening here?! Is this a power of one of the players?!"

(Kurotsubasa)

"UUUU-PYON!" squeaked Amaya as she got blown away in the sudden rush of wind. Fortunately Muku managed to fly up and snatch her by the ears and began trying to fly back down. Before Muku could get blown away as well, Punnya caught the bird with her tail while Nyoka was wrapped around Punnya while her tail coiled tightly around Doppleman's arm who quickly reeled them all in before grabbing them and ducking to the floor out of the wind's way.

"KYA!" Illu cried out as she used one arm to shield her face from the sudden force of the wind while the other arm held her skirt down as she and the rest of the guild watch the battle continue on the screen. Most of them were too speechless to answer her question as they were just as stunned as her. "W-what is happening?"

"This is the first time I've seen any of this? What the hell is going on, it's like a whole other side of him." DB said squinting as he put his arms to shield his face as well.

"You mean this is the first time you've seen Shadow do this?" Grim asked, as he was one of the most confused.

While they tried to make some sense of what was happening they suddenly hear a strangled cry coming from Ravena. _**Ba-DUMP! **_"Ugh!" cried Ravena clutching through clenched teeth as the intense pain caused her to sink to her knees as he clutched her head in pain.

"Rave-chan? What's wrong?!" asked Illu in concern extending a hand.

"_**Don't touch me!"**_ snapped Ravena and Felis at the same time out of the blue as the girl quickly put up a small barrier to block out the others.

_**Ba-DUMP! **_Ravena flinched heavily as she curled herself up. Unseen by the others, a small mark on Ravena's neck began to glow and pulsate.'Wha…What is this…?

"_**What is this sudden surge of power?!" **_Felis clutched herself trying tightly as she felt the atmosphere get heavier. Around her, Ravena's mindscape was gradually becoming darker and darker._** "It's so dark ….. and this overwhelming feeling of oppression…**_"

'Where have I felt this before?...' Ravena asked herself mentally before flinching hard as her head began to throb once more.

_**Ba-DUMP!**_

Ravena suddenly began seeing flashes of a memory during her rogue days.

_**Ba-DUMP!**_

_A great Darkness tearing through the land…. __**FLASH! **__A wake of destruction left behind… __**FLASH! **__Ravena just barely escaping the darkness as she took to the skies. __**FLASH! **__ A large crater… __**FLASH! **__A boy collapsed in the middle of it… A familiar face… _

'_**Shadow?!' **_

_**BA-DUMP!**_

"ARGH!" cried Ravena once more as her headache grew worse while a burning sensation began to fill her body. Her Taboo felt like hot metal pressed against her skin…it was unbearable!

"_It hurts! It hurts Felis!"_ cried out Ravena in her head as tears were beginning to well up.

"_**Urgh!" **_ Felis growled through her teeth as she felt the pain coursing through herself as well. _**"Just what kind of power does Shadow have?!"**_

All of a sudden Felis felt paralyzed. She could feel herself as well as Felidae shaking violently. _**"It's so cold…. I feel…scared…. So very scared….."**_

"_I'm scared…Felis….I'm really scared too….."_

"Punnya…." Mewed Punnya worriedly as she tried to touch the barrier but was repelled back violently into Grim's arms.

"Just what's going on here?!" Grim asked, his concern growing, his gaze shifting from the battlefield to the small barrier that covered Ravena.

(Dead Bloods)

"WOW~ WOW~ WOW~! It's giant black Whirly-Whirl!" exclaimed Shiro in awe throwing out her arms not minding the giant gust of wind as her hair bellowed wildly behind her. "Look! Look!"

Zaraki and Whip both had their arms up shielding their eyes while Queen was busy tightly clutching her top and skirt to prevent them flying off.

"Damn, what the hell did that girl sign us up for?! I've lost the signal to Doc; it's practically a dead zone out there!" Whip pulled out the headset she was wearing and tossed it into the winds as she kept her eyes on the screens.

"Tch, should've killed her when I had the chance. She must've known something like this would happen!" Zaraki growled out. His anger only grew as he spotted Shiro laughing wildly, waving her arms in circles as if copying the storm's movements. "And what the hell are you doing?! This isn't some everyday storm or whatever, it's a hurricane and you're treating this like some kind of joke!"

"Hahaha, come on Zaki-waki can't you feel it? The Beastie inside the Whirly-Whirl!" Shiro then began waving her arms up and down as if to imitate wings. "It's like a big Chickie, it's wings going up and down like this!" She said as she kept going with her actions, ignoring that the wind was tossing her hair around widely.

"Thy really does worry for you Shiro, but I don't think that's a Chickie as thou call it." Queen said as she was able to catch a faint image from within the storm. "It may have wings, but I don't think that's a bird."

(Audience)

"Wha-What the hell is going on?!"

"It has to be the Wings, he's cheating!"

"N-no, I heard of this before! There was a fight a week ago that had something like this! It's the same as that other guild!"

"Hold up, you don't mean…!"

As several members of the audience argued with each other as they took cover, the only one who looked on to the battle with no worry on her face was Yukari. In fact, the girl had a sultry grin on her face as she started at the vortex that covered the entire field.

"Even after three years of non-use, you're still this strong." She said to herself as she weathered the storm, her twin tails lashing out along with the wind. "Oh, how I wish I could get a closer look to what is going on. The reception is so horrible right now." Yukari commented on the screens that right now only showed more glimpses of the wind.

"I guess it doesn't matter now, I already know how all of this ends."

(Battlefield)

Doc backed away to avoid a sword slash aimed to his head. He continued to try and keep his distance away from the berserker style swordsman. Shadow made sure he gave the doctor no room to breathe as he continued to aim his blade at his opponent.

"**Come on Doc, why don't you stay still and see what you look like when you're sliced open?"** Shadow asked, once again tearing through Doc's Black Blood defense. He then saw Doc try to open a door to his lab, so he the increased his speed and gripped Mad Doc's arm, crushing the device.

After a few minutes of struggling against his grip, Doc was able to push Shadow back with the use of his soul waves. "Y-you, so you realize what you just did?!" Doc asked, beginning to lose his usual, calm demeanor. "It will take me at least a week to repair this gateway! You could've caused an explosion that could kill us both?"

"**And which one of those things are my problem?"** Shadow asked in faked interest.

Doc then performed a perfect impression by growling with rage. "I don't care how powerful you think you; know that nothing is superior to me. I have taken down and dissected more players than you've probably seen, don't let a small boost of power go to your head!" The doctor's arms crackled with soul energy as he let his emotions. He then charged forward with his arms primed.

"Fall before your superior!"

The attack struck home; as his soul menace struck Shadow's chest. Doc seemed to smile in satisfaction until he looked up to his opponent; even after he was hit with the technique…Shadow still kept a smirk on his face. Doc's glare returned as his arms sparked to life again.

"**Soul Menace: Three Extremes!"**

After calling out his technique, Doc then struck Shadow again. As yellow soul sparks light up his hands he then struck Shadow three times in his chest in rapid secession. With the final thrust he then sent Shadow flying into a nearby pile of earth.

Doc stopped to catch his breath as he stared at the trench Shadow had left as he slid towards his destination. He took the time to adjust his glasses as he walked over, with his hands still crackling with energy.

"No matter how strong the force is; power has to bow down to the mind. In the end no matter how powerful you are, you still bow down to my superior intellect." With a flip of the wrist two scalpels fell out his sleeves. "You've led me around this fight long enough and in the end I think I understand what she was talking about. Maybe it isn't a coincidence that you know a Rare Hunter."

As his monologue continued, Doc then stopped in front of the rubble. The soul wavelength had begun to channel around the scalpels, increasing the size of his blades. "But this battle has gone on long enough. I'll find my answers after you're placed on the examination table, live or not." He then raised his blades.

"That being said, die…"

**SLASH**

A torrent of blood exploded from the wound that appeared on his body. Blood gushed and fell from doc's mouth as he stumbled back, his vision blurring from the loss of blood.

'Impossible…he couldn't have…I struck him down with my soul wavelength. I've even layered it with sutras…how can he move?' Doc thought to himself as he held his wound in an attempt to close it. As he tried healing he noticed the wound was barely closing. "W-what did y-you do?"

"**Was that all you could do? I even left myself open for you to see what you got but it turned out to be a waste of my time."** The assailant swiped his sword, removing blood from the blade's edge. Shadow then popped a few joints after standing from the rubble unharmed. **"What were you saying before…about you being superior?"**

"This is impossible, improbable even, how are you still?"

"**Like I said I let myself open, your move had no affect caused I countered your soul waves with my own."** Shadow answered dryly. **"It even had an added effect of my cut affecting your body. Can't have someone like you heal every wound, it would just prolong the inevitable."**

"That's my line…you think I'm beaten? You've just paved way for your demise!" Grasping his wound he then threw out his own blood into the air allowing them to hover around Shadow. "Die, **Bloody Needles**!"

As the numerous drops of blood released their spikes towards their target Shadow just stood with an annoyed look on his face.

"**You still don't get it…guess I'll have to show you how worthless this is."** Shadow's eyed glowed an even darker red and his blade released more dark power. **"Everything disappear…"**

"**Soul Demolition!"**

Numerous flashes of blades cut through the air all around the two. Doc didn't feel the sword touch him, but he felt them slice the air around him, cutting through all of the black blood. The storm of slashes reduced the blood to nothing but mist that wasn't even visible. Doc then shook in shcok seeing the blade now aimed to his head.

"**And then there was one."**

"Listen, y-you can't do this! I-I forfeit! The match is yours!" Doc seemed to burst into hysterics as he tried to back away with Shadow slowly advancing. The Doc kept backing up until he felt himself hit a partially destroyed wall.

"**Not how the rules work, it says last man standing right? Well you've seemed to still be using those scrawny legs of yours." **Shadow interjected, bringing the tip against the doctor's neck.

"Wait, you can't have it end like this. I thought your guild was against killing people."

"**People yeah, not degenerative pricks like you."**

Doc then closed his eyes as he braced for the sword to pierce his neck only to feel the tip leave. He opened his eyes to see Shadow walking a distance away. "Huh, I-I thought you were going to…"

"**It would be a waste if I sullied my sword with your blood."** At those words the sword then vanished in wisps of darkness. Shadow then looked back; eyes still a blazing scarlet red. **"I'm dropping the wind, after that quit and get out of my sight."**

Doc was silent as he fell to his knees and just watched as Shadow got rid of the storm. When he saw that Shadow had just turned his back on him, he grip tightened on his remaining scalpel and made sure it cut deep into his hand.

"D-Don't worry, you won't see me again." Doc spoke softly, but Shadow couldn't see the angry, demented look on his face. "Because this is where you die!" Holding his hand open, his black blood formed a spear that shot through the air, aimed at Shadow's back.

The spear reached to small of the unassuming guild leader's back, only for it to be severed in two. Doc's eyes widened in fear as he looked and only saw two demonic red eyes staring down at him.

"Wait folks, it looks like the storm is dying down! Whatever's been going on we may be able to find an idea on who created that massive storm." Masukomi announced as the winds died down. "It's clearing up, I can make out two figure, our fighters, in the middle only…what is that?!"

Doc then began to crawl on the ground, trying to back away from the monster in front of him. Shadow's eyes were hidden by the shadows his bangs produced, yet his eyes pierced through the darkness. He was still surrounded by the cloak of dark power, but now there was a new addition. Floating behind him, almost transparent, was a creature with large bat-like wings, spiked body, and three long necks and heads with glowing red eyes similar to Shadow's.

The deadly doctor of the Dead Bloods was backing away from the Dark Knight and almost, evil looking Dragon.

The dragon's mouths widened and began to charge energy as a purple light emulated from their jaws. The three lowered down around Shadow who's hand was open and also covered in a black and purple light. In an instant the creature's mouths opened and formed a large sphere in Shadow's hand.

All watched in silence as the screens picked up these actions. They were all frozen in awe or fear as they watched the display, each keeping their thoughts to themselves.

_**Ba-Dump!**_

"**Ugh!"** Shadow uttered out as his other hand came up and gripped his shoulder, around his collarbone. 'The hell is this…what's going on?!' He stumbled a bit but kept the attack but still felt the mark on his neck begin to burn. As if hot iron was pressed against his skin. Shadow began to see flashes of light as he barely held himself together.

_**Ba-Dump!**_

White light flashed, and with it a vision. Shadow soon found himself looking at a young woman wearing a red hood and cloak.

'Wh-who is that? Why does it feel like I…'

_**Ba-Dump!**_

Shadow's eyes then clenched shut as he felt the burning of the mark increased. 'I-It's unbearable. Like something is melting me from the inside. I've still haven't healed right…am I going to?'

_**Ba-Dump!**_

"_**Fall…"**_

'You again'

"_**Fall…be swallowed by the dark. We've protected you before, let us do it again. Let us make all your problems disappear."**_

'Didn't you get the hint from the seal, I don't need your help.'

'_**We are your power…we are you…and you are us. Our duty is to erase all who bring harm to you. Like that man before you…you're using the dark now…'**_

'If this damn night wasn't a Bloo…!"

'_**That would not change. He's threatened you, harmed you, and threatened those you care about.' **_Deep within his mind, Shadow struggled to stay conscious as he looked at the six red eyes that stared back at him.

"_Don't….Don't…."_ a new voice began to say, a familiar female voice.

'_**All things in this world that challenges us must disappear! Like that ones from before, to this one now!"**_

"**Araaaaaagh!" **Shadow howled out breaking the silence that was being held through the arena. He then tightened his aim as the sphere then grew as large as his body. His eyes, sclera and all, were just voids of crimson as he eyed his target. **"Die!"**

Doc stood paralyzed with fear as he screamed his lungs out as he literally saw death coming his way.

"_**NOOOOOOOO…!"**_ Came a familiar scream that only Shadow could hear. It had shocked him so suddenly that it was able to break his focus, causing the sphere to break apart and disappear. At that moment the shock was just too much too bear as Doc rolled his eyes back and passed out on the ground.

'_**Tch….who would have thought she could interfere….'**_

The darkness around Shadow disappeared as he reverted to his normal self and collapsed to his knees breathing hard. In that moment, there was silence everywhere.

"Sh-sh-sh-Shadow…W-w-win…." Said Masukomi weakly as she sank into her chair.

The spectators cheered on cue, but not as enthusiastically considering they were all still shaken up. Yukari looked on with an expression of indifference. "Ara…that was disappointing…he didn't go wild….I wonder why?" she asked herself when Yukari sensed something radiating from Kurotsubasa. 'Could it be?...'

Back with Kurotsubasa, Doppleman and the pets all poked their heads up cautiously before coming out of their safety huddle. **"That was some crazy ass shit going on there….."** commented DP trying to lighten the tension surrounding Kurotsubasa, just as Shadow and Doc were transported back to their respective Guilds.

"Just what the hell happened out there?!..." asked Grim in frustration but all he got were blank, shocked expressions from the others who were also trying to comprehend the situation when Shadow finally appeared in a flash of light and collapsed to his knees.

"Shadow!" "Shadow-kun!" "U-Pyon!" were the collective exclamations that sounded as his team-mates surrounded Shadow.

Furrowing his brows, Grim decided to keep silent as he glanced over at the force-field that still covered Ravena.

_(Ravena's Mindscape)_

The shuddering had stopped but the darkness remained as Felis hovered near Felidae's huddled form as she narrowed her eyes. There was a new intruder.

"_**You don't belong here…."**_ Hissed Felis menacingly around her as the darkness began swirl and form a large formless shape before her.

"_**Hmmm? You are one to talk, Cat," **_replied a dark voice from the mass as four red eyes opened and stared back at Felis. _**"You should have minded your own business."**_

"_**That was not of my doing, it was hers…"**_indicated Felis to Ravena. _**"But even so, that was an accident…"**_

"_**I'm not interested in your excuses Cat! I would have finally have him under my control if you hadn't interfered!"**_ roared the Darkness when it suddenly noticed the dark miasma lurking at the below. _**"However, you seem to have some pretty fascinating Darkness of your own…" **_it said in a conniving tone as it lunged at Felis who was caught off guard and phased through her.

The Darkness emerged from Felis in the form of a Nekomata as it dove straight into the miasma pit.

"_**NO!" **_yelled Felis as she tried chasing after it. However she was too late as the Darkness emerged again in its formless shape once more.

The Darkness cackled evilly as four red eyes were seen glowing in the miasma below. _**"Now you will face what happens when anyone crosses my path! Enjoy~!" **_mocked the Darkness as it finally disappeared.

Felis growled when she suddenly heard a sinister laugh coming from below. Tendrils of darkness suddenly shot out from the miasma aiming at Felidae. _**"DEE-DEE!"**_ cried out Felis as she blasted the tendrils away before unsheathing her claws and slicing away at another.

An angry growl sounded out as it began to attack Felis instead. Felis quickly dodged and clawed back but more and more were coming her way.

"_**I won't let you Erase me! Felidae is mine!" **_snarled Felis fiercely as she fought with all her might.

Meanwhile, Ravena was still clutching her tightly as she tried to maintain control of herself. There was a tempting feeling starting to well up inside her. A feeling that she had trained hard to suppress for many years. A feeling that made her feared by many, including herself. It was lust, a strong insatiable lust, for blood….

At the same time, most of Kurotsubasa was gathered around Shadow who was now barely standing thanks to exhaustion and injuries from the fight that had just ended.

"Crap, I can't believe I almost…" Shadow said to himself as he slowly tried to stand only to stop and cringe as small flares of pain went off through his body. "At least I was able to get us a point, that's the only good thing that came out of that battle." He complained.

"S-Shadow-kun, you shouldn't be moving around with injuries like that." Illu said as she pulled out her medic supplies. "You need to take it easy and recuperate right now; you're nowhere near any shape to be walking." She tried to explain the severity of the situation.

"I'm fine…if anything I can squeeze out another victory before I completely keel over." Shadow said before he grunted as another wave of pain shot through him, his eyes flashing red before returning to their normal state. 'Damn it…after all these years I still had to fall back on that.' Before Shadow got the chance to mentally beat himself up, he felt another tug on his jacket.

"U-pyon~" Looking down, Shadow could see that Amaya was looking at him with worried eyes. Just as he was about to speak it was Grim that interrupted him.

"You may have won the fight but not without injury. Just take the time and rest up, as you are you're a liability if any of the Dead Bloods choose to fight you again." He explained the situation. "We've still got three able bodied fighters, four when Illu is free from healing, we should be fine for the rest of the matches."

"Three, hold on what about…?" Shadow then noticed, for the first time, the large dome that took up a small part of the guild's area and behind it lay Ravena. "What happened over here?"

"Something that we've been trying to find out, hell we've got a lot of questions that need to be answered." DB said. The vampire then turned to look at the dome and then look back to Shadow. "But those can wait; right now we just need to plan out the rest of the fights."

Key nodded his head in agreement. "Illu it looks like you'll have to keep healing on your own since Ravena's barrier is still up, can you handle it?"

The owl hybrid nodded her head. "I have enough herbs and materials in my inventory. I can heal Shadow-kun and keep an eye on Rave-chan and Bella-chan." Illu said as she then led Shadow over to where the neko and the toon girl were being kept.

"Good, now all we need to do is…" As Grim then spoke they were all interrupted by Masukomi's voice.

"Attention everyone, due to several damages caused because of the last battle, the Guild War will have a short intermission to repair all damage done to the arena." The reporter's voice echoed through the whole audience and guilds. "Everyone please take this time to have a quick break before the battles resumed. Relieved voices sounded out as everyone in the stadium began shifting about.

(Dead Bloods)

"Wow…Maddy's really out cold…." Commented Shiro as she crouched next Mad Doc's passed out form while poking his face. "But he's got a really funny look on his face~!"

Whip chuckled as pressed her foot on Doc's cheek before roughly giving it a shove. "How true, Shiro-chan~" she chuckled at the look of fear that contorted the doctor's face.

Meanwhile, Queen was busy readjusting her outfit and her make-up before finally readjusting her wind-blown hair.

"Honestly, we are so sick of tis humiliation! Zaraki, you'll be taking the next fight, yes?!" demanded Queen only to get no response. "Zataki? We demand thy response!"

Queen turned to Zaraki only to see him glaring daggers across the field. He had a crazed murderous look on his face that made even Queen back off a bit. 'To think we are up against such monsters….' He thought as he tightened his grip on the railing. His blood was boiling, but not because he was mad, oh no, this was beyond that. A slight grin crept it's way onto Zaraki's face. 'Some fascinating you have there Grim!'

Grim shuddered a bit as he turned and caught the look in Zaraki's eye and glared back. Grim recognized that look all too well. Zaraki wanted to Hunt, and he was so ready for it.

'There is no way I'm going to let you hurt them Zaraki, this is between you and me….' Thought Grim as he clenched his fists tightly.

_**To be continued….**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omake Animal Talk<strong>_

During the interval, all the Pets huddled together in the corner as they watched Kurotsubasa move about with high tension.

Amaya sniffed loudly as tears came running down her face. "Sh-shadow….safe-pyon…" sniffled Amaya in relief through her tears as she unsuccessfully tried wiping them away with her tears.

Punnya smiled as hugged Amaya close to her. "Thank goodness, right Ama-nya?" asked Punnya gently nuzzling Amaya who sobbed so more into Punnya's tail.

"I wondered what happened-hooroo?" asked Mukurowl ruffling his feathers. "That power was intense scary-hooroo!"

Nyoka nodded in agreement. "Indeed, even in all my experience as a familiar, I have never felt a darkness as terrifying as that…but confuses me is-"

"_Hoo! Not in front of Punnya-hooroo!"_ whispered Mukurowl warningly as he and Nyoka looked over to see Punnya casting a worried glance over at Ravena whose barrier was still up.

Although the others have not noticed, Punnya could feel the angst and turmoil radiating from Ravena and one more feeling…the need to kill…

'Ravena….please be okay-punnya…' thought Punnya worriedly knowing there is nothing she could do at this point as she held Amaya close to her. 'I don't wanna lose you again….'

_**Omake end…..**_


	34. Chapter 26: Kurotsubasa vs Dead Bloods 2

** Hello everyone and welcome back to another installment of FFW. Before you dive right into the chapter there are a few things that need to be said. Starting on February 25****th****, FFW will officially be 2 years running so I want to thank everyone, be them part of the project or just a reader for enjoying the story. It's really for all of you so I love that you enjoy it. Soon there will be an anniversary chapter where I will answer questions submitted by all of you. So any questions or just wonderings you have feel free to send or add in your reviews and they will be answered in the anniversary.**

** Also, FFW now has a Facebook like page. So besides, my fanfic account t it's another place to come, leave questions, enjoy art, and love the story so check it out and leave a like as well.**

**Now with further ado, let's start this party where we last left off, enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

><p>"<em>Alright everybody! We are back with the second half of this seat-gripping, exciting, heart-pumping Guild War battle between rising star guild Kurotsubasa and the murderous guild Dead Bloods!"<em> Announced Masukomi as the crowd cheered wildly in anticipation for the fight to come.

"Pu-Pu!" cheered CAM as well.

"Up now on the field we have the mercenary Mister Grim versus the Berserker; Zaraki!" she announced just as the screens showed two said players appearing on different levels of the now reconstructed building.

Zaraki grinned and cracked his knuckles excitedly and began to move at the same time with Grim as the two began their hunt.

(Flashback)

_The next match was about to begin as Zaraki stepped forward ready to begin. "After the last match I'm going to show some generosity and allow Kurotsubasa to offer up a volunteer. So who will it be?'_

_Shadow stood up slowly just as Illu was barely done with healing him. _

"_But Shadow-" _

"_I'm going to fight this next match," declared Shadow stubbornly until Grim placed a hand on Shadow's shoulder. _

"_No way Shads, in your condition right now, Zaraki will beat you to a pulp," advised Grim looking his friend in the eye. "I know Zaraki's style, he may have said all that, but his real beef is with me…."_

"_Grim-"_

"_As acting leader of this Guild War, I'm taking this match now…" declared Grim as Shadow looked at the man before finally giving a nod. Grim smiled a bit as he made his way forward._

(End flashback)

Without Doppelman to help with tracking, Grim had to rely on his natural instincts as he sped through the dimly lit rooms and passages.

"WHERE ARE YOU GRIM?! I'M COMING FOR YOU!" yelled out Zaraki in obvious excitement as he ploughed through walls with adrenaline pumping through his veins.

Suddenly there was a small explosion to Zaraki's right, blasting the man some distance away. Instead of being stunned, Zaraki grinned as he saw a figure appear through the dust cloud.

"Long time no see, Grim…" he greeted sarcastically.

"Not long enough if you ask me." Grim said as the smoke covering the field faded away. "It's really troublesome having to deal with you again after all this time. It's one of the reasons why I decided to leave this area."

"Ah yes, I remember…it was right after our last fight, the one where you stole my position from me." Zaraki's sarcasm seems to increase the more he spoke. "It's bad enough that I lose my original ranking to Shiro, but then you come along and ruin everything. Took all I had to even still remain around the guild."

"Personally, I don't see how that is my fault." Grim said. "I told Shiro I was never interested in joining. All in all, there should still be that spot as second left open for anyone to take."

"Not the way the spoiled brat sees it, but that doesn't matter." As he talked he clenched his hands, using his clawed rings to dig into his palm and draw drops of black blood that fell from his hand and floated around them. "All I really care about right now is the fact that I get another chance to tear you apart. "

"How are you going to manage that?"

"You were barely able to even beat me last time, but now things are different. I'm not going to hold anything back like I did, or underestimate you. I'll use the full power of my blood against you." Opening his palm, the blood swirled together to create a sphere that he aimed at Grim. "In fact, why the hell are we even talking?! Let's hurry and get to the fun part, the part where I slowly tear you to pieces!"

"**Branch of Sin: Ganta Gun!"**

The bullet of blood fired at high speeds, easily drilling into Grim's body as he was shot back.

"Wha-what?! Without any hesitation Zaraki fired his own blood like a bullet into Grim's chest. A direct hit, was the infamous bounty hunter really unprepared for Zaraki's surprise attack?!" Masukomi asked the audience through the mike.

After firing his bullet Zaraki then took to the air with a strong leap. As he predicted, the falling Grim slowly turned entirely grey before it then exploded, taking a large chunk of the ground along with it. Landing back on the ground he looked past the crater and around the area. He decided to take the initiative and made his way to higher ground to view more of the area.

"I knew you were too much of a coward to try and face me head on, I know your style! Now I just have to find you and I will! I'm not exactly patient like Doc, especially where I'm hunting for the prey that I want!" He howled to the heavens, sure that his voice could be heard from all over the battlefield.

A distance away from the blast zone was Grim who had taken shelter behind a large rock, able to keep eye on Zaraki. He kept himself in the shadows, knowing his cloak would be hard to see despite the red clouds that decorated it.

"Well that was a waste of chakra, I thought for sure he would've tried something more head-on and be caught in the clone's explosion." Grim said to himself. "It would be much easier with Doppelman around, but thanks to their rules I can't use a lot of my best plans. At least I got all the items I need from out of Doppelman." The bomber then began to strategize.

'I don't have many options but I have stealth and since Doppelman is back with the others I don't cast a shadow anymore. That makes it easier to move around the area.' As he was thinking he sent his hands into the pouches at his side to pull out some explosives. 'I may have to play hit and run for a while until I can get him to lower his guard.'

"Well Grim, if you're not coming out to party…then I'll bring the party to you!"

At that mentioned, Grim peaked from behind the rock only to his horror to turn back and find a new hiding spot as several parts of the stage was suddenly bombarded with bullets. Over on his perch, Zaraki had cut both his palms and was now firing waves of bullets at every hiding spot and covered area he saw until he reduced everything to rubble that littered the ground.

"It seems that Zaraki has no intention of mindlessly searching the ground for Grim. In fact he is trying to force his opponent out by firing all over the battlefield. He really will not stop until he's found Grim!" Masukomi said while glad that the madman hasn't destroyed one of C.A.M's cameras yet.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Man, he's not even aiming; he's just pointing where he feels like and hoping he gets lucky. I believe Grim now when he says that lunatic was the one who created that guild." DB said hearing the many crashes of the blood bullets striking various objects. "How long is he going to keep this up?"

"Not for long, no matter how crazy he is he's still human." Key says as he observed Zaraki as he kept firing his onslaught. "Fact is he probably doesn't have much ways to regenerate the blood that he loses. Just losing two pints of blood will cause anemia and after four or five…"

"You die" Shadow finished for Key. "Without a way to supply new blood, the guy is on a time limit."

"So Zaraki would bleed himself to death just to get to Grim; does he really carry that much of a grudge?" Illu asked as she continued to watch the fight. "The first two battles were insane and now this. How far will they go?"

"Hey, we can hear you all the way over here!"

All eyes then turned towards the Dead Bloods side as Whip was standing near the edge of their area. The scantily clad woman smirked, seeing as she caught their attention and continued.

"You clowns have your own morals and we've got ours! This isn't even about a job anymore! It's the way the Dead Bloods; no matter what our target is, be it by murder or assassination, our motto is 'If it can die…kill it.'" Whip finished.

"Thy do agree with our sister. Thou does not have to like how our guild does things; the same way we don't care about your guild." Queen then stepped up to speak with their opponent guild. "Every guild has they own custom, thy own rules, thy own goals…and they will do whatever is necessary to achieve them. Right now, our goal is thy's defeat and thou's death." Her tone then went from her usual regal speech to a darker tone. "Zaraki may be reckless but he knows how to work towards a goal with all he has. He'll take down half the battlefield to get to his prey, Grim especially."

"Sounds like those two have some history." Key spoke back. "Care to enlighten the rest of us, or do you rather keep berating us. Either way your friend isn't doing so well." True to the Beta's words the sounds then stopped and they all saw that Zaraki was stumbling a small bit until he fell to his knee.

"It seems that Zaraki has stopped firing. Unleashing all those bullets must have taken a lot out of him, especially since those bullets were made of his own blood!" Masukomi then turned from Zaraki to the cameras that were surveying the damages.

"And as of now we're still unable to locate Mister Grim! He wasn't killed in the attack since the battle is still going, but he is nowhere to be seen! All available cover has been destroyed, where could he be?!"

"_**GO GRIM! GO!"**_ cheered Doppelman encouragingly.

(Battlefield)

Zaraki continued to breathe precious oxygen as he had his black blood harden across his palms to prevent more blood loss. As he felt nausea from his huge loss of blood he was fumbling around his pockets until pulling out a black pill.

'Damn, no screams, I probably didn't get him.' He moved the pill to his mouth and bit down hard, breaking the gel capsule. 'Or maybe…he's injured and is hiding in the wreckage.'

The former leader of the Dead Bloods could already feel the effects of the pills the blurriness of his vision cleared and he rose to his feet. Mad Doc had created many inventions for the guild that helps with the drawbacks of using their branch of sin. The doctor had created sets of pills to increase blood cell count should a member use too much blood; much was always the case with Zaraki. Rested and rejuvenated he hopped from his perched and impacted the ground upon landing.

"Time to look around, I won't be satisfied until I find a body." Zaraki said stalking his way around the rubble. Unbeknownst to him there were several eyes watching him and none of them belonging to the audience.

"You can hide but you can't run, why don't you come out and show me those gears of yours?!" Hearing movement, Zaraki picked up a pipe and hurled it towards the origin. He smirked hearing the sound of steel pierce something soft but it was gone as soon as an explosion followed it.

Zaraki's anger then began to grow. "Is this all you've learned to do since last time?! Running and hiding like a coward! Are you really this pathetic without your little shade backing you up?!"

"_I'd watch what you say about Doppelman if I were you. He's a little sensitive about those who badmouth him."_

"The hell?!" Zaraki looked around, going a full 360 as Grim's voice seemed to originate from all around him.

"_Confused, don't worry I'll dumb it down for you. It's one of the few jutsu I learned to help with my work; you have no idea how many of them looked as clueless as you hearing a voice come from all directions."_

"Bastard, why don't you show your face?!"

"_That's too troublesome. I rather have you surrounded like I do now."_

Before any questions could be asked, many pieces of rubble began to rumble as a large amount of movement was heard. Out of every crack and niche between the rock and ruined buildings were various clay creatures. Spiders, snakes, and a few birds that had hidden in the cracks have now took flight, circling around Zaraki.

"_The good news about this plan, my original power protects me from the explosion's shock waves. The bad news, you're not so lucky. Since explosions wouldn't pierce skin, don't expect to get any of your blood anywhere for a black blood technique."_

"You…" Zaraki said as soon as all for the animate bombs began to light up; all of them receiving the silent order to detonate.

"_This is checkmate…__**Katsu!**__"_

The light grew brighter until it completely enveloped Zaraki as all of the explosions went up at once and ignited. Flames and smokes filled the area as Zaraki was caught in ground zero of Grim's attack. After the attack ended, a figure could be see bursting from the ground and landed on safe ground.

"As you would say Zaraki, no kill like over kill." Grim said as he watched the explosion settle.

(Dead Bloods)

"Hooray! Hooray! Death-Chan Hooray! Go-Go!" cheered Shiro enthusiastically as she suddenly appeared in a black cheerleader uniform with a doodle of Grim on the front as she waved about red and black pompoms in the air and bounced up and down on a trampoline.

"You do realize he plays for the other team right?" asked Whip incredulously as she watched the girl bounce up and down. "You know what? Never mind…."

(Battleground)

Grim dusted himself but didn't relax as he studied the area. While the average player would have most definitely been obliterated, he knew Zaraki had more fight in him than that. Just at that moment, the Moon shone through the clouds and illuminated the rubble. Suddenly, Grim's instincts alerted him to dodge quickly, as the bounty hunter quickly jumped in time to avoid a flurry of bullets erupting from the pile.

"GRIM!" snarled Zaraki viciously as he exploded out from the pile, as his black blood swirled into a long katana. Needless to say Zaraki was covered in burns and bruises from head to toe while his jacket was pretty much in tatters. His hair swept about wildly as his eyes blazed with the intent to kill.

Masukomi stood up in complete shock. "As expected! Zaraki is still up and about despite literally being blown up from all angles! What a frightening man he is!"

"_**Blood…SWORD!"**_ cried Zaraki as he swung the blade at Grim who quickly activated his weapon's blood.

Sparks flew with a nasty grinding sound as blood blade connected with the rotating blades of a chainsaw as Zaraki grinned wildly while Grim gritted his teeth hard before forcing Zaraki back.

The two slid away from each other before launching themselves again. The sounds of metal clashing filled the air as the two weapons clashed repeatedly over and over again. Grim was doing his best to defend and attack while Zaraki showed no obvious signs of giving up yet.

"What's the matte Grim?! Don't tell me you've grown rusty after all this time?!" taunted Zaraki as he rushed and slashed at Grim who dived to the side.

"Right back at'cha Zaraki!" retorted Grim as he flipped himself over. _**"Saw Foot First Gear: Vortex of Carnage!"**_

Zaraki gritted his teeth as he began dodging the whirlwind of blades coming at him as Grim spun his body on his hands send a mad flurry of rotating blades at his opponent.

"GO DEATH-CHAN GO! KNOCK THAT POOPY-HEAD'S BLOCK OFF!" cheered Shiro enthusiastically before blowing into a whistle and blaring an air-horn.

"_WILL YOU SHUT THE F-K UP YOU TINY DIP-SHIT?! WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON ANYWAY?!" _screamed Zaraki from the battle-ground.

"GET SANITIZED YOU GERM!" retorted Shiro sticking her tongue out at Zaraki while pulling an eyelid down.

Zaraki snarled, veins visibly throbbing as he turned away from his childish leader to the target of his frustrations. His grip tightened around his hardened blood sword as he saw Grim was now back on his feet, though his blades were still released. An idea forming in his head, he pierced his free hand with his rings to draw enough blood for a bullet.

"Tch, I can deal with her later, right now all I need to worry about is leaving you dead on the wreckage!" Zaraki then smirked as he then fired the bullet.

"That move isn't going to work." Grim said as he used his foot to hike a large piece of rubble that exploded as soon as the bullet impacted.

Using his sawblades, Grim began to grind on the ground, dodging another bullet as he then went in range to attack his opponent. The sawfoot reaper then lifted a leg up for an axe kick that was soon deflected by Zaraki's sword. Seeing his move blocked, he jumped back and landed on the ground just in time to see Zaraki drop his sword and assume a familiar stance.

"From your hesitation, I bet you know what this is! How convenient that there is already a full moon, saves me the waste of my powers!" Zaraki said, now braced in a waterbending stance. "I'll end this fight in a flash!"

"If you think you can bloodbend me so easily you can jus…ack!" Grim didn't get to finish as he felt something collide hard into his back before ricochet away. Now unbalance, he tried to right himself only to feel something slam in from the side. Now confused, he was able to dodged the third object and saw that it was a black blur.

'What is that thing…and what is Zaraki bending?' Grim asked himself as he kept up his dodging against the seemingly sentient projectile. All the while he looked to Zaraki and saw that he indeed was bending something, yet there was no water around and he wasn't bloodbending Grim.

"Oi Grim, you look like you're confused so I'll spell it out for you!" Zaraki called out, while forming a blood bullet. "What's the definition of Bloodbending?"

"Bending the fluids in someone's body, what's that got to do with…?" A quick dodge to the right allowed Grim to avoid that bullet but now he noticed that there were two black blurs moving around. Three more shots and misses and now Grim was able to connect the pieces. The objects repeatedly attacking him was blood, Zaraki's own blood bullets that he was controlling through bloodbending.

"Looks like you've guessed it. Bloodbending is bending a person's life fluids, but who said it had to be yours?" As he bended the blood bullets then began to move rapidly, making patterns around the stationary bounty hunter. "I learned a lot since I last fight and stepped up my game. As long as my bullets remain whole I can still bend them, of course if you try to break them you'll just have more bullets to deal with!" With that he then began his flurry of attacks, watching in maniacal glee as Grim continued to try and dodge and was hit by some of the projectiles.

"I…I don't think I've ever seen anything like this! Ladies and Gentleman, Zaraki is indeed bloodbending, but with his own blood! He's turned his bullets into a barrage of continuous attacks; Grim can only hope and try to dodge them all as Zaraki has him enclosed. Is this the end?!"

Testing Zaraki's statement, he slashed at a blood bullet and watched the blood burst into several smaller drops that continued to dash around in the air before zooming at him at high speeds. Grim kept his dodging as he continued to navigate the barrage of blood around him.

'This is some mess, I can't even really get away with all these bullets around.' Grim thought to himself as he tried to think of a way to get him some breathing room. 'As long as he still has blood to use he can keep this up right. I really don't want to do this, but I can't afford getting a loss…not to Zaraki.' Channeling some chakra to his closed hand he opened it to reveal a clay dove that flew up, impacting against one of the bullets.

"**Katsu!"**

The dove exploded, blanking the air with a flash and dust clouds from the explosion. Zaraki had his eyes closed from the explosions but had his bullets tear into the cloud repeatedly to try and catch Grim before he could escape from the dust cloud.

"Bastard! Don't think I'm letting you run away!" Collecting all the blood into a massive sphere he slammed it down, hearing the sound of it crushing whatever was still inside of the dust cloud. Satisfied, Zaraki released his stance, still drawing beads of sweat from the effort. "Like I'm falling for the same trick twice." He said while forming another blood sword and went over to check the remains of the dust cloud. "Come on out, what are you tunneling underground again?"

"Nope, but thanks for that idea. Would've been less troublesome than this plan." A muffled voice said from behind the smokr.

As it cleared, Zaraki couldn't help but let a flinch a bit seeing an earth dome in place of Grim. The dome was flattened and cratered in certain places and the roof had a large indent, but what he noticed was that his blood now stained the sides and was drying, making them unusable. Grim the lowered the dome and stepped out of it, dusting off some of the dirt from his cloak.

"That last attack nearly killed me, I should've chose to escape but I didn't want to waste anymore chakra than needed." Grim sighed a bit as he then looked to Zaraki. "In any case, are you ready to give up now?"

"GIVE UP, DOES IT LOOK LIKE I WANT TO GIVE UP!" Zaraki howled out as he got into his stance again. "All right, there is no playing around now! I wanted this to drag on a little longer but I still haven't cut into you yet!"

At that moment, Grim felt his body stiffen as he felt the control the blood bender had on him. His feet began to move him slowly closer to Zaraki, against his will while the Dead Blood gave him an evil smirk. Once he was halfway, Zaraki kept the blood sword he dropped on the ground hardened so that he may use it.

"This was a really good show Grim, but it's time that I had my fun." As he kept his rival walking he only used one hand so that he could grab the sword. Once Grim was close enough he stabbed the blade into Grim's chest, making sure not to hit any vital organs…yet. He saw that Grim was holding in his sounds of pain but it didn't stop his face from showing the pain of being stabbed.

"It hurts doesn't it? Not as much as the humiliation I had to put up with, but I'll try to match it as easy as I can." He spoke as he began to twist the sword in the wound. "Don't be shy, go ahead and scream. It's what most people are here for when they watch the Dead Bloods fight. Of course, I would like my work appreciated so if you would please…?"

"Like…I would give you…the satisfaction." Grim muttered out.

Zaraki then smirked. "Well that's a shame. I would've kept the battle going if you did; it would give me a reason to keep looking at your ugly mug. I guess I'll settle for cutting it in two."

"**Shiro-Shiro…"**

"Huh?!" Both men looked over to the side.

"…**KICK!" "GAAAAAAK!"**

Out of nowhere, Shiro appeared on the battlefield with one of her boots pressed against Zaraki's face. The Dead Blood was sent flying while Grim floated stunned before he fell to the ground, no longer under the hold of bloodbending.

"L-ladies and gentlemen, what twist is this?! All of a sudden, a member of Dead Bloods appeared and K.O's one of their own members. Officially…I have to give the win to Kurotsubasa, since Zaraki does not appear to be moving." Announced Masukomi as Zaraki's twitching form was transported back to his guildmates.

"Shiro what…" Grim was then cut off by also receiving a kick. Knocking him a few feet away.

"I want the real Grimmy out right now!" She yelled, stomping her feet hard on the ground. She stopped when she saw a distance away Grim then worked his way out of the ground. Everyone then watched as the previous Grim turned pale white while drops of blood fell out the clay before exploding.

"Shiro, what's the reason for you to barge in like that?" Grim asked, though he felt that he knew the answer.

"WAH! DEATH-CHAN ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! STUPID ZAKI WAS BULLYING MY DEATH-CHAN~!" wailed Shiro loudly as she glomped Grim to the ground with tears gushing out like a fountain.

Grim rolled his eyes as he stood up with Shiro still clinging to him like a koala. "Would you calm down? I would think you of all people would like the idea of seeing me covered in blood…"

"WAH! That's different! Only I can beat Death-Chan bloody like that! Death-chan is mine!" pouted Shiro puffing out her cheeks while waving her arms wildly making Grim sigh irritably.

"What am I, a toy?"

Shiro suddenly stopped and stared at Grim. "Yup." Was all she said with the most serious face and straight tone making everyone sweatdrop.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Oi…she's supposed to be a kid right?" asked Db unsurely.

"That's right…I think…." Came Key's response.

Over at the Dead Bloods, the Domina-Twins rolled their eyes to each other and sighed.

"Oi! Swirly-Glasses Lady!" called Shiro waving over to Masukomi. "I want to play with Death-Chan now!"

Masukomi dead-panned a little at the nickname before readjusting her glasses. "Uh….ok?"

"Yay! Death-Chan let's play Tag!" cheered Shiro happily tugging on Grim's sleeve before gaining a particular look in her eye.

Grim looked down seriously at Shiro's face and caught the look. He knew exactly what she meant by that. "Oh?...What's your rules for this Game, Shiro?"

"Oh Death-Chan you~!" squealed Shiro patting Grim really hard on the arm. "How about this? The first to make the other bleed wins~!"

Grim quirked an eyebrow, not even the least bit surprised before smirking a little. "I accept." He said without hesitation.

"Kyan~! DEATH-CHAN~~~!" squealed Shiro excitedly as she whipped out a dagger and began slashing wildly at Grim who dodged every single swing before jumping back and running through the building.

"Ready or not, Here I come~!" cheered Shiro enthusiastically as she sped after Grim down a hallway, laughing excitedly as she literally was bouncing off the walls and running on the ceiling.

Masukomi and everyone else in the stadium sweat-dropped heavily. "Well…I have no idea what just happened….but I guess somehow we technically started another duel….with the challenge to see who draws blood from the other first, it's the Leader of Dead Bloods herself against the Grim Reaper…"

"DEATH-CHAN~!" Shiro called out excitedly as she appeared in front of Grim and slashed at him but narrowly missed as the man was able to draw back his head and back-flipped a few times before sliding to a stop.

'Heh, she's as fast as ever,' thought Grim to himself as he blocked a direct kick from Shiro followed by the multiple flurry of punches, kicks and stabs that the girl threw at him.

Shiro laughed in glee as she kept on her relentless attack. "Bleed! Bleed! Bleed!" she kept chanting in an excited, wild tone, the exhilarating thrill in her eyes glinting at the prospect of seeing the glistening redness of blood.

She was small but her physical attacks were powerful as Grim was sent sliding back into a wall. "Gyahahahahaha~!" giggled Shiro in a crazed voice as trampled multiple kicks onto Grim who had his arms up to shield himself.

While the bounty hunter was strong enough to withstand the kicks, apparently the wall was not as Grim was eventually shoved through the wall causing him to hit the ground rolling. "SHIRO KICK~!" went Shiro as she came raining down with a huge kick directed at him. The floor exploded as the two dropped a few storeys. Shiro appeared to be proud of herself until Grim's body became soft and melted into a mass of white clay around her legs.

"EWWW~!" squealed Shiro in disgust as she tried to pull herself out of it, only to find herself stuck in the sticky mess.

"I thought the sticky putty would come in handy," noted Grim, obviously pleased with himself as he appeared out the ground and walked towards the struggling Shiro.

"No fair, Death-chan! No fair!" whined the girl loudly as she got more tangled in the sticky putty. "I was supposed to capture you!"

"Hmm? You complaining about fairness of all things? What a naughty little girl!" said Grim darkly as a sinister look came over him as he stood over Shiro who suddenly fell silent in shock at the sudden assertiveness.

"Death…chan?" she whimpered a little when Grim suddenly stamped his foot.

"Silence! I didn't give you the right to speak!" snapped Grim making Shiro flinch as she sank to her knees.

Suddenly a sinister smile came on to Grim's dark look as he suddenly reached out and grabbed Shiro's chin, making her blush a little. "Hmm, naughty little children ought to be punished…" he sneered as he leaned in closer until their faces were almost touching. "What a nice pathetic expression…." He commented with his sneering smile as his dark gaze pressured Shiro into a small whimper.

"_Shall I punish you painfully?" _he whispered in a dark seductive tone as he slowly stroked a finger under Shiro's chin.

On cue, Shiro's mind became overwhelmed as she began glowing red all over. "Aga…whaga…"was all she could as she appeared to be malfunctioning as more gibberish began spluttering out.

"_Ma…ma….Ma-ma-ma-ma….__**MANIAKYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA….AAAAN~~~~~!"**_Shiro squealed excitedly and shrilly as a jet of blood splurted out her nostrils with such force Shiro was propelled out of the putty, through the roof and into the sky like a rocket where she disappeared into the stratosphere and exploded into red fireworks spelling 'DEATH-CHAN~!'.

"Wow…I can't believed that actually worked!" exclaimed Grim reverting back to normal.

Masukomi's glasses half-slid off her faces as her mouth hung open in shock along with everybody whose faces pretty said "What the F-K…..?"

"Um….Grim WIN! ….I think…." Announced Masukomi unsurely before chuckling weakly; she placed her hand over her mike. "These fights…are really getting crazier the longer this goes on." She said, making sure that her mike didn't catch her voice.

(With Kurotsubasa)

As Grim appeared in the guild's booth he walked nonchalantly, ignoring the faces of some of the more shocked and surprised looks the rest of Kurotsubasa was giving him. Just as he found his spot and sat down he then turned a lazy eye to the rest of the group.

"Why are you guys staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?" Grim asked seeing the crazy stares the others were giving him.

"Yes, that mouth of yours…what the hell was that?!" DB was the first to break the rest of their silence. "I get the first part and I saw that you were about the way, but what was that second fight about?" The vampire asked him.

Grim began to look away and rub the back of his neck. "Well after I have to deal with having to battle Zaraki without my main tools I knew it would be too bothersome to try going all out against Shiro, especially without Doppelman who has my more advance sculptures. So I basically decided on a fast way to beat her."

"Hence, the first to bleed rule." Key said with a raised brow.

Grim then sighed. "Yeah that…it was the best decision to make at the time. Going against Zaraki is a gamble without serious firepower and I rather play games with Shiro than to actually have a serious battle against her." Grim looked back at the battlefield, having the rest of them follow their gazes. "Those marks Shiro made with her knife can go deeper, and her branch of sin trumps the others. Not to mention you all saw how much stronger she is physically. There is a reason why Shiro is the leader; Zaraki can't take control because he isn't powerful enough to overthrow her."

"So it isn't why Zaraki hasn't taken back his leadership, it's that he can't. So, all he has with is his pseudo-status as a field leader. I guess that's one reason for him to be so high-end." Key thought aloud. "Though still, I still wonder what the exact difference in their power would be."

"I'll put it this way…on a full moon, Zaraki can take down a whole squad of Admin. Shiro can take out the same amount with just her bare hands." Grim painted the pictures in their heads. "Trust me; there wouldn't be a battlefield if Shiro and I had fought all out."

"You mean anything left after how Shads left it." DB reminded them.

"Drop it" Shadow said as he looked up to where their points were kept track. "That nets us two wins, next to the draw from Bella's battle. We just have to win one more fight to end this Guild War." The guild leader reminded them of the situation. "We've got a few people still fresh and ready to battle."

"But at the same time, what's stopping one of the last two from picking someone who is exhausted and still recovering. The only one of us out of the competition is Bella due to the rules." Key said.

"Bella-chan is still asleep and Rave-chan still hasn't come out from her barrier." Illu said as she looked at the glowing sphere of energy containing the last member of the guild. "And Shadow and Grim are both exhausted from their fights. We're at a disadvantage since they're the ones who get the option of who to choose to fight."

"Oh you don't have to worry about that little girl~."

Everyone then turned to see Whip and Queen, who have both finished setting their two downed teammates on the ground next to the others. Ignoring both of their conditions they then continued to speak with Kurotsubasa.

"You may not know about this since you're new here, but my sister and I have very…special rules when it comes to battling in the Guild Wars." Whip started out with a sadistic look on her face at her chance to battle.

"Thou may of have Grim, who must've taught thou all of our abilities, yet even he doth not know of the new ways the Dead Bloods work." Queen spoke from beside her sister. "Whip and I are registered on a tag-team status in the guild; do thou know what that means?" She asked in a sweet yet dark tone.

"A tag-team status, are you serious?!" Grim asked, his worry displayed visually on his face.

"**Oi, what does that mean? Do they get to switch places, they get special privileges, come on don't just leave us in the dark if you know!" **Doppelman asked as he tried to figure out why Grim had such a fearful expression on his face.

"I don't know much ok, it was a standard that has been around but only a few guilds ever use that system. All I know is that they get special condition in battle, that's it." Grim answered. "I've never seen a tag-team group in a Guild War or a battle before."

"Oh, doth thou not know, maybe thy should spell it out for you." Queen said in glee. Though as soon as the regal looking woman tried to speak she was then cut off.

"It means they both get to fight at the same time and they count as one fighter." Shadow said, interrupting the woman. He then slowly stood up and looked at the remaining members of the Dead Bloods. "So, if given the choice, you both can battle and it would count as one. You can fight one of us for one win or you can battle two of us for a double win." He explained.

"Well look at the smart ass over here, doesn't matter." Whip frowned for a bit seeing as Shadow had cut her sister off but she then went on to the point of them calling out to their enemies. "You don't have to worry about your little tired and exhausted friends little miss healer…since we've decided to battle **you**!" She made it clear by pointing in the hybrid's direction.

"W-what, me?!" Illu's eyes widened a bit in worry as she saw the finger pointed right at her.

"Thou heard my sister. Thy must say it was hard making a decision; Shiro wouldn't want anyone fighting her Death-Chan and Zaraki has already called you off limits." Queen started out her monologue. "Neither of us want anything to do with the toon girl, though she is knocked out, and after our earlier talk, thy won't mind taking a certain one out of the game." She narrowed her eyes at Shadow. "Though thou seems to have a certain power strong at this time of night, my sister and thy didn't agree to **her** request, only Doc, so thy will battle you another time."

"Then we started to pick out who was left. I don't know how our blood will work on that vampire shit but I don't take gambles." Whip chimed in and insulted DB at the same time. "The man in the black coat is a Beta right, so who knows what he can do. So then we came down to the two girls, and wouldn't it be convenient for us if their only available healer was…indisposed of?" She smiled evilly.

"Thus thy sister and I have made our decision." Queen added an evil look herself; causing Illu to unconsciously flinch though she held her ground.

"Hey, not only do you guys cheat but then you go and make a cheap move like that!" DB yelled in anger. "I outta…!"

"Oh, would you like to battle us shithead? Too bad, we've already made our call so you go wait in your corner or something!" Whip interrupted.

DB gave then a look like he wanted to ignite them in flames. As the situation got direr Grim then stood forward. "Is that what you're really going to stoop to, to try and win? Shiro K.O'd Zaraki and I beat Shiro, there is no more reason for any of us to fight!" The Grim Reaper said.

"Ah, but that would be too easy. Remember the rules, we don't give a damn about how much points you guys have, the name of the game is survival and being the last ones standing. The winners are the side that's still standing at the end." Whip said to them. "Last I checked we're still active so we can still fight. Or are you guys going to forfeit to us?"

"Thou do have that option, if thou really doesn't want to continue. If not, thou have to accept our decision…starting with the girl." Queen said, getting a bit impatient. "What is thou's choice, and don't try to change the arrangement, our choice was her and that's…"

"Not only do they dress horrible but they're even a pain to listen to nya…."

As that voice spoke, everyone turned to see the sphere's light get brighter for a second before it faded away as if it wasn't there to begin with. Walking out from the corner of the area was Ravena who was now standing and staring at the two Dead Blood divas with an expressionless face.

"I didn't think you girls were so weak you have to try tactics like this…." Ravena continued, while ignoring the looks that were given her way by her teammates.

"What did you say, who're you calling weak since you were the one hiding in a ball this whole time!" Whip was the first one to call back in Ravena in anger.

"Well if you were strong, it wouldn't matter who you wanted to fight right? You just want to go after Illu-tan since she can heal, guess you guys aren't really that smart either since you're going by looks as a sign of weakness." Ravena began not so much as batting an eyelash. "Just because Illu can heal doesn't mean she can't beat you guys, you just want to gang up on her for an easy win but that won't work. And let's say by some strange miracle you win, you have the rest of us to deal with, and we certainly won't go easy on you."

"Thou seem to be very confident for a mangy stray." Queen joined in the conversation. "How's about this, we're making a change. Since thou's feline friend seems so confident, let thy sister and I battle against you. All or nothing, whoever wins shall win the Guild War." The girl listed out the conditions. "Of course the other rules still apply, can thou win without the little pink furball?"

"Punnya!" Punnya hissed back and was about to fly forward if she wasn't stopped by Ravena who held the flying manju back.

"Sure, I can take you both on…or do you want to go one at a time?" Ravena asked after calming down her angry manju. "Either way, I win and your game ends right. Let's get this over with." The nekomata then made her way over to be transported. Before she left, Ravena then went and planted a kiss on the manju's head and dropped Punnya in Shadow's surprised arms.

"Look after Punnya all right." And just like that the three females then stared at one another as the battle would soon begin.

"It looks like the final battle has been decided; using their tag-team status, it's Whipmistress and Queendestruction versus Ravena Felidae. This is the round that will decide everything!" Masukomi announced to the crowd.

"But Rave-!" Illu was about to protest when Ravena turned around to face the group. The guild was slightly taken aback when they saw her eyes were a bit glazed as she smiled at them.

"It'll be alright…." She said before facing the front. "But don't hesitate to kill me if something goes wrong…." Ravena added before suddenly being transported.

Kurotsubasa stood there a bit stunned. **"Please tell me she was kidding right?..."** asked Doppelman nervously but nobody answered.

Illu felt extremely troubled and uneasy from the look in Ravena's eyes and the way she smiled and talked. 'Why do I feel like….she was saying goodbye?...' she thought as she watched the screens.

"Let this battle begin!" announced Masukomi.

The Twins both appeared in the same area as they looked around. "We find this most troublesome, doesn't thy agree dearest sister?" said Queen as the two began to walk.

"Indeed Queen, but it looks we won't have to waste our energy on a useless search after all," noted Whip as she pointed to a swirling mass appearing before them as Ravena levitated out of the ground and landed before them.

The Nekomata stood there and stared at them, saying nothing making the sisters a bit uneasy.

"Cease thy staring! It is most uncouth, thou unrefined Feline!" ordered Queen taking a step forward.

Ravena didn't even twitch as she continued staring with even so much as a blink.

"Oi, say something will you! What's the matter? The cat got her own tongue?!" sneered Whip hoping to get a reaction from Ravena.

She did as Ravena simply responded with a single little smirk which was apparently just enough to ignite some angry fire within the twins.

"CHEEKY LITTLE TROLLOP!" snarled Queen as she whipped out a regal looking dagger from a holster on her thigh. A silver blade with a diamond tip, the handle and sheath is encrusted with gold.

Whip just growled and pounced onto Ravena who side-stepped and blocked a stab from Whip's heeled boot. Whip didn't hesitate to make a roundabout as she successfully struck Ravena in the gut, sending her flying into a wall which cracked upon impact. Ravena fell to her knees but didn't even had a chance to recover as Queen stepped forward and delivered a swift kick to Ravena's jaw sending the Nekomata reeling in the air in another direction when Whip appeared and drop kicked her through the floor.

Thick dust arose as Ravena crashed through the concrete and hit the floor of the level below them. Ravena slowly pushed herself up when she suddenly felt something warm and sticky flowing from her head. With a trembling hand, Ravena gingerly touched the liquid and looked down. Her eyes began to widen in fear as her whole body shook.

_**Ba-DUMP!**_

Felis felt it too as she slashed away another attack from the Darkness. She could smell the blood that Felidae smelt and began trembling herself.

"_**Oh no….fight it Deedee! Don't give in!" **_cried Felis when she heard the Darkness begin to chuckle.

"_**Fool….you and I both know that resisting it is futile….She will fall soon enough…."**_

"_**SHUT UP!"**_ snarled Felis as she charged at the Darkness head on.

_**CRASH! **_ A dust cloud arose as Ravena narrowly jumped out of the way of Whip's kick while evading a stab from Queen. Ravena slid some distance away from the two as the sisters regrouped and smirked.

"I say dear sister, it looks like this kitty might be more fun to play with than we thought," said Whip aloud leaning on Queen's shoulder.

"We agree with thy sister. We sense pain and darkness in your heart, how delicious~!" grinned Queen as she glanced over to Whip. "Whip dear? Show her what you got."

"With pleasure, Darling Sister…" answered Whip gleefully as she reached for her earrings and ripped them off her earlobes much to Ravena's horror as Black Blood begin dripping from Whip's ear and mixing in with her hair.

"**Branch of Sin: Whip Wing!" **exclaimed Whip as the black blood morphed into multiple tendril like whips extending from her hair. "It's time to play!" declared the woman as she sent the whips flying at Ravena who quickly unfolded her wings and began maneuvering swiftly around the large room trying her best to desperately avoid being touched by the black blood.

"No! Get don't touch me!" cried Ravena as she blasted away the whips as before heading through the hole in the ceiling and upwards through the multiple floors.

Whip and Queen exchanged looks with each other and smirked evilly. That desperate tone in her voice, the look of panic in her expression, It was an emotion that the twins absolutely relished in when they engaged in torture: Fear…..

"The chase is on!" declared the sisters as Whip wrapped a whip around Queen and lifted themselves up through the hole as they gave chase to the flying Nekomata.

"It's your turn Queen," informed Whip turning to her sister.

"Thou need not tell us twice!" answered Queen as she lifted the dagger and plunged it into her arm. Black Blood spurted out of her arm and began forming multiple round sphere's of blood.

"_**Branch of Sin: Owl's Eyeball!" **_announced Queen as she flung her hand forward, sending the eyeballs hurtling towards Ravena's flying figure.

The sphere's flew like missiles towards Ravena and exploded. In her desperation to get away from the blood, Ravena was only just barely able to protect herself from the blast. Unfortunately, she missed a single sphere that had appeared directly behind her.

_**BOOM!**_

"ARRRRRRGH!" screamed Ravena in pain as she got blasted out of the sky down to where the Twins awaited.

_**CRACK! THUD! **_Ravena hit the ground half burnt with a sickening thud as the impact caused her to crash several floors down. Nearly everyone in the audience winced at the sound while some gave out exclamations.

"Ugh…" groaned Ravena in pain as she heard the twins heeled footwear click against the ground towards her. Ravena tried to move but she was too stunned by the blast and the fall. All of a sudden, she felt something wrap around her wrists and was forcefully jerked into the air. Ravena winced sharply as she hung limply from her arms.

Whip smirked as she gripped Ravena's face and looked into her eyes. "Such a soulless expression in her eyes, Queen. Pathetic and fractured. How wretchedly miserable!"

"It appears tis feline was truly all meow and no claws Whip dear," chuckled Queen as she played with her knife. "Let's show this little trollop what it means to try and speak out against us."

"Hmmm….and while we're at it…let's make an example of her to her _**precious guild-mates**_" sneered Whip mockingly as she held Ravena with her whips higher. Queen smiled in glee as she used her knife to rip away Ravena's coat until was in tatters while Ravena kept her head hung low while her badly burnt back was exposed for all to see on the screens.

The members of the audience along with Kurotsubasa widened their eyes as they all realized what was happening.

Ravena's wings hung lifelessly from her back, grotesquely disfigured by the explosion making the sisters wriggle their noses in disgust. "Ew…such a disgusting sight, a complete eyesore!" exclaimed Queen loudly before exchanging looks with Whip. "We should do this cat a favor and…how thy say, remove them?" she suggested to her sister as she handed her dagger to Whip.

"Good idea sister," said Whip in glee as she accepted the dagger and clutched at Ravena's wings tightly causing her to cry out in pain.

Before anyone could say anything, Whip slashed the dagger downwards as blood splattered across some of the screens while Ravena's blood-curdling scream could be heard erupting from the battlefield and ringing in the air.

Doppelman grabbed Amaya and shielded her eyes and ears while Illu quickly spun around and buried her face in DB's shoulder while the others turned their heads away.

"PUNNYA!" cried out Punnya in desperation while Shadow closed eyes and held her tightly.

_**BA-BUMP!**_ Shadow suddenly felt a searing pain course through his body, enough to squeeze out a strangled cry from him as he sank to his knees.

Inside, Whip roughly dropped Ravena on the floor as the twins relished in great delight at seeing the Nekomata writhe about in pain.

"O…Oy! Stop this right now! I'm declaring this battle over!" cried Masukomi as she tried to cancel out the battle, only to find that she couldn't for some reason. "Wha—What?"

Ravena weakly tried to crawl away from the sisters when Queen suddenly stepped up and stabbed her heels right through Ravena's hands causing her to cry out again. "Not so fast thou little wench! Why don't you beg for us to stop?" sneered Queen only to be responded with a spat. "BITCH!" screamed the woman as she kicked Ravena in the face before pinning the girl's hands down with the dagger. "WHIP!"

"With pleasure sister!" answered Whip as she raised her whips.

_**SNAP! WHACK! CRACK! WHUP! **_

"AAAAAAAA….RRR…!" screamed Ravena loudly in pain as the whip after whip lashed across her body as blood flew in the air.

"STOP IT! STOP IT!" screamed Illu as she covered her ears trying to drown out Ravena's screams as tears flowed from her eyes. The others tried to get out from the booth but were repelled back and contained suddenly by a barrier. It wasn't just any barrier too as Illu hit her fists against it.

"This is…Ravena's magic…but why?!" cried Illu as she helplessly watched Ravena's torture continue.

"BITCH! WORTHLESS LITTLE SKANK! TROLLOP!" Queen hurled insult after insult as Whip kept lashing at Ravena while Queen also joined in whipping Ravena with the girl's own weapons.

Shadow gripped himself tightly as he too felt each lash. All of a sudden his vision blacked out as he heard sounds of a little girl crying.

"_Huh?... Wha…" he wanted to ask when he suddenly found himself surrounded in darkness. The sobbing grew louder as Shadow's attention was drawn to a little girl about 10 years old with curly brown hair. She was crouched down, and crying heavily. _

"_It's not fair…. All I wanted was to be friends, I was just trying to help….It's not fair! It's not fair!"" Sobbed the girl in frustration when there was flash and suddenly the girl appeared to be slightly older in her teens, her head hung low which also concealed her face in the shadows. _

"_Why? Why is it so bad that I'm just being myself? What's wrong that I am a little different?!" the girl screamed out as tears ran down her face. "All I wanted was for them to like me…."_

_The girl disappeared in another flash before reappearing to be slightly older, around 18 at best. "Why won't they just leave me alone?! It's none of their business what I choose to do! I'm not hurting anyone! Why do they keep treating me like I'm a problem?! I only wanted to help!"_

Suddenly Shadow was snapped back out of the vision as Punnya bit down on his hand hard.

The shock and pain racing too his head soon brought him out of the memories. Shadow then looked and saw the worried Manjus looking towards him. Despite the blood now coming from his hand he pulled his other hand from his head and used it to calm the two down.

"I know, I had a bad feeling about this match from the start, but this…this is too much." Shadow said silently while he bashes his bloodied hand against the barrier. "I don't know why Ravena would block us out like this!"

"This barrier is unbelievably strong." Grim said in irritation as another set of bombs just exploded against the wall, but it shown intact underneath the smoke. As their attempts failed the reaper then turned over to Masukomi's station. "Hey Masukomi, you can't let the fight keep going like this, end it!"

"I'm trying, but something is preventing me from doing so!" Masukomi answered back as she worked frantically from her controls to try and solve the situation at hand. As she tried, she also went to remedy the situation on the battlefield. "Hey, Dead Bloods, the battle is over! Stop or I'll be forced to…!"

"What are you talking about; of course the fight isn't over!" Whip spoke joyfully as she continued her barrage of hits against their downed opponent. "Don't tell me you dumbasses have forgotten the rules, there is only a winner when only that side is still standing!" After that she then stopped her assault, while smiling at the blood and tears that marked Ravena's skin.

"From what thy can see, the bitch is still breathing." Not even giving her a chance to recover her breath, Queen provided a kick to the wounded nekomata's ribs, causing her to gasp rapidly for air. "See, our opponent is still conscious. The battle isn't over…not while the trollop here is still drawing breath."

"Oh, but don't worry about that. We're working on that small little problem right now." Whip said as she cracked her whip against Ravena's back again, causing another scream to pour from the girl's mouth. "I just want to take my time and have fun. Besides, I'm happy that she didn't pass out from us clipping her wings. It's boring to kill someone while they're out."

"Ah, but dear sister do not worry. That is why thy am here, to make sure that that doesn't happen." Queen smiled devilishly as her hand made its way to the knife in Ravena's hand. To make her point, she started twisting the knife, causing more pain to come from the damaged limb. Hearing the girl's agony Queen then stopped. "Thou shouldn't pass out on thy sister please, not until we're done with our battle."

"You two make me sick!" Shadow called from the booth, clutching the hand that he had slammed against the barrier. "Is this the kind of games your guild is known for huh?! You think that you're really powerful when beating on someone who can't fight back?!"

Queen returned the question with a devious grin. "Oh, but isn't that thy teammate's mana holding you all back. If thou has enough to hold up a cage then thou surely is conscious enough to keep going." The girl then seemed to be struggling to hold back her laughter, though it was obvious that she and her sister were enjoying these turn of events. "In fact, thy think that if she has enough energy for a cage, then maybe she is not taking this fight seriously."

"Well isn't that insulting? The skank over here comes in with that mouth of her but thinks that she can play games with us. Hah, did you see her face when she trembled as she saw our blood?! I don't know what this bitch was thinking getting into this fight!" Whip entered the conversation as stop to appreciate her artwork.

"Oh it's a fight you want, then why don't we have a substitute." His hand clutching the barrier began to pulse with energy and it seemed to battle with the barrier, causing a small crack to form which then suddenly healed. "I'll give you two a fight…**the last fight you see if you lay another hand on her!"** Shadow responded with his threat, his eyes flickering from their normal state to red. All throughout the fight he felt phantom pains wherever the nekomata was hit and the mark still burned as thou it was trying to eat through his chest. However; all that was irrelevant as while Shadow should be feeling worry, fear, and pain…all that was left was rage.

"Oh, thy volunteers?" Queen asked in fake ignorance, though as she felt the power from where she was, a part of her was glad she didn't have to deal with what Doc had gone through during his battle. "Thou are quite honorable, but this is a Maidens battle. Thy expect thou to wait thy turn."

"Hehehe, we'll get to ya' momentarily. We still have that owl from before to take care of, isn't that right Ravena." Whip said as she leaned down to Ravena's face. "You thought you were saving your friend but you were just stalling for time. How does it feel to let your whole team down? You must be feeling like a sack of shit, cause you sure do look the part right now." She went to place a hand on her chin but pulled away seeing Ravena's in vain bite. "Look, she's still got some fire kicking. Tell you what Sis, I think I changed my mind."

"Oh, and what hath thou changed thy mind about Whip?" Queen asked, this time in authentic interest in her sister's plan. It wasn't every day that Whip wanted to deviant from her usual tactics. "By all means, tell thy audience your change of heart."

Whip smirked at that line but she then turned to the nearest cameras, making sure they caught every image, every word.

"It would be so~ boring~ if we ended this Guild War on this note. These black winged bastards have made our whole guild look like idiots and laughing stalks in our own turf. Now before anyone gets any ideas that the Dead Bloods have gone soft I think we should remind them who we are." Whip then turned from the cameras to Ravena as she then pressed her heal against her opponent's head. "And I definitely want you to listen to this. It's been fun beating you around, but how fair is it that we've lost three guys and you're the only one going away on a stretcher. Isn't that unfair to us? So let's make it even, an eye for an eye."

"My how ingenious of you sister. That thought has never occurred to me." Queen shared the same devil-like smile her sister has as she walked over towards the two. "We surely have to establish thy power in front of our native audience, but for the rest of Kurotsubasa to go home unscathed…they'll never learnt their lesson if they're free to leave. Thou hath proposed the perfect lesson…the lesson of despair."

"Hell yeah, after we're done with kitty-litter here; we'll stick to our old choice and take on the little birdy you're working so hard to try and keep safe. Aren't you a good friend, I'll make sure it's carved on her grave." Whip said while pressing her heel further into Ravena's hair. "And why stop there, that leader of yours so volunteered himself but your whole guild needs to learn. We'll go through them all, one by one, I'll personally make sure that they're buried six feet under. While that happens…you'll watch. Watch every single one of them get torn to pieces. Until you and your whittle master are left." Whip then turned up to Queen and smiled. "And my sister still wants some payback over what he said to her. I think we'll make a change to what we'll take from you guys after this fight."

"Oh I think thy can finish for you Whip." Queen joined the conversation. "A long and arduous torture is in store for those who defy us. Thou's teammates deaths will be slow and thy am promising them a painful demise. As the leader, Shadow's punishment shall be worse. Maybe we can use those Wings of his to prolong his suffering, we will inflict every torture we have on your whole guild to him and repeat it over and over."

"Then you'll be the only one left, alone with all that pain and guilt. Isn't that great, how lucky are you that you get to be spared." Whip said with much glee in her voice. "Maybe if you beg, we'll make the rest of this a little less painful~." She said in a sing-song voice.

"Gggg-go, ttto hhell" Ravena struggled to say as she glared back.

"Aww, is that a no? Well good thing I was lying." Sneered Whip as she kicked Ravena square in the jaw.

The two women cackled as they continued their torture while Ravena kept her head down. _'I should have known my efforts will go to waste…they always do….'_ Thought Ravena bitterly as she bit down on her lip. _'All I want to do be useful to others…. But it always falls to nothing…'_

_(Flashback)_

_Ravena recalled a flashback when she was ten. She was in school, holding back tears as another girl yelled her while others looked on. A project lay on the floor broken. _

"_You ruined everything! I told you not to move anything and now its broken!" yelled the girl before turning and stomping away while everyone else disappeared._

"_I'm Sorry…." Said 10 year old Ravena meekly…"I only wanted to help…"_

_**FLASH!**_

_**(Middle School)**_

"_Abby's so weird! All she ever does is sit and read or draw her little cartoons," one faceless girl said as she leaned on a wall talking to two other girls._

"_I know right? And she's such a suck-up to the teachers!" chimed another girl._

"_And she's is such a loser! At least we don't have to buy our own lunches thanks to her, since she is soooo desperate for friends she'd do anything~!"_

"_Ooh! Maybe we should ask her to do our homework too!" laughed another girl._

"_Oooh, we should!" snickered her as the group laughed unaware that Abby was hiding behind a wall with tears running down her face._

_(End)_

'_That's right…every time I help others….I sacrifice my own convenience for theirs…it's always been in vain…even if I kept this going….Kurotsubasa….they would get tired of me anyway…. The only person I can trust… is myself…'_

'_**Then we should protect ourselves….'**__ A new voice spoke out in her mindscape._

'_Felis?' Ravena asked unsurely until she was responded with a cackle._

"_**Felis? You mean that sorry excuse of a protector? HAH! You don't need her…."**_

'_Wh-who are you?'_

"_**Hmph…silly girl, the answer is obvious. I…am …you…."**_

'_Where's Felis? Where is she?!' demanded Ravena looking around her mindscape which was in complete darkness._

_The new voice, chuckled in amusement, a dark ominous feeling echoing around. __**"I said so before…she is not worthy of protecting you Ravena…you are not worthy of protecting yourself… so that's why…"**_

_At that moment four red eyes appeared behind Ravena as a pair of hands reached out and wrapped around Ravena's shoulders as the girl felt herself get pulled in to an embrace. __**"That is why…I'm taking over from here…."**_ _A dark sultry voice purred into Ravena's ears as the darkness began to wrap around Ravena. __**"Drown into your darkness….where nobody can ever hurt you again…"**_

_Ravena relaxed a bit as her eyes glazed over. __**"I will…"**_

(Back to the fight…)

"This is the end…." Announced Queen as she pulled out her dagger from Ravena's palms while Whip formed a pike in her hand out of her Black Blood.

Everybody, especially Kurotsubasa widened their eyes as they watch Queen and Whip raise their weapons.

"_**DIE!"**_ cackled the two as they brought their weapons down.

"RAVENA!" screamed Kurotsubasa in despair when suddenly….

_**FLASH! CLANG!**_

"ARGH!" grunted the two women as they suddenly got repelled back by a sudden force.

Both women skidded some distance away to stop as they looked at each other in confusion before turning their attention back to Ravena's body which began shaking as laughter can be heard emanating from it.

"She's laughing?" Queen asked out loud as a cold chill went up her spine.

Ravena said nothing but kept on laughing and laughing as she slowly and shakily stood up. All of a sudden the shadows began to emerge from the darkness as they crept towards Ravena as began covering her entire person. Everybody watched as Ravena's body slowly began to change.

Her body visibly became taller as her claws elongated slightly and her tails became sleek. The shadows suddenly began to disperse as fast they came, revealing Ravena's new appearance. Visibly all her wounds had healed themselves up although she still remained wingless. Her clothes had taken on a new appearance as well. Firstly, her outfit had become a torn, sleeveless coat over a red tube top while she wore form fitting black pants with a gold studded belt while her boots had changed to a pair of killer black high heeled stiletto boots. Even her hair had changed as Ravena's hair remained short became more wild-looking and less curly. Her fringe had grown long and shadowed her eyes as the girl suddenly raised her head as _**four**_ glowing red beast eyes stared out.

"**It's finally my turn to play~" **said Ravena in a more dark, sinister gleeful tone as she gave a crazed smile.

Crowds within the audience were shocked and surprised at these events while many of them watched on in silence. Many of them tried to make heads or tails of what was going on, but many just watched in enjoyment and curiosity on where this battle would go to. Still sitting in her perch in the stands, Yukari had her own curiosity but it didn't show behind the calm demeanor as she stared at Ravena's new form.

"So that's what happened…it wasn't reeled in, at least not by Shadow alone. Still, one must always be careful when they tamper with darkness. To those not trained in it, it becomes a parasite; one that feeds off insecurities." Yukari spoke sagely as she saw Ravena smile gleely as she admire her new image.

"That being said, how do you plan to stop darkness that comes from your own heart Madame Ravena." She spoke her curiosity.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Great, what's happening now?" DB called out as they were all looking to the screen.

All of their worries were still present, though there were small traces of confusion or fear from both Ravena's change and her smile.

"No clue, but none of this looks good." Shadow said, having calmed down from earlier. He continued to ignore the pain the mark was giving him as he focused on the battle. 'This feels just like…" He thought to himself as he showed a silent feeling of guilt as he could do nothing but watch the madness that was taking place.

(Scene Change)

On the battlefield, Whip and Queen quickly got back on their feet and looked at their former punching bag in confusion.

"How…no, what is this? Thou was groveling at our feet just moments before and just now she blew us away as if it was nothing." Queen then found her dagger had been thrown with them and picked it up, without taking her eyes off Ravena. "She should be paralyzed, if her fears were true there is enough blood to leave her in a panic."

"Maybe the bitch was stalling or she might have been f*cking around with us since the beginning." Whip glared at Ravena as her grip on her whip tightened. "No one takes a beating like that and just stands back up. Hey four eyes, why'd you keep us waiting so long if you had all that strength in you?!" She yelled out to the girl. Her anger seemed to grow as it looked as if Ravena was still admiring her appearance. "Oi, I'm talking to you!"

"Ravena", finally seemed to have acknowledged the girl's presence and turned to her. **"Oh, still here? I figured you both would've run with your tails between your legs by now."**

Whip's eyes narrowed in rage and she lashed out with her Whip Wings, hoping to strike a blow across the girl's chest. That hope faded when as soon as it came close to Ravena, the nekomata slashed the hardened blood to pieces, cutting the whip in half. As the two stood stunned, Ravena pulled her, now bloodied, nails to her mouth and licked them cleaned. Four red eyes, followed by an eager smile appeared on the girl's face as she then flexed her, blood free, sharpened claws.

"**Ahahaha~! YES! This is going to be…SO~ MUCH~ FUN~!" **The twisted Ravena exclaimed excitedly at the top of her voice as she then charged at her new prey with a crazed smile on her face.

**TBC…**

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><p><strong> A killer cliffhanger, but have to leave you with some suspense. Stay tuned to see where these turns of events lead to now! Remember to review the chapter!<strong>

**Shadowlight0982 out.**


	35. FFW Anniversary

**Ravena: NYAO~! So many things to look forward to! I'm getting all excited! Nya-nya~!**

**Shadow: Think you're getting a little too excited Ravena. It's only another chapter.**

**Ravena: Another chapter that opens a new door to a new arc mon cher~!**

**Shadow: Well I can't argue with that. Hard to believe that it's been a whole year since this all started….**

**Ravena:And we are still going strong!**

**Shadow: Yep, with that being said I'd like to welcome everyone else to FFW's one-year anniversary~! **

**Ravena: Welcome! Welcome! Applause~! ****claps**

**Shadow: This may not be a traditional update, but this is a small gift for all the support this story has gained over the year it's been up…**

**Ravena: And we are very grateful to all those who have contributed their ideas to this story.**

**Shadow: Ideas, characters, spinoffs, I never have suspected it would grow as it has.**

**Ravena: I did~**

**Shadow: Well you did provide the first piece of lovely art Ravena**

**Ravena: ^/^ Why thank you Shadow~ We even discovered some new during the time we worked together~ ; 3**

**Shadow: Yeah that we did / Still, I definitely can't thank you and everyone else for all the support**

**Ravena: Should we tell them our little secret~? ; 3**

**Shadow: By all means, if it's all right with you.**

**Ravena: If you say so~ Shadow and I are going out now~ *hugs his arm* Sorry Ladies~**

**Shadow: Took me for a loop too when this started but couldn't be any happier**

**Ravena: *kiss cheek* You were so clueless~**

**Shadow: Both in story and real life. *kisses back***

**Ravena: Nya~! *realizes people are still looking*( o/o )Oh...**

**Shadow: I'm sure that they've handled enough bombshells. Should we let them enjoy the chapter~?**

**Ravena: We should, We should! And with this we say…**

**Shadow and Ravena: ON WITH THE SHOW~!**

* * *

><p><strong>FFW Anniversary<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Whip's eyes narrowed in rage and she lashed out with her Whip Wings, hoping to strike a blow across the girl's chest. That hope faded when as soon as it came close to Ravena, the nekomata slashed the hardened blood to pieces, cutting the whip in half. As the two stood stunned, Ravena pulled her, now bloodied, nails to her mouth and licked them cleaned. Four red eyes, followed by an eager smile appeared on the girl's face as she then flexed her, blood free, sharpened claws.<em>

"_**Ahahaha~! YES! This is going to be…SO~ MUCH~ FUN~!" **__The twisted Ravena exclaimed excitedly at the top of her voice as she then charged at her new prey with a crazed smile on her face._

"_AAAAAAND CUT! That's a wrap for this episode!" announced the female director as her assistant made the snap. _

_Ravena quickly curled her body and hit a soft wall of padding before landing on her feet as she stood up and dusted herself off. _

"_Great job everyone! Take a break! Actors, I'll see you all tomorrow!" announced the director as she waved everyone off._

Suddenly, a pause button was hit as DJ Plugman appeared on screen.

"What's happenin' yo~! Long time no see! It's your favorite DJ Plugman hosting for your entertainment, Fanfiction World's 2 Year Anniversary episode special!" announced the DJ enthusiastically as confetti and balloons started falling from the ceiling as he waved a couple of flags in the air as the camera drew back to show DJ Plugman standing in the FFW NEWS corner except the desk had been removed and was now replaced with a large sofa and a couple of armchairs.

A big screen flashed 'FFW' behind the settee while the 'Celebration' song played a bit in the air as DJ Plugman jived a bit before he signaled the music to cut as he plopped down on one of the arm-chairs and waved to the camera. "Alrighty yo, people! Once again, WELCOME to FFW's very first anniversary where this show has successfully been on the air for solid 2 years~!" Plugman announced prompting some applause and fanfare before cutting them off.

"And for our special line-up, we are going to take you on special "Behind-The-Scenes" look of the FFW set, have special interviews and previews of bloopers, and little surprise at the end for all you viewers out there!" explained Plugman before turning to the screen. "And to lead off the show, we have our ace reporter Komin on the scene to take us on the tour! Komin are you ready~?!"

The screen behind flashed as Masukomi appeared with on screen with a salute. _"Choo bet D-chan~!"_

"Then over to you Komin~!"

_(On site)_

"Alrighty then, D-chan~!" Replied Masukomi with a smile as she addressed the viewers. "Heyya everyone~! It news time with me Masukomi~! And welcome to the special studio tour of FFW where we have just finished recording our latest chapter in the FFW storyline~!"

"You may be wondering why we ended the last chapter the way we did or why we're having this little tour? Well just like D-Chan said, this is everyone at the studio's way of thanking all of you for sticking with us these long two years~. It's our little gift from us to you!" Masukomi then directed the camera to follow her throughout the set that had scenes of the battlefield from the last chapter. "As you can see, I am here live on set. This is part of the stage used as the battlefield for the last few chapters. A place where a lot of our action sequences took place. As of now I am looking for someone to give us a run-through on how we show off those amazing fight scenes."

"Yo, Komi, I didn't think you'd still be here on set!"

As if planned, Bella came up to Masukomi. However; the brownish-blonde did look at the camera crew with confusion.

"What's going on, you filming a documentary here or something?" Bella asked.

"Not this year, but…I believe you can help us with a little something Bella." Masukomi grinned.

"Sure, shoot~!"

"You remember what day it is today, don't you?"

The girl put a hand to her chin as she ponders the question. A second later she snapped her fingers and looked excitedly to the reporter. "I can't believe I almost forgot! Today is the day right, unreal!"

"Very real, we've been filming FFW for two years. How does it feel to be part of the project for so long Bella?" Masukomi asked with honest interest. After all, the actress has appeared in the studio since day one.

"How does it feel, I can't even describe it! Working here is one of the best things ever, the show is cool, and the cast are fun to hang out with. Heck, you went out with us to celebrate Illu's birthday with the girls." Bella then ended her rant as she remembered they were on camera. "Anyway, it's like be a part of a big happy, crazy, family."

"Funny you would choose those words, Ms. Toon World Chosen One, Arabella Hyna." Masukomi said with a smirk.

"Hey, you know I'm a lot mellower than I am on set." Bella then winked to the cameras. "However, don't be fooled fair viewers. You have been seeing 100%, Hyna quality, antics. When I get my script and hit the stage, I know I got to give my all for you guys!"

Nodding her head, Masukomi then got Bella's attention again. "Anyway Bella. The reason I wanted your help is the fans need someone to tell them how the CGI and other effects work. And who better than the girl has assumes so many transformations, not to mention your toon powers."

"Awesome right, the studio came to all of us with an idea of what we want our powers to be. I was stoked that mine made it in." Bella then sobered up and cleared her throat as she began to speak in a calmer tone. "However; the studio does do a lot to make those effects appear so lifelike. I dare say, we've got some of the best editing team in the business. I should know, I work with them almost as much as I act on stage."

"Like I said, a character like Bella would definitely know about the effects." Masukomi said. "So tell our faithful viewers how the magic is done."

"Well my dear Komi, the process is done in three steps. The first step is the directors and editors run the scene by us. They tell us what is going to happen and what to expect once the editing is done. It helps to make the act more believable. Say in a scene I have to turn into HeatBlast and shoot a fireball. Well I would…" For emphasis she had her hand on her wrist where her prop Omnitrix lied. "Slam my hand down, and stand for a few seconds." Following her own, instructions she then thrusts her hand forward. "Then I go through the motions."

"Ah~, and what is the next step?"

"Step two, is the editing. After doing as many takes to get the scene right, out dutiful team of animation and effects Wizzes get to work on how it would look like and match it to our moves. They decide how big is the fireball? What size? What colors? How long the flames linger on my hand?" Bella explained.

"The technical stuff basically." Masukomi clarified.

"Exactly! That step is really dedicated to making everything look as realistic as possible for the show. Take a month ago when had the little rascals here on stage, it took few takes and retakes to get Sora's computers and everything just right. Good thing those tykes kept at it!" Bella smiled with pride.

"I remember you were definitely excited, both on and off set, that Kotsubasa was joining." Masukomi recalled.

"Heck ya, how can I say no to the little Mini-ME's being on the show? I heard a rumor that they may try the same thing for Team Mercenaries." On cue, Bella then turned to the cameras. "But that's all I said folks, it's a rumor. Who knows what the guys upstairs are planning."

"True, true" Masukomi agreed with her. "Now, on to the last step, I think that step is where they piece together everything, right?"

"Well look who learned a lot since joining. You are absolutely right; the last step is where the magic is. They take the footage and the effects and bring it to the screens, after all the fine-tuning of course." Bella finished her explanation.

"There you have it everyone, straight from the horse's mouth. A crash lesson on how we use our amazing powers on screen for all of you, if you haven't guessed our budget has increased since the beginning, which is why the last chapter looked as great as it did." Masukomi then turned from the cameras to Bella. "Say Bella, think you can make it over to where D-Chan? We do have more planned out if you don't mind?"

The "Toon-Girl" gave her a mock salute. "No worries Komi, I'll be sure to stop by. Can't wait to see you at the party!" And with that Bella took her leave, though not before a final wave to Masukomi and the people on the other side of the cameras.

After the goodbye, Masukomi turned to the camera. "There's a reason she's one of the popular characters, isn't she a peach? However, I'm going to turn the cameras back to you now D-Chan!" She then gave a wave. "Enjoy~."

After a quick transition, the viewers were now back in the host room with the famous DJ who was waving back before looking at the audience. "Don't think we didn't have anything else planned. Komi here will be on her way to the next attraction, but here in the room with me and two very familiar faces who wanted to stop by. Give it up for Key and DB!"

The cameras then turned slightly to show DB sitting on the long couch while Key was in the other armchair. Both actors stood to take a bow as they heard the applause and then sat back down, looking from the cameras to Plugman.

"She's right you know. I don't think anyone else has been in that effects room longer than Bella has. I think she knows all the guys there by name now." DB smiled a bit, trying not to laugh at his own joke.

"That's how Bella is. One of the best friends and people to work with that's for sure." Key also smiled. "So Plugman, I see you and Komi are hosting this thing."

"Right, I was surprised that they called me down since I haven't been in a few chapters. They actually told me that after talking to me about my next appearance." Plugman recalled.

"You'll be in another Guild War scene, that's great. You should see the tweets, lots of people were missing your commentaries." DB said.

"Don't I know it; this job almost reminds me of my work with Oh Great! and Air Gear. However, that time is over and I am here now! But you guys aren't here about my backstory; you are here to talk about the 2-year-Anniversary!" Plugman said with obvious excitement. "We are covering behind the scenes, but I got the idea of why not ask some of the casts questions about their roles and characters in the show."

"Then ask away my man." DB said as he reached for one of the bottled waters placed for each of them.

"Anything for the fans." Key agreed.

Plugman nodded and then went about with the first question. "Well, the first thing that I'm sure you two were both asked was why did you two only appear in voice on the first chapter? You guys did make your appearances in the next one and got to show your moves, but usually all the hero group is shown first episode."

"That is a good question, see remember the lines that I had to go on a camping trip in the first chapter. That's based on the real reason I wasn't on set, I actually had to head out to a family reunion." DB explained.

Key then chimed in. "My sister ended up with the flu and I got it as well. The day they scheduled for the first day I wasn't even able to speak, much less get out of bed to show up for filming. That's when the director came to us with a loop hole idea."

"Loop hole idea?" Plugman asked, question marks appearing all over his screen.

"Yep, see we all would record our lines in advance first before we start acting on set. So when Key and I had our reasons for being gone, they had to work with our recordings. Though I say the episode turned out great." DB said with Key agreeing with him.

"The studio sent me a copy of the first episode and everything to watch. Just gave me the motivation to recuperate faster. And then, there you have it, I'm up and about acting out the fight scene for the second episode." Key went on and explained.

"Well that's one of the many mysteries lifted! Now the next things coming up are for both of your characters, the first is for DB. Do you think you're subconsciously promoting drinking, since your character is sixteen and drinking on screen." Plugman asked.

"Not at all, the audience has to remember that FFW is set in a game world. So, of course there are games out that have warnings of things like that. It's one of the reasons FFW has the high rating it has, but everything that I physically drink is fake." DB clarified.

"How fake?"

"As fake as a kid drinking Butter Beer."

"Oh~, that fake." Plugman said, aware of the Harry Potter product. "So you've never actually drunk anything alcoholic?"

"Nope, all flavored water or juices." DB said.

"Right" Plugman then tossed the envelope away to pull out a new one. "This next one is for Key."

"Ask away."

Plugman then cleared his throat, having skimmed through. "How did the triangle come about? You know the whole Key/Rina/TPB that's been appearing for a few recent chapters? Any idea where it sprang from?"

"To be honest, I don't know." Key said with shrugged shoulders. "I think the directors were trying to wind up for a scandal, but really all it is now is comedy relief on all three of the characters. It was sprung up at the last second, but the people loved how funny the fights got so they left it in."

"Got to feel sorry for this guy sometimes." DB joked a bit.

"None of us can be as lucky as you are Romeo." Key joked back.

"Oi!"

"It's true; you're in the first and official pairing in the show. Not, to mention you two have been dating before people have even came up with that pairing." Key continued.

"It was one of those things put in too, but I guess people liked the whole opposite attracts thing." DB paused as he felt someone place a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump slightly.

"Well the saying is opposites attract, but it's more than just fire and ice they mean dear."

"Whoa, Naenia, don't sneak up on me like that."

Naenia only gave DB a playful smile as she enjoyed her seat next to him on the long couch. "I wasn't really sneaking; you were just too deep in thought."

"And here you are; the power couple DB and Naenia!" Plugman introduced the woman who waved back to the cameras. "As Key has said, these two are actually dating. It's one of the things that made their romance all the more natural on screen."

"Of course, DB does sometimes have that grin on his face after a kissing session."

"Naenia!"

"Now now lovebirds, save it for the party tonight." Plugman said, bringing in order. "It seems that a few things in the show have been done with split second decisions."

"You'd be surprised how many times a coin is flipped to determine what's added or what's cut. They have set plans, but then new ideas spring up out of nowhere. Some good and some bad, though the chapters are still going strong because of them." Key answered.

"Even the smallest decisions are considered and each has their own results. However; you'll never have more creative writing team than ours." Naenia complimented them.

"Here here!" A call came out all around until when Plugman suddenly clapped his hands. "Alrighty yo, folks! Since we're on the subject, let's turn this over to Masukomi to reveal more of the magic in the show!" announced Plugman as directed everyone's attention to the screen behind them.

"YAY~ I was waiting for this part~!" piped up Masukomi popping up from behind Plugman's chair.

"UWAH!" yelped everyone in shock as Masukomi plopped down in the seat next to Plugman cheerfully.

"Eh?! Masukomi?!" exclaimed DB in confusion when the screen illuminated behind to show Masukomi smiling.

"_You called~?" _

"_**EH?!" **_exclaimed the trio in shock.

"_Hi~ Everyone~! It's Masukomi again~"_

"And Masukomi is here too~!" chirped the Masukomi in the studio.

Plugman coughed to gain everyone's attention. "Here to start of our behind-the-scenes reveal is our very own Masukomi herself~. I'm sure everyone has been wondering how do we get so many Masukomi on the show~"

"That's all just CGI right and stunt doubles right?" asked Key leaning back in his seat and folding his arms.

"_Well, you are both right and wrong my dear boy~"_ exclaimed on screen Masukomi cheerfully as the camera pulled back to reveal about 15 Masukomi, all who look exactly identical save for the different colored microphones they each held.

"Allow me to introduce them all~!" offered the in studio Masukomi. "First of there's me~ the original Masukomi~ my real nameis Masukomi _Mami_~!" said Masukomi pointing to herself with a smile as four other Masukomi appeared on screen. "These four are my younger sisters, _Sumi, Umi, Komi and Mimi~_ The five of us are quintuplets~"

"_Hi~!"_ chorused the four other girls on screen.

"And now my cousins~" began Masukomi as she took a deep breath. "_Mako, Miko, Ako, Suko, Kiko, Uko, Masuko, Mamiko, Umiko, Sukomi, AAAAAND….. Komami~!"_

"_We are the Masukomi Family~!"_ chorused all 15 girls on screen.

"We all just happen to look exactly alike," explained Mami nonchalantly.

"Doesn't that cause some confusion in the family though?" asked Naenia curiously.

"Whatever do you mean?" replied Mami tilting her head.

"Never mind…"

"In that case~ Scatter girls~! Divide and conquer~!" commanded Mami as the other girls on screen saluted and scattered. With the order given, Mami then relaxed in her seat oblivious to the looks around the room.

"Well…that was a thing." Said DB before Naenia playfully elbowed him for the joke.

"Then…let us be on with our broadcast." Plugman then saw that only one of the Masukomi girls were now on the screen. "Where did the other 14 girls go?"

"Oh they each have their stations and jobs for this show, but for now you've got me." The lookalike said with a wink.

"Fantastic~, well Sumi…"

"I'm Mimi!" Mimi said playfully.

"Right honest mistake, but now is the time our audience get a treat! Don't any of you change that dial! So what do you have planned to show us now?" Plugman asked curiously, as they all waiting for the Masukomi sibling to reply.

"Do I have something planned for all of you out there! You saw how our glorious effects are made, but there is one thing our effects can't change. How people act…and how animals act! Which is why I'm bringing in one of the animal trainers that agreed to do the show with us how it's done!" After a drumroll, Mimi then turned the camera to show Illu waving softly while she had Mukurowl on her shoulder and Nyoka in a cage she was holding.

"Thank you for having me on the air Komi." Said the newly revealed actress and trainer; Illu took a small bow as she walked over so that they both were in frame.

"Bet you never seen that coming viewers~. Our very own Illu, not just is she a talented actress but she is also one of the lead animal trainers on the show. Makes sense when you consider how many of them Illu is seen with on set." Mimi explained. _"It's Mimi…."_

"Mukurowl is actually my pet. The Director and Writers loved how part of my character idea and Mukurowl are based off a similar one, not to mention not many shows work with owls." Illu then held up her cage with care. "Nyoka was a recent adoption that I got from a friend who couldn't keep her. She was brought in to expand on the Yamata no Orochi scroll that was shown off the first season."

"Are their voice actors still here?" Mimi asked.

"No, though they will be at the party tonight. You've just missed them." Answered Illu.

"Drats" Mimi snapped her fingers. "Well I guess we'll just say it here. The chapters where you hear these two, and also Punnya and Amaya lines are voiced by other voice-actors. We've also got actors that play their human forms. Speaking of missing, where are Punnya, Amaya, and Mazareth?" Wondered the sibling reporter aloud.

"Mazareth is in the other room, in fact why don't you follow me. He's with our other trainer right now." Illu explained as she offered to lead the way.

"Other trainer?"

"I tend to specialize with smaller animals; the other trainers have better experience with larger animal actors than myself, but I'm sure she's still in to talk to you." Illu then lead Mimi and the cameras towards the other trainer.

All of a sudden there was a loud roar that made Mimi jump and flinch when she suddenly heard playful laughter making her blink a few times and look. Rose was laughing happily on the floor with Mazareth on top of her crooning loudly as the black tiger rubbed its head all over the girl's face like the overgrown cat it was.

"Alright~ Alright~ Come on get off of me you plus-sized kitten~!" half scolded Rose cheerfully as the big tiger obeyed.

"Mazareth is always so playful with you Rose-chan~" commented Illu.

"Well, I did raise him since he was a cub~" chuckled Rose as she stood up when she suddenly noticed Mimi and the camera crew. "Oh, Hi Kiko."

"_It's Mimi…"_ muttered the reporter under her breath before resuming her smile.

"Anyway, you all know Rose, best known for her role as the Tsundere Bounty Huntress with a flaming temper~" introduced Illu cheerfully as Rose curtsied a bit while Mazareth crooned and nuzzled against Illu who stroked the tiger's head. "And her loyal partner, Mazareth of course~"

"Yup, and I also double up as the trainer for big beasts like Mazareth and Punnya's "Demon" form," added Rose as she undid her hair from the ponytail she had it in. "Would our viewers like to see a demonstration?"

"I'm sure I speak for them when I say, YES~!" said Mimi excitedly.

"Alrighty then~!" exclaimed Rose as she walked away with Mazareth to a training ring with several elevated platforms and obstacles such as hoops and swings. The girl nodded to the tiger as Mazareth scooped the girl on to his back and began jumping from platform to platform.

"So how does this work exactly?" asked Mimi as she watched in awe while Mazareth took a giant leap across two platforms as Rose leapt from the tiger's back onto a trapeze swing.

Rose then did a giant swing and flipped from the bar when Mazareth jumped again and caught her as she landed on his back.

"Well many things go into the animal training for many of the stunts but it mainly takes Patience, Respect, Kindness and most importantly…Trust…" explained Illu as Mazareth landed on the ground with Rose. Rose then went up to a cooler box and pulled out a steak as she tossed it to the tiger who caught it and ate it greedily.

"Of course it also helps when you have some rewards ready," added Illu with a small giggle.

"But how do the animals learn how and when to move?" asked Mimi curiously.

"Well, when during filming of the animal scenes, we make use of a lot of visual cues," explained Rose walking up to them. "Depending on the scene, usually either Illu, I or another assistant trainer is off-screen directing the animal movements."

"But most of the time, Rose and I make use of eye-contact and subtle visual cues to signal to the animals, although techniques will vary depending on the animal" Illu added as she held out her arm for Nyoka as the snake coiled around her wrist. "Take Nyoka for example, if I want her to move a certain way, the key is to maintain good eye-contact," said the girl as she began shifting her eyes in a certain pattern.

Mimi watched in amazement as Nyoka began bobbing her head in sync to Illu's eye-movements. "Is she actually controlling the snake with her eyes?!" she whispered to Rose.

"That's why she's the lead trainer, baby~!"

Illu quickly broke eye-contact with Nyoka as she turned back to the others. "Even Muku-chan has his own set of commands, such as-" the girl suddenly cut herself off as she pursed her lips and blew a shrill whistle. On cue, Mukurowl flew around the studio with a loud screech and came back to his perch on Illu's shoulder as he fluffed himself up proudly.

"Ooooo~…." Went Mimi clapping excitedly. "What are your favorite tricks?"

"This one," said Illu cheerfully as she clicked her fingers. Immediately, as soon as Mukurowl heard the click, his feathers fluffed out turning him into a little white fluffball earning some cheerful chuckles.

"And this one's my favorite~!" piped up Rose as she turned around to Mazareth. "Mazareth!" she called suddenly placing on hand above the other and curling her fingers inward as she mouthed the word 'Snarl'.

On cue, Mazareth began baring his teeth and snarling fiercely as if ready to attack.

"Good boy, Mazy~!" praised Rose as she tossed another steak from the mini-cooler in her hand to the tiger who immediately stopped and grabbed the meat hungrily.

"Well you all seemed to have bonded well with each other over these years." Mimi said happily before a thought occurred to her. "Though what about Punnya and Amaya, where are they and who trains them?"

"I help with their training but mostly Punnya-chan and Amaya-chan are helped by manju specialists. It also helps that Ravena-chan and Shadow-kun are always with them when they are in each of their scenes." Illu explained. "They're much more comfortable when their owners are present."

"I would believe so, since it must be hard to get two baby manju like Amaya and Minnya to get comfortable on camera. You two have your works cut out for you!" Mimi congratulated them.

"It's not that hard a job, Mazy here is a just like a soft little kitty when you let him be." Rose petted the tiger, causing Mazareth to let out satisfied purrs. "You should see the other jobs that the other guys do."

"That's what we hope to see." Mimi then winked to her cameras as she reminds them of the show. "I hope to catch you two at the party later!" She added excitingly.

"Wouldn't miss it Mimi-chan." Illu replied with Rose nodding next to her.

"Then I guess it's time to give to spotlight back to you D-chan, what do you have for our viewers this time~?" Mimi smiled back, her face appearing on the screen in Plugman's host room.

"Well all right, all right! I wouldn't have something as exciting as the performance you three pulled on, but while during the time you were entertaining our audience I've brought upon a few new faces for the crowd!" Plugman said showing off the newest guest in their seats. "Let's have the people give a hand for Grim, Cast, and RoM!"

The applause was then given to the three new faces in the room. Grim and RoM were sitting on the opposite sides of the couch while Cast had the single chair to herself. The three gave their waves to the audience before turning back to the host.

"Thanks for having us here Plugman, though I should say I'm sorry that Leon couldn't make it to speak." Cast apologized.

"Don't worry your sweet head about it; we can't help if a few of us are camera shy. Plus he was needed to make deliveries for the party so it's no big deal he had to skip out." The DJ waved it off.

"Speaking of which, I'm glad that you called me in just in time. They almost got me in for the heavy lifting until you called me up. By now I'm sure Leon, Speed, and Wolf would be enough to help the rest of them set things up." Grim said while slouching back.

"And the legendary laziness has shown to be true." RoM bantered.

"Yep, they gave my role a more lax and lazy twist since they said I had a perfect tired face. Just as a certain someone had the perfect evil manipulator face."

"Yep" RoM adjusted his glasses while giving a satisfied look.

"Which goes into our first question for you three? How do you feel about your updated role in the story RoM? You first started off as an info-broker and a Beta, almost played as Key's rival." Plugman summarized his earlier roles. "And now you have parts that show you as this 'maybe third-party antagonist'. Can you give us a bit of hints to your role?"

RoM rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Now I wouldn't say it's much different from my former role just…expanded. The writers got the idea after we had the Halloween party."

"Oh right, the one where you came in dressed as Light Yagami. Once you took your glasses off you were just the spitting image." Grim recalled.

"You even had a fake Death Note and said the lines perfectly. I still remember the trick you did with the chips." Mami laughed to herself as she thought back to the holiday party.

"You made a very good Kira, RoM." Cast said sincerely.

"Why thank you." RoM stood for a second to take a mock bow before sitting back down. "But going back to what I was saying…RoM role didn't really change. One thing that the fans must have noticed is information. RoM's goals are really based on getting more and more research and knowing as much about everything in FFW as possible. Back in the Eclipse Tournament, he kept Mukurowl caged just so he could see exactly what Illu's seal held back, Hybrids needing familiars to transform aren't that common."

"Like the way Illu's brothers can transform." Grim clarified.

"Exactly." RoM smiled. "Plus if you pay attention to the fillers you know that RoM and Ravena have some backstory to be explained soon. However; that's all I'm telling for now."

"Yep, we don't want to get into too much trouble with the show regarding spoilers." Plugman agreed as he went on to the next topic. "So Grim…"

"Hmm?" Grim raised a brow, now the focus of the discussion.

"As we've seen for two chapters, your character has been made a temporary member of Kurotsubasa? Now, out of everyone in Team mercenary you seem to work well with all of the members or at least without much problems. What are the odds of Grim joining Kurotsubasa?" Plugman asked a question.

"That is hard to say, I didn't think if the guild joining thing might become more permanent." Grim said with genuine surprise. "I don't know much chances of that happening, though Grim joining is an allusion to something else."

"Oh?" Plugman asked.

"Grim won't be the last one to 'temporary' join Kurotsubasa. There will be a lot happening with the Guild Wars that many might not be prepared for." Grim said.

"Guess we've got another reason to be glued to our seats!" Plugman. "Though it makes me wonder if we'll ever get back to the other evil factions. Bringers of Destruction and Lords of Chaos, they aren't just up and gone people the threat is still there."

"Which is where I come into play." Cast chimed in. "Much of the Admin's duty is procuring the safety of all the players, though as you can see a lot of the major ones like Rina and I are not present and Speed just showed up again in the beginning. We're currently working on locating these faction's strongholds, though along the way we'll introduce the rest of the Admin as well."

"The rest, as in the silhouettes that appear in the early chapters?" Plugman asked.

"Yep, in fact one of the Admin has already been introduced and you'll be surprised who it is. Take your guesses everyone, but you will have to wait for the reveal like everyone else." Cast said.

"I see Rina's jokes are rubbing off on you." RoM commented on her joke.

"Well even though Rina is shown as more of the wild one on the show, she does still have a bit of a cold sense of humor. Though I can joke when I want I tend to not offend others all the while." Cast laughed nervously.

"And speaking of jokes, have you guys ever played pranks on each other off set?" asked Plugman.

"Please, it's almost routine!" exclaimed Grim with a chuckle. "You happen to be sitting next to one of the most notorious pranksters in the studio!"

Plugman quickly turned to look surprised at Mami who grinned and held up a peace sign.

"Guilty~!" she said in a sing-song voice.

"And so is her family," pointed out Cast. "Check out this footage from to weeks ago," she said as he gestured to the screen behind them as everyone turned to watch.

_**Footage Clip….**_

_RoM was sitting at a table working on his laptop when Masukomi _(presumably Mami) _passed by next to his table. _

"_Hey RoM~" chirped Masukomi._

"_Hey," mumbled RoM as the girl walked off._

_Just then 'Mami' appeared again from where the first girl originally entered. "Hi RoM~"_

"_Hi." Muttered RoM again as the girl left when another Masukomi appeared as soon as the second one left._

"_How's it goin RoM~?"_

"_Fine…"_

_The third disappears and a fourth Masukomi appears. This appears to go on for about a few more cycles with each round RoM is seen getting visibly more irritated with each greeting._

"_Hey RoM?" the latest Masukomi called._

"_**WHAT?!" **__snapped RoM fuming madly as he swiveled to see all the Masukomi standing there smiling._

"_**WHATCHA' DOOOOOIN~?" **__ they all chimed cheekily with a smile._

_A tick mark visibly appeared on RoM's head to show that he had reached boiling point. _

"_**GAH!" **__went RoM's loud strangled cry of frustration as he jumped from his seat and chased the girls out the room._

"_**WAI~ RoM-CHAN IS SCARY~" **__squealed the girls in chorus as they ran off laughing with a fuming RoM chasing after them. _

_**End Clip**_

RoM blushed a bit as he tried to keep a straight face while Grim, Plugman and Mami were laughing their heads off.

"That was a cheap shot with that joke. Before then, I didn't know you and your sisters were identical." RoM said his face a bit pink from the embarrassment of the clip.

"Now now, you only have yourself to blame RoM. After all you were the one who walked into such an easy prank." Mami said with an amused look.

"But I was in the room!"

"All's fair in love and prank wars; those are what a certain Hyna taught us once these things started." She quickly reminded him.

"Well before you two get to try anything out of the prank book we might want to get through the episode first." Plugman said, almost about the leave the room if he found out that the two had booby-trapped the set. "We would like to give our appreciation to the fans before we all go pranking the ever-loving hell outta each other." The DJ said, already recalling pranks from the past.

"Then I guess it's my turn huh~?" The call of the lookalike sounded from the screen as it showed another member of Mami's family. "How's it going Cuz?"

"Smooth as usual Miko-tan, though you must have something special for us." Mami replied to her cousin. Still smiling after her banter with RoM. "So what do we have for the audience this time around?"

"Well~, as everyone saw. Many of the stunts and performances on the show are in fact real. With stunt doubles on short supply, most of us perform our own stunts on the show!" Miko began building up her introduction.

"Yep, all the retakes really are worth it when you get to see the final cut." Grim agreed with her.

"That's right, but you know she's only building us up to keep us in suspense. That only means, you've found someone on the set to explain that the audience will enjoy, haven't you?" Plugman took a shot in the dark.

"Precisely; I found someone who especially knows much about the fights and the stunts that are done on the show, a very familiar someone."

"Stop teasing us, Miko who did you find?" Mami impatiently asked.

"Fufufu~" Miko held back her enjoyment as she then began to introduce the guest of honor. "Ladies and Gentlemen, give your hands up for the man that's been doing the stunts since the beginning…Shadow!"

"Yo" Shadow walked into view with Amaya present on his head. He took a second to rub his eyes before walking next to Miko. "It's really been two years huh? The time's been flying by since this show was started."

"Not getting emotional on us, are you?" Miko teased him a bit.

"Of course not, I just got back from taking the colored contacts out from finishing the chapter. It gets irritating have to put them on and off again for certain scenes." Shadow said, having dealt with the irritation in his eyes, causing Amaya to look down.

"Pyon?" Amaya called in worry until she was patted on the head by Shadow.

"I'm fine, just not a fan of contacts." Shadow said.

"Ah, you did have a little problem with your eyes suddenly going red and back to normal a few times during the chapter. Care to inform us what that was supposed to represent?" Miko held up her mike.

"I can't really get into details about it since it would technically be spoiler related…but, I will say this. If you turn back to the Eclipse Tournament final battle you'll see this isn't the first time something like that happened." Spoke Shadow before handing Miko back her mike.

"Bringing it back to that season huh, you know there were a lot of rumors about that fight. One of which that you actually died. Is that rumor true?" Miko eagerly asked.

Shadow gave a small chuckle as he looked into the camera. "I don't think we're at the stage where we can kill off characters, yet. Near-death situations like that battle of course, but not actually kill off. Heck, last person the show killed off was a stand-in from the beginning of this arc."

Miko nodded her head in agreement. "Speaking of that, think they may try to kill off someone this time around? You have to admit, it's possible seeing as this arc is especially dark…darker than mostly anything else shown in the show."

"It is dark, but then again you can't expect everything to be soft and happy forever. Really, after the All Stars battle, the Dead Blood arc was to remind everyone that there are different kinds of guilds and players. Everyone has their own reasons for playing FFW." Shadow said.

"I see, will we be expecting more darker tones in the future?"

"Oh, there will especially be darker tones…though they're going to try and balance the tones out too."

"Oh, how so?" Miko asked out of curiosity.

"Well besides battles, the series is really getting into character developments and other things. We've got a whole lot in store for later chapters." Shadow answered.

"Would one of those events involve a certain person popping up time and again in the two chapters?" Miko asked, as she tried to coax some answers from Shadow.

Shadow smirked and just held up his hands. "Sorry, my lips are sealed. I can't really say anything about future stuff, got to keep the fan excited right?"

"U-Pyon~!" Amaya agreed, holding her ears in the same matter, though the manju and her answer had to stifle their laughs seeing the pout the woman gave her.

"Aww, that's no fun~. There has to be something that you're able to tell us? Come on, Shads, if anyone knows what's going on with the directors it would be you!" Miko continued to pout, showing that she wasn't satisfied with the previous answer.

"Hmm…think I should tell them something Amaya?" Shadow looked up to the baby-manju on his head.

"U-Pyon~" Amaya replied with a nod.

"Whelp, the little lady has spoken so I guess I can give you a bit of a reveal." Shadow said, this time laughing as he saw Miko's expression do a 180.

"Well don't just leave us in suspense, tell us!" Miko asked while holding her mike closer to Shadow in excitement.

"Hold on, I'll tell you but I will need to have you talk with someone else first." Shadow then pointed to where the makeup and costume department was on the set. "We can find our special someone there, plus this would be great to show the viewers wouldn't you say?" Shadow asked.

"Of course, have to see how we get pretty for the camera." Miko said teasingly before a thought occurred to her. "Hey, you aren't using the department as an excuse not to tell us anything right?"

"Of course, I'm not that evil." Shadow said in fake hurt. "I figured you would also want to hear from someone who knows about what I'm going to reveal." He said as he led the way to the makeup and costume room, getting to the door he then gave it a knock.

"Hey, are you still busy in there?" Shadow called out.

"_Hai~Hai~!"_ came a muffled answer followed by footsteps as the door flung open showing Ravena and Punnya. "Well Hi~! Shadow~ Mimi~!"

"Hey Rave~" _"It's Miko…."_

"Wow, Is it our turn already~?" asked Ravena cheerfully as Punnya bounced on Ravena's head excitedly.

"Sure is!" replied Shadow as he turned to the camera. "You all know Ravena as our resident magical Nekomata on the show, but her real magic is being the Head of the Make-up and Costume department."

"That's right people~! Ravena's the reason why we all get to look fabulous in the spotlight~" piped Miko as Ravena smiled shyly and rubbed her head bashfully.

"Aww, shucks you~" said Ravena bashfully. "But it's not just me, I have my own team to help me~" she said as she led the group inside to reveal a large dress studio before blowing a whistle. "Beauty Squadron assemble!"

Suddenly dramatic music began playing all around as Ravena back flipped on to a small stage.

Miko tilted her head in confusion while Shadow simply sighed.

Suddenly the lights went out as four silhouettes could be scene jumping in out of nowhere. Suddenly a spotlight illuminated on to Ravena who wore a red flowing scarf around her neck as she twirled a make-up brush in her hand.

"_Leading the Squadron that casts the spells of Beauty ~ Ravena Felidae: Magic Red!" _announced Ravena striking a pose.

The second spotlight shone onto a young man who charismatically flourished a comb and trimming scissors as his blue scarf fluttered behind him. _"I cast my spell to brings out the Charismatic Beauty in one's Hair~ Bird-of-Prey: Style Blue~!"_announced Preyalso striking a pose.

The next three spotlights illuminated at the same time on three familiar young women wearing yellow, pink and black scarves.

"_The three of us are the Maidens of Fashion, our spells bring out the shine and voices of the clothes~! The Luci-Mina Trio," _they started out in unison.

"_Fashion Yellow!-"_

"_-Pink!-"_

"_-Black~!"_

"_Whether Man or Woman! Plain or Glamorous! We are the Magicians who cast our spells to bring out the Beauty in anyone~! We are the __**Beauty Squadron!" **_ announced the group dramatically striking poses as confetti exploded behind them.

Miko and the camera crew sweatdropped while Shadow chuckled a bit. "Always have to make a dramatic entrance, don'tcha?…."

"Oh come now dear Shadow~ Where's the fun in an ordinary introduction?" asked Prey rhetorically as he pirouetted off the stage and appeared next to the young man placing an arm around Shadow's shoulder before flashing a smile to the camera.

"Well as we mentioned before, Prey here is our charismatic hairstylist when he's not being a pervert on screen," introduced Shadow bluntly while Prey flashed a charismatic smile.

"And with costumes are our fashion experts, the triplets who play the role of Luci-Mina~" introduced Ravena.

"Luci desu~!" "Mina desu~!" "Lumi desu~!" piped each girl respectively in front of the camera.

"Whoa, didn't expect all the members of the makeup crew would have spots in the cast. Well from this chapter alone I say you five did some really good work." Miko complimented the team.

"Why thank you Miko-tan~. The Beauty Squadron does our best to have everyone look camera ready and perfect nya." Ravena spoke as she dragged the triplets and Prey close to her as they all smiled to the camera. "When the director needed more people to help with the makeup for all our newest cast members I happily volunteered. Luci, Mina, Lumi, and Prey joined me almost as soon as they came to work here!"

"Hai~! We came here to work on costume and makeup, but Luci and Mina had the idea to audition for the show. I was nervous, but they pulled me along to the audition." Lumi said, still wearing her Luci-Mina outfit but without all the elaborate designs and props.

"You know you love it Sis, you even got the big part." Mina said, waiving off that Lumi admitted that they had dragged her to their first audition with her other triplet.

"Hai, Mi and I got roles but for the sake of the show we can't really tell you~." Luci added in with a playful tone to her voice.

"Huh, that's no fun. One of the reasons we're here is because Shadow and Amaya promised a look at secrets; we can't leave the fans empty handed and not giving them what they want." Miko tried as best she could to coax information from the trio of siblings. "Come just one little video, news from the writer's room, anything?"

Ravena then began to wave her finger and speak in a condescending tone. "Now now, Miko. Who said anything about going back on our word? What Luci said is that we can't reveal hers and Mina's roles in the story as of yet. Now we do have something special to show everyone at home."

"Oh?" Miko rose up in interest.

"A little clothing project the directors gave us for the next arc that is coming up." Prey clarified as he went back to roll in four draped over stands. "These beauties will going to be shown off sometime after this Guild War, but we can give you a sneak peak of these outfits since they're not finished yet."

"Not finished, are you five still working on making it perfect?" Shadow asked, only knowing a few things about their design projects himself.

"Oh we've worked out a final look, but we're striving for perfection." Prey started out by saying. "We've got to have certain materials to finish though for the most part the new outfits are finished."

"So can we removed the covers and show our audience?" Miko walked over to reach the drapes though her hand was quickly slapped away by Prey.

"Now no need to get grabby." Prey said as if chastising a child.

"Well then how are we going to show the people at home?" Miko ask, pouting angrily at the man, though it only seemed to give her a humorous look than a threatening one.

"We can just show you the clothes~." Luci gleefully smiled.

"But~…" Mina started.

"There is a better way to show off our creations." Lumi finished as the three then began to walk the reporter and the camera crew with them further inside their makeup department.

Shadow stood a bit confused before he realized something. "They're not taking them too…?"

"Yep, what's better than showing clothes than a full runway show?! You're more than welcome to come with us too." Ravena said with the offer of invitation as well. Shadow took a moment to think the actress' offer over before shaking his head.

"Thanks, but since we're done for the day I think Amaya and I are going to relax before we head to the party later." Shadow said as he and Amaya turned to leave. "Thanks for the offer; I'll be back before the party starts if any of you need me." After the two left, Ravena then turned and walked to where she knew her team had dragged the camera crew.

"So what is this special surprise?" Miko asked. As she and the crew got settled Ravena had just joined them. The cat themed actress then noticed that the rest of her team was gone along with the draped costumes but she happened to know exactly where they were.

"Why Miko, haven't you ever seen a runway before?" Ravena asked.

"Runway?" Miko parroted as she paid more attention to her surroundings. The makeup team had inded led them out of the second door of their room to a miniature stage and runway complete with chairs for her and the crew to sit in.

"Nya~, just showing the clothes would be boring so why not have the team model it." Ravena then projected her voice towards the stage. "Prey, Luci, Mina, Lumi…show us your stuff!" She called out to them.

"Hai~!"

Soon the four walked out from the curtains and down the runway, each of them dressed in an identical cloak. The cloaks were all deep black in color as they seem to draw in all the light shining onto them. The outside of each were also decorated with harlequin patterns, the only difference between the four were the different card suits that were present on the plate placed around the neck.

"Whoa, what guild will be wearing these beauties?" Miko asked, starstruck at the designs as they gave off a sinister feeling as well as mysterious feeling as well. In fact the on with the heart seemed to be styled to better hid Luci's face from view than the other cloaks.

"Ah well, you can say these are uniforms for a guild but we can't really get into specifics without going too much into the spoiler zone." Mina said. "Though, these clothes will be belonging to a group that will soon challenge Kurotsubasa after this arc."

"Whaaa, that's it?! There has to be more you can tell us?!" Miko asked, not noticing that Ravena was previously on her phone before she ended her conversation.

"Actually there is more, I just got permission from the big guys in charge to show you guys a little…preview for the next big group." Ravena said as they then began to set up to show the preview. Soon the cameramen were able to set up another screen so that they could play the preview Ravena gave them.

"Once again, good old Rave saves the day~." Miko cheered, causing the actress to laugh.

"If you want to thank anyone, thank the producers that want to leave the audience with something." Ravena said just as the camera crew gave the thumbs up showing that they were ready whenever the reporter was.

"Are we ready to start?" Prey translated everyone's thoughts.

"Yep, fire up that preview!" Miko ordered in excitement. The cameramen then nodded and after a few commands they started up the clip, allowing it to fill the audience's screen.

**(Preview)**

"_**Well well, look who I haven't seen in a long time…Kurotsubasa~."**_

_** Shadow stopped his walk away from the guild and looked back to a familiar face. He turned around, along with the remaining members of Kurotsubasa to face their interrupter all the while Punnya was calling at towards the man. Whisk was standing boldly, still the same as usual though there were some differences.**_

_** Instead of being barehanded, the vampire now had metal gauntlets on his arms both slim and streamlined to better fit his hands and protect them. The steel of the gauntlets was also inscribed with various runes, almost matching that of the Wings on Shadow's wrist. Over his usual outfit was a black cloak with harlequin patterns decorated the outside of it,**_

"_**You're the last person I want to see right now Whisk." Shadow said, his fingers gripped tightly from contained anger.**_

"_**Is that anyway to treat a former member?" Whisk asked.**_

"_**A former member who messed with our minds and got his sister arrested!" Bella was about to storm over towards him but was stopped by both DB and Key.**_

"_**Ouch, tough room…speaking of room, it looks like you're missing one of your pets Shads. What happened between you and Sis?" Whisk asked out of both playful and genuine curiosity.**_

"_**Piss off Whisk, I've got no time for you." Shadow said, about to leave before anyone could stop him.**_

"_**Oh, no time for a Guild War challenge?" Whisk said stopping the guild leader in his tracks. "I didn't think you were one to run away from a challenge? Just because one War went sour and Ravena leaves your guild doesn't mean you can just shirk my challenge."**_

"_**Your challenge, what guild are you a part of?" Shadow spoke while glaring coldly, eyes flashing red briefly.**_

"_**Well, I wouldn't say I lead it, but our leader did give us permission to challenge you…and believe me this is a challenge you don't want to refuse." Whisk smirked as he pulled out an emblem with a symbol that made Shadow's eyes widened, the symbol of the BoD, Bringers of Destruction.**_

"_**That mark…it looks just like the one that appeared on the monsters from underground." Illu said, recalling the symbol appearing on some of the creatures they have fought before. This instantly got the others paying attention while Shadow continued his glare.**_

"_**Ah, so you do know what I'm getting at. That just makes this easier…" Whisk slipped the emblem away and addressed the guild. "See I got a challenge I want to give you. My group against yours…three on three."**_

"_**Three? Hate to point it out to you, but you're alone. What's stopping us from taking you down and dragging you to the Admin." DB said.**_

"_**Now who said I was alone." Whisk asked as a figure had then jumped down in front of the two.**_

"_**Hold on! If anyone is going to fight and get punished by Whisk-sama its Lu-Mi!" Luci-Mina appeared wearing a similar cloak to Whisk. She held her arms wide and stood tall before she was picked up by the back of her cloak by Whisk.**_

"_**A bit early don't you think?" Whisk asked the now chibified jokette.**_

"_**You got your crazy friend, big deal; you're still missing a guy if you still want a three-" Bella said as Whisk held up a finger.**_

"_**Ah-ah-ah! Hold up we do have one more~!"announced Whisk cutting her off as he snapped his fingers . On cue, a small black portal materialized in the ground as a female figure donning a hooded version of the harlequin cloak. Her entire persona was cold and seemed to be radiating darkness. Her hood shadowed her face but despite that something was familiar about her. Cold, empty eyes gleamed from the shade as her hands made their way to lower the hood. **_

_**The camera then cuts to Shadow with a look of shock appearing in his eyes as the scenes fade to black. **_**(Preview End)**

After the screen faded to black, it then lightened up to reveal Plugman and Masukomi in the host room.

"I will say I did not see any of that coming! Whoa, looks like a lot of problems are going to rear their ugly heads in the future." Plugman said as the show was now focused back on him and Komi in the host room.

"But that just gives all of us a lot to look forward too after we finish this arc." Komi then turned to the crowd. "Now ladies and gentlemen, we did show you a quick peak of the future but I would like to drop that aside to show something else."

"We still have more to show?" A confused Plugman asked.

"Why of course~. This is what I've been waiting for since we've started going on air my friend." Komi then pulled out, from out of nowhere, an unlabeled DVD case. She then opened the black case to reveal the disk.

"Komi is that disk what I think it is?" Plugman asked.

"Right…this little thing I'm holding is a disc with some of the bloopers and goofiness behind-the-scenes for FFW." Komi smiled. "I figured we might as well go out with a bang so I got permission to show these babies for the show." She said as she helped the case in her hand.

"Well then what are we waiting for, let's pop that into the player and let her spin." Plugman said excited.

"Right, well everyone here's what some of you have been waiting for!" Komi said as she allowed the bloopers to play.

_**Bloopers**_

_**Scene!**_

"_Players, we have received message that several hacks have taken place over this month. These hacks have started the dematerializing of several areas in this server!" The lead Guard began. "Let me remind you that all forms of hacking are prohibited and will lead to probation, but tampering with the server is a huge violation of FFW Administration rules and will result in immediate expulsion from FFW!" The Guard paused to let the information reach the crowd of confused players before continuing. "If anyone had any information on these hackings or the areas inform one of us or message the Administration, you're cooperation will be rewarded!"_

_ The talk of rewards immediately got the crowd talking, many talking about finding the hackers. As the Guards began to leave the area Shadow reviews all the information he just heard…or at least he would've if not for one of the guards whose boot caught the ground causing him to trip. The accident caused everyone to stop as some struggled to stop laughing while other were laughing entirely._

"_Cut!" A director said as everyone was having their fits of laughter._

"_Wwww-Wade, wwwhat tttthe hell?" One of the Admin Guards could barely talk because of how hard he was laughing._

_ The one known as Wade was now scrambling to his feet, trying to save as much face as he could after that embarrassing slipup. "Uh… should we redo the scene?"_

"_Hell no, let's leave that in! It'll be hilarious!" Another one of the actors voiced his opinion._

"_Piss off Frank!"_

"_Can I at least keep that footage? The guys in the breakroom wouldn't believe this!"_

_**Scene!**_

_ Shadow then pulled out his scythe and got into a stance of his own. "I can tell you many things but it looks like you aren't going to listen to anything I got to say. I'm not a hacker; I'm not the one doing all of this."_

"_Well then tell me how you got into this area?" Leon's eyes met Shadow's._

"_I can't tell you that." Shadow said._

"_Then prepare yourself." Leon then charged with his broadsword raised._

_ Shadow blocked the strike though the clash caused both to suddenly send their weapons flying of screen with audible crashes. The two actors slowly paused as they tried to make sense of what happened and looked about awkwardly._

_**Scene!**_

_Rose enters RoM's shop where she is greeted._

"_Welcome's to RoM's info, source of all your answers for the right price. How may I help you?" RoM asked._

_Rose stands there looking serious when it was her turn to say her line. "I need information…." She said as she suddenly trailed off. "On what my damn next line is!" she demanded in a serious tone while everyone off screen burst out into laughter while RoM was suppressing a need to laugh._

"_Why are you laughing?! I need my lines!" demanded Rose as a joke making everyone laugh harder._

_**Scene!**_

_The next scene basically was the scene where Shadow was supposed to confront Rose who had kidnapped Illu and Ravena._

"_Rose, its been a while…" said Shadow when the camera panned over to the three girls who struck a 'Charlie's Angels' trio pose all of a sudden._

"_CUT!" yelled the director as laughing was heard audibly in the background. "Rose!"_

"_Sorry! We couldn't help it!" apologized Ravena in between laughs._

_**Scene!**_

_RoM was screaming as he ran about his scene with Mukurowl pecking his head. _

"_Ow!OW!Ow!OW! ILLUUUUUU! GET YOUR F__**-BLEEP!-**__ING BIRD OFF ME!"_

_**Scene!**_

_The next scene showed Aka (Raiden) standing between Fuijin and Suijin smiling brightly as the twins bent down and kissed his cheeks on either side as a couple of guys off-set who had crushes on the twins had to be held back from strangling him._

_**Scene!**_

_The director was on set directing the Guild War between Kurotsubasa and Kotsubasa and was facing the former. Unbeknowst to him Kotsubasa were acting silly by dancing and pulling funny faces at him while Kurotsubasa was trying their hardest not to laugh._

_To top it off when the director turned around to direct Kotsubasa it was Kurotsubasa's turn who began acting silly._

_**Scene!**_

_DB quickly whipped out his guns when he started fumbling with one of them._

_**Scene!**_

_Shawn and the others were running after the cat but as they turned a corner. Kohaku's shoe strap broke as she tripped sideways and collided with everyone._

"_KYA!" "WOAH!" SON-OF-A-!" __**CRASH!**__ Went the group as they crashed and tumbled into the bushes._

"_Cut! Cut!" yelled the director quickly as stagehands began running up to help them out as they laughed in embarrassment._

"_Ahh! I'm so sorry!" apologized Kohaku sheepishly in between laughs as she hid her face in embaressment._

"_You alright?" asked a stagehand._

"_I'm fine! I'm Fine!" she replied while the others laughed away._

_**Scene!**_

_Back to DB who was trying to twirl his gun but it flew of his hand and conked him on his head making him yell and grab his head._

"_ARGH! SONOVABITCH!" cursed DB loudly as he dropped his other gun._

_**Scene!**_

"_Arf~ Whisk-sama~" squealed Lu-Mi excitedly._

"_Oh Lu-Mi~!" replied Whisk suddenly with the same enthusiasm when he grabbed Lu-Mi and brought her into a dip with his back to the camera as the two pretended to make-out as Ravena and Illu gave small fangirl screams and Shadow stared stunned whilst everyone else were whistling, whooping and giving cat-calls._

_Suddenly Whisk and Lu-Mi exaggeratedly broke apart from their 'make-out session' as Whisk dropped to knees and dramatically pumped his fists in the air. "YES! I AM FINALLY A MAN!" he declared proudly and dramatically while Lu-Mi was awkwardly smiling and rubbing her lips with a bright blush on her face as everyone laughed really hard._

_**Scene!**_

"_Ok, this time!" declared Db as he began twirling his guns. It seemed like he was getting it when he suddenly sneezed and the gun poked him in the eye._

"_GAAAAAH!" screamed DB dropping his guns and holding his eye as he hopped about in pain shouting : * __**BLEEP * *BLEEP! * *BLEEP! * *BLEEEEEEEEEEE….**_

_**Scene!**_

_Kusanagi was squealing with laughter as Whisk picked her up her small form and swung her about like a kid while Raiden was hopping up and down excitedly. _

"_Ooh! Me next! Me next!" he volunteered enthusiastically._

_**Scene!**_

_It was the beach scene where Ravena, Sakura and Rose were waiting for the next scene to start and decided to randomly start krumping while Grim and Doppelman joined in and freestyled._

_**Scene!**_

_DB finally recovered from his earlier 'accident'._

"_Aaaand….ACTION!"_

_DB whipped out his guns and began twirling them with expertise before posing with them and smiled cockily._

"_And CUT!" yelled the director as everybody cheered while DB jumped up and down victoriously as he bro-hugged everyone cheering._

_**End Gag Reel….**_

After a long and loud applause the screen returns to Plugman and Komi, both happily looking and waving at the audience.

"One year done and another steadily going, stay tuned to see all the surprises and adventures that only FFW can give you all! However; we'll have to end this little celebration here for now." Plugman finished his closing words.

"Yep, but don't forget you all have more than one reason to celebrate! None of this could've been done without your support, so special thanks from all of us here in FFW!" Komi said with a bright smile. "While we head to our party, be sure to party yourselves you've earned it!"

"Until next time, peace!"

"We'll be back next chapter~!"

* * *

><p><strong>End<strong>


	36. Chapter 27: Lynx's Rampage

** Greetings everyone and welcome back to another chapter…finally. Before any comments go up for why I took a whole year after I last did anything is that a lot of things and crisis have come up along with classes and personal things. I have a lot of things on backlog and I do plan on getting back to writing.**

** So everyone who has have patients with me for these long years. Continue to do so, I will be on break and I'm taking the time to clean up then post all the chapters I have on backlog. Thank you for listening to this rant and I hope you enjoy the chapter below.**

_**ON WITH THE SHOW!**_

* * *

><p><em><span><strong>SLASH!<strong>_

Whip's and Queen's eyes widened in disbelief at the newly re-energized Ravena who smirked as she tore away the blood whip without so much as flinching.

The new Ravena's lips curled into a dark smile as she casually licked the blood off her claws. _**"Ahaha~! This is gonna be so much FUN!" **_ She declared as she suddenly dashed towards the twins.

"Queen!" cried Whip as she quickly grabbed her sister and jumped out of the way just as Ravena made impact creating a great explosion that caused the building they fought in to begin crumbling. A bolt of fear shot through the girls as they see Ravena's eyes glare at them through the dust.

"Whip!" commanded Queen sharply. Whip nodded in response as they began making their way out from the crumbling building. However, their exits were all blocked by fallen beams leaving the twins no choice as they began their mad escape upwards, using whatever available ledge, beam or slab in their reach as their leverage.

"_**Leaving so soon girls?" **_ They hear Ravena's voice cackle around them mockingly.

Queen and Whip could feel a sense of dread welling up inside as they tried to ignore the voice and head up.

"What the hell is going on here?! We should have broken her!" demanded Whip jumping off a beam.

"Is she a monster?!" exclaimed Queen out loud.

All of a sudden, two large clawed shadow hands shot out from the darkness and snatched the two out of mid-air and forcibly dragged the two screaming women down back into the darkness as the building exploded causing everyone in the stadium to take cover as flying chunks of the building went flying in different directions, some heading towards them. The force was so great that even the containment barriers surrounding the fields began to crack as some players in the stadium who possessed some form of shield/barrier powers quickly activated them to reinforce the shields while others were already scattering to evacuate.

Kurotsubasa watched helplessly in shock from the safety of their magic infused barrier at the destruction unfolding before them as the building was reduced to dust in an instant before their eyes.

Masukomi and CAM cautiously peaked out from under the desk. The woman looked grim as she saw the catastrophic damage to the field. "Just what is going on here?" she asked aloud to herself.

Back on the field, Whip and Queen coughed loudly as they staggered to get up, their vision blurred by the thick dust in the air.

'**Cough-cough!'** "Barely made it…" **'Cough!'** choked Queen as she wiped the blood trailing from her thigh as a few Owl's Eyeballs floated around her and her sister. "Whip? Is thou alright?"

Whip coughed several times but managed to nod in response.

A dark chuckle could be heard as red eyes illuminated clearly through the dust. Ravena's silhouette could be seen raising an arm and swiping down clearing the area of the dust cloud in an instant. "Ara-nya~ it seems you two still have some fight left in you. Good, very good~" said Ravena in obvious glee while her eyes clearly held a look of contempt and mockery for the twins who barely managed to stand.

Whip growled as she reactivated her Whip Wing. "Are you mocking us?!"

Ravena quirked an eyebrow before bursting into laughter as if Whip had said the most the ridiculous thing in the world. "Oh I'm sorry, I must not be clear. I'll laugh harder then!" Jeered Ravena. "You claim be specialists at torture but clearly your tepid methods are mere child's play~!" laughed the catgirl some more.

The twins both grit their teeth feeling incredibly annoyed and being openly ridiculed.

Suddenly Ravena stopped laughing as she began dusting herself off before glaring directly the twins with a manic smile. _**"I'll show you how to really break someone!" **_she snarled as made a mad dash towards them.

"Don't get cocky, brat!" retorted Whip in anger as Queen raised her arms.

"_**OWL'S EYEBALL!" **_cried Queen sending her explosives forward and detonating them point-blank at Ravena.

Ravena simply smirked as she was instantly engulfed in the explosion.

"Got her!" / "YES!" cheered the twins victoriously but their celebration was promptly cut short when a metal fist caught Queen right in the face and sent her blasting a few feet away creating a small explosion. A swift kick to the gut followed soon after sending Whip flying in the opposite direction.

Ravena stood where the twins once did with the same confident smirk on her face, completely unscathed by the explosion. Her entire person gleamed to reveal her whole body encased in metal plating. _**"Badan Logam…"**_ Ravena said calmly causing her body to glow and revert to its basic state.

Queen appeared to be stunned by the sudden impact and barely sat up conscious when she caught her reflection in the blade of her dagger. "NOOOOOO! MY FACE! MY BEAUTIFUL FACE! YOU RUINED MY BEAUTIFUL FACE!" screeched Queen so completely horrified and enraged that she completely dropped her regal speech pattern. Her once lovely features were now completely disfigures; contorted by the mix of hatred, rage and the nasty fist mark decorating her swollen cheek.

"Ruined? I believe I merely tore off the false mask you wear to hide your true face~" replied Ravena before breaking out into laughter.

Queen growled audibly as she took off her heels and flung them at Ravena who simply tilted her head to dodge. "YOU F-KING BITCH!" screeched Queen, who lunged at Ravena, slashing her dagger wildly in her direction.

"Hmph~" sneered Ravena as she easily dodged every swing. Queen was becoming more infuriated with each missed attack which contorted her face even more.

"Come now, is that all you got?" taunted Ravena even further as dodged another slash.

In a fit of anger, Queen suddenly turned her on herself and slashed the entire length of her arm.

"QUEEN! NO!" cried out Whip as Queen allowed her blood to spray everywhere; her clothes, the ground and mostly on Ravena.

Queen now had a look of madness in her eyes as she struck the ground with her dagger at an angle creating sparks. _**"CONDOR…!"**_

"_QUEEEEEN!" _cried Whip as the sparks landed on the blood spatters.

"_**CANDLE!" **_cried out Queen as her black blood ignited. Flames combusted wherever the blood had spattered to including Ravena and Queen herself as the women cried out in agony.

Whip stared in horror at her sister but was soon overcome by chilling fear as Ravena's cries of anguish turned into cackling laughter. She turned to see Ravena standing unfazed as her magic encased the fire on her body and extinguished it, simultaneously healing her body.

"Amateur~! Your flames are much too weak!" sneered Ravena. "But you know what they say~ The best way to fight fire…._**Is with FIRE!"**_ she declared with her eyes ablaze.

No sooner had she said that, the flames that were burning Queen combusted, causing the woman to scream louder as Ravena laughed harder. "That's it! Scream! Scream! Feel that wondrous pain taking over you!" cried Ravena in almost perverse pleasure.

"_**NO!" **_screamed Whip as she ran over to her sister who collapsed as the flames gradually died down. "Queen…" said Whip tearfully as she dropped to her knees beside her sister. "Quinn…."

Queen barely was able to respond but managed to roll onto her back.

"Wi-Winnie….." she struggled to say before her body glowed add fragmented into data pieces.

"_QUINN!"_

(Real World)

At that moment in a small house in England, a young woman's body went completely limp as she toppled out from her chair and hit the floor with a crash. Her computer screen blacked out displaying only two words in crimson bold letters;

_**GAME OVER….**_

_**(FFW)**_

"Aranya…That was quick~" quipped Ravena nonchalantly.

"You…" Whip spoke as she balled her hands into fists, black blood dripping from her injuries.

"Oh, you're still up and kicking huh?" Ravena turned to the remaining sister and scoffed at her. "Tch…talk about a buzzkill. Why don't you clear out, I'm through with you."

"Through…THROUGH! AFTER WHAT YOU DID, YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST TOSS ME ASIDE LIKE THAT!" Whip's rage broke through as her Whip Wings thrashed about wildly. "THE HELL WE AREN'T THROUGH HERE BITCH!"

"It's always the ones like you who want to fight…who can't stand unless they have a reason. Pathetic…it's no fun playing with a broken toy."

"THE ONE WHO WILL BE BROKEN IS YOU!" With all the energy she could muster, Whip then launched a series of lashes with her Whip Wings, Trying to hit the evasive catgirl.

"DIE! DIE! STAND STILL AND DIE YOU MURDERER!" Whip poured her heart and soul into her onslaught as she continued to try and grab hold of the bored looking nekomata.

"I…I…I have no words to describe what's happening. Even after all that, Ravena just stood up and completely decimated the sisters. In one of the most shocking displays I have ever seen. She has defeated Queen and now Whip is beside herself, attacking in rage." Masukomi continued to do her job despite the terror that was occurring.

(Kurotsubasa)

"What's going on with Ravena-chan? It's not like her to do something like this." Illu said, shocked and fearful at her friend's vicious display of power.

"Yeah, I don't even know how she's still standing and smiling like that. Ravena doesn't like blood to the point that she should be paralyzed, not only that but her wings were sliced off. That pain is enough to cripple anyone." DB said as well.

"I don't know what to think of this. It could be that Rave passed out and Felis took control." Key hypothesized as he watched the battle passed the barrier. "But even so, I've never seen Felis act this sadistic in a fight."

Shadow just remained silent as he stood with Punnya and Amaya worried around him. His hand was still clasp tight around the mark on his neck; he didn't even care about the pain as all he felt was concern.

'Is that even really Felis…no I'd probably would know if that was her.' Shadow said as he watched on. As he kept his eyes on Ravena he noticed something that only few in the crowd could see.

Ravena was shrouded by a dark, malevolent aura. It was faint, but floated about her form like a miasma; a dark and twisted aura that matched this Ravena perfectly as she dodged and swatted away Whip's attack.

"Looks like you've still got some life left, but your tricks are so boring." Ravena added a yawn to enforce her point. "Why don't you just drop already?"

"F-K YOU BITCH!"

Whip then suddenly changed tactics to having her hair grasp Ravena's limbs and held her up into the air. The girl smiled sadistically while she huff air into her lungs, finally glad to have her sister's murderer right where she wanted her.

"You mangy little bitch! You think you could do what you did and not get away with it?" Whip asked through breathes.

"Hey, you two wanted to play. I just showed you amateurs how to really get your hands dirty. Not my fault you two went way over your heads." Ravena replied in boredom as if this was all a chore to her. "Could you get on with it?"

"Huh…the hell you say?!"

"Is this really all you got? Even if you are broken I expected more than just this." Ravena said as she eyed her bonds. "Is this all you can do with this rat's nest, on your own?"

"Oh I definitely got more than just this." Whip said as she then pulled out her earrings and sliced open her palms. She then threw her hand out and suddenly Ravena's arm was grazed by what seemed to be a chain of hexagons.

"You see that? A little move I save for those who really piss me off. That chain was just so you can see what's gonna end you…right now I'm deciding where to aim? Should I make it quick, no…I want you to suffer for what you did." Whip now had a hysterical look on her face. "I want you to beg for forgiveness as I cut you to pieces, same way you did with Quinn!"

"Quinn? Ahahaha, that's her name?! Priceless!"

"Shut up!"

"Aww, is whittle Whippy mwad dat her swister isn't here?" Ravena talked down to her.

"Shut your mouth!" Whip fired another chain, slices another part of Ravena, though the catgirl just continue laugh and belittling the girl. Finally, in her rage, she snapped and fired a chain towards the girl's head. "Die!"

*Thunk!*

"Wha-wha-what is this!" Masukomi said as the sound of impact echoed throughout the arena. Everyone was staring in silence as they looked on the screen to see what had happened.

Ravena's hand was free and was grasping on the chain Whip had just fired. The hexagons had cut the nekomata's hand but she still kept a tight grip, keeping it from piercing her head. She then flexed her other hand to show her now sharpened claws and suddenly her bonds shattered apart into drops of blood.

Whip stumbled and fell back in fear as Ravena fell and landed gracefully, now free from her restraints. Her chain then shattered to pieces and turned to blood, as its user had now dropped any and all concentration.

"I got bored of waiting up there for you and the joke about the royal bitch died, so I decided to come down…course I don't appreciate a broken toy running too long. Are you finally out of steam?" Ravena asked as she walked over to the now fearful Whip.

"St-stop! Stay back!" Whip said as she backed away on the ground.

"Aww, you don't want to play anymore? No more quips? Aren't you gonna call me a bitch one more time? It wouldn't be the first time after all."

"Stay away from me!"

"I guess you really are done then, oh well. This time just stay **broken!"**

In a flash Ravena appeared right on top of Whip, with her foot pressed onto the girl's chest. Before a word could be spoken, Ravena smirked as she then slowly stepped down onto her victim's ribs.

***Crack!***

Whip's screams echoed loudly across the battlefield, telling everyone the pain that the Dead Blood was currently in. The glass shattering screams then died out as Whip passed out from the pain. Seeing her toy now "broken" Ravena kicked her aside.

"So boring…" Ravena finished seeing the girl teleported away, probably by her teammates.

"W-well I guess that's it everyone. The winner of the match is…"

"Hold it!"

That outburst caused Masukomi to stop before she could declare Ravena the winner. The one who called out to the audience was the catgirl herself who had a look of defiance on her face.

"I'm not done yet! Give me someone else to fight!"

"There aren't any more opponents left for you to…" Masukomi tried to explain.

"Oh there are plenty of them out there." Ravena smirked as she pointed out to the cameras and in-turn the audience. "There are people out there who can offer some fun. Come on, I'll take on anyone who's willing to step into the ring!"

All throughout the stage, there were loud talks going on in the crowd. Conversations raged from "Is she serious?" to "This girl is psycho!" though the main talks were about the nekomata's offer to fight anyone who would challenge her in the battlefield. As chats continued throughout the audience, the guilds were having their own talks.

(Dead Bloods)

"Well that was an interesting change down there. I would've never guessed that girl was capable of anything like this."

Doc spoke as he watched Whips' body was now laid across from an unconscious Meat's. Zaraki was in his own corner growling while Shiro's attention was focused on the screen.

"What happened to Miss Kitty? She feels different from before. Shiro thought she was off a bit before but now…she's turned into a bully." Shiro said as she huffed at the screen's image of Ravena.

"Whatever, we definitely do not need this shit right now. We've lost, so let's find a way out of this before Admin Guards get called here." Zaraki then landed a punch on the barrier around their guild's booth only for it to absorb the hit. This only served to anger the Dead Blood more.

"Hey, let us out here already! We lost so we get to leave, don't you people know your own stupid rule?!"

"Zaraki" The angered man stopped and looked towards Doc. "This barrier may just be the only thing protecting us from that girl down there."

"Are you saying that girl is a threat to us? I don't care; the rest of us active can just rip her to shreds and be done with it. Considering that you fainted, I was SUCKER KICKED, and Ms. Leader fell over from a nosebleed!" Zaraki argued his point.

"Whip and Queen were both in top condition and looked what happened to them. Besides…" Doc took the moment to adjust what remained of his glasses. "The Admin will be busy dealing with a disaster during a Guild War; they'll barely take the time to worry about criminals like us."

"Tch, you better be right about this." Zaraki folded his arms and stood in anger. All Dead Bloods could do now was wait for an opening.

(Kurotsubasa)

"Why is this barrier still up and going?! It should've dropped after the fight!" DB said as he kicked the barrier again, trying to find a way to break it down and get to their friend. "Why is Ravena still keeping us in here?!"

"Don't know, but she put this spell up before the change happened. It could be a way of protecting us…but right now, we don't need protection." Key said as he summoned his keyblades. "We need to end this Guild War already."

"What do you have in mind, Key?" Grim asked, wondering why the Beta summoned his weapons of choice. Doppelman also appeared over to watch the development.

"**I don't think your fancy swords can cut through that barrier. If Fangs over here couldn't even dent it with his monstrous strength, what are your powers going to do against it?" **Doppleman brought up his point.

"This barrier is made by Ravena's magic. It's a strong spell, but spells can be broken. Her barrier works by locking us in, so I should be able to unlock and dispel her barrier with my keyblades." Key said as he aimed his keys to the barrier surrounding the guild.

"The barrier was made with strong magic, so you have to use strong or stronger power to dispel something like this." Grim said as he watched the Beta get prepared. "I'm not doubting your ability as a Beta, but are you sure you want to do this on your own?"

"Some of you are still recovering from your matches. It's best that I do this alone and give it my all." After Key was done speaking, he began working on the barrier. Two beams of light fired from the tips of the keyblades and into the barrier, signaling that Key had started his plan.

While that was going on, no one else noticed Bella's eyes fluttered open as she slowly regain consciousness.

'What was that? There's been a lot of negative energy going around since I was asleep.' Bella thought to herself as she looked over to her friends working on the barrier. "Are we still in the Guild War? What's going on? Did we win?" Before she went over to check on them, she saw Shadow was off on his own.

"Shads what's going on?" A voice said, snapping Shadow out from his thoughts. He turned and saw Bella slowly making her way over.

"You shouldn't be up yet." Shadow just said.

"Hard not to be up with all the commotion; so, mind filling me in?" The toongirl asked.

"I would…if I knew what was going on."

(Battlefield)

"Come now, why is everyone so shy~?" teased Ravena. "Oh I see, you all are being held back by the barriers~ Silly me~" chuckled the girl as her eyes glowed summoning multiple violet and blue spirit fireballs around her.

"_**Let me get that hindrance out the way~" **_she smirked. Suddenly, the spirit balls shot forward towards the shields creating multiple simultaneous mini explosions. Various players screamed as more cracks appeared on the shield which was barely able to repair itself from the damage earlier.

Ravena laughed maniacally as she threw more and more shots at the shield, relishing in the discord she creating. Her excitement grew as she could see the barrier ready to break. _**"Just one more~" **_she grinned as she created a large spirit ball in her hand and threw it straight at the barrier.

Various people grabbed each other and screamed in fear, as the spirit ball grew larger.

_**AURA OF NEGATION! **_ Came a yell followed by a bolt of light as the fireball was slashed clean in the middle and exploded into two smaller explosions.

Ravena clicked her tongue in annoyance at seeing her fun disrupted as a single emerged from the fire and landed on the ground wielding a black bladed sword.

"Speed!" exclaimed DB in surprise to see the most unlikely Admin to appear on scene.

"Hmph, Child's Play," smirked Speedgain as he tossed his sword into the air which glowed and transformed into a young woman who landed slightly behind Speed. The woman had pale skin and long black hair and wore the uniform of the Night Troops unit, which was Speed's chain of command. The uniform consisted of a black sleeveless shirt and black pants along with black steel-toed boots. She also had dark grey chest armor, elbow length black gloves with steel plates on the wrist. A white bird mask concealed her face as she stood battle-ready.

More members of the Night Troops and even more regular members of the Admin Guards joined the two quickly.

"Oh? The Admin have finally decided to join in the fun?" asked Ravena aloud with a voice filled with slight interest as well as annoyance.

"It appears that the Grim Reaper is not as competent as his reputation claims him to be, Tsubaki," stated Speed obviously displeased as he glanced up towards the Kurotsubasa box. Grim narrowed his eyes and returned the glare.

"Indeed, Master," replied Tsubaki.

Ravena stared at Tsubaki a bit before a small smile crept on her lips. "Hmm? I know you…. well, sort of, " said Ravena with a chuckle. "Seven years ago, Tokyo City Square? You were a lowly, no-name cadet then."

Tsubaki narrowed her eyes and growled.

Speed glanced over to Tsubaki and quirked an eyebrow. "You know her Tsubaki?"

"Yes sir," replied the Admin Guard as she materialized a ninjato in her hand. "She's a B-Ranked rogue I've been chasing down for years…"

"And the fact that you've been unsuccessful to this day_** clearly**_ shows how competent your skills are," mocked Ravena suddenly appearing beside the young woman and picking off the woman's mask.

Tsubaki widened her eyes as she instinctively slashed at Ravena, only to find her gone. A mocking laugh directed everyone's gaze to see Ravena siting atop a broken pillar, one leg crossed over the other as she held Tsubaki's mask over her own face.

"We never did get to finish that fight oh so many years ago, isn't that right, Tsubaki~?" smirked the Nekomata lifting the mask.

The Admin Guard Leader twirled her ninjato and prepared herself. "You may have changed your name and appearance, but you have hardly changed at all, _**"The Rookie, Raven's Familiar!"**_

Murmurs of surprise and shock echoed through the stadium the instant Tsubaki mentioned the name.

"_Did she just say 'The Rookie'?"_

"_THAT Rookie?!"_

"_Raven's Familiar, the rogue?!"_

(With Kurotsubasa)

The Guild looked around feeling confused and bewildered. "Nani?! What's going on here?! Who is the Rookie?! Who is Raven's Familiar?!" Demanded an almost teary-eyed Illu.

"No clue owlgirl, though she must be something if she's got everyone freaked out like this?" Bella said, placing her thoughts on the matter. "This is the first time I've heard of her."

"Me too, though they got a lot of old posters about her around bars and places bounty hunters hang around. Still that doesn't explain what's going on." DB then turned to Key, who's attention was still on the barrier. "Key, if anyone would know this it's you. Who's Raven's Familiar?"

Key was silent at first, considering all of his attention was on bringing down the barrier. He then took a glance over to the guild.

"Raven's Familiar…is one of the few players given a flee-on-sight order for most players. She was wanted by the Admin for assaulting guards and evading arrest on her first day."

"So, we've technically done that too right when all this Admin mess started." DB reminded him.

"True; however, it didn't just stop there." Key stumbled a bit, as he had to split his concentration between talking and trying to break the barrier. "She eventually stopped running and just fought back, she took down any Admin Guards sent to retrieve her. Most of them didn't even survive to be treated by healers."

"It came to the point to where they couldn't send weaker players after her for fear of their safety, so they when they put up the bounty for her they also put a cap to stop those too weak from pursuing her." Grim then added.

"So you know about this bounty too?" Shadow asked, seeing as Grim added to Key's info.

"There isn't a mercenary or bounty hunter that doesn't know about Raven's Familiar. Not only was she a notorious rogue, she had a pretty big name in the Underground Information Vine as well. Called her the 'Mata-Hari'. Oddly enough though, one day she just completely fell off the grid. No one has seen or heard a word of her appearing anywhere. So it was decided that the bounty be suspended due to her absence…" Grim kept his eyes down at the battlefield. "Of course now that isn't the case."

(Battlefield)

"It's nice to know someone who remembers me after all these years, ~ You look like you've got a bone to pick with me." 'Ravena' gave the masked Admin Guard an amused smile.

"I've got more than just a 'bone' to pick with you, criminal." Tsubaki's voice remained calm, though her mask did cover up the hateful glare her eyes was giving the girl.

"Are you related to one of those idiots who tried hunting me down?" 'Ravena' teased.

"HUH?! YOU KNOW FULL DAMN WELL WHO I AM!" burst out Tsubaki in a rage, her hand gripping the ninjato tighter.

"Do I now?"

"F-K YOU! You said my name earlier too!"

The nekomata then took a mock thinking pose. "Hmm, did I?

"Now I know you are mocking me!"

Ravena yawned loudly. "Too easy…"

Tsubaki growled loudly and then vanished in a burst of wind, only to appear in front of Ravena.

_**CLANG!**_

The catgirl used her shackle to hold back the wind-chakra enhanced ninjato. Despite the slicing power added to it, the blade made no dent as it sparked against the precious metal. Wind then began to gather around her free hand and she moved to run her hand through the cat girl only for her target to teleport out of her reach.

"Hah, been awhile since someone came at me to try and kill me! Ok, you got my attention, what did I do to the _wittle tweety birdie_ to get her all hot and bothered huh?" Ravena grinned with excitement rematerializing in a swirl of magic energy.

"If you must know; I was in the first Admin Squad you wiped out. I may have only just been a simple guard, but to be batted away like a fly by someone like you…it made me sick!" Tsubaki explained. She then dashed to begin her assault, slashing at Ravena with grace and precision; she continued to talk as her target blocked and evaded her attacks.

"You humiliated us that day, but most of all you humiliated me! Even when I absorbed your powers all it has done was backfire and sent me flying."

"Wait…oh yeah; you were the idiot who thought she beat me by copying my powers! Ahahaha that was a riot! The way you went flying was hilarious!"

Ravena laughed as she took a step back, just narrowly dodging a slash aimed at her jugular, the blade just missing it's target by a hair. "Temper, temper, Tsubaki dear~"

"I see the years have made you more crude."

"And you have become more of a prude."

Ravena stepped out the way as the wind cut through some loose strands of her hair. She then slashed back using her own claws, the neko's claws held back Tsubaki's ninjato as they stood in a standstill. Ravena then smirked as a ball of fire appeared in her free hand. At the same time Tsubaki called on some wind chakra.

**Will o'Wisp!**

**Wind Style: Wind Wave!**

A loud and large explosion shook the battlefield as the two fighters have been separated by the blast. As Tsubaki landed she then turned to her reinforcements to give them a silent message. The Anbu-like guards then drew their weapons and charged at the renegade rouge.

A crazed grin grew on Ravena's face as she made no move. "This is too easy!" she cackled as her sharpened claws were ready for some blood.

"Alive or Dead, just stop her!" commanded Tsubaki brandishing her ninjato as she took the lead.

"ROGER!" responded the troop.

Ravena's Cheshire grin grew even larger as her eyes became more manic.

_BADUMP!_

A dark pulse waved through the entire area as everyone began seeing darkness followed by a piercing stare accompanied by a drop of sheer coldness. The sudden dark feeling was strong it froze the troops in their tracks including Tsubaki as it was like time suddenly stopped for her.

"_**You were a weak loser then and you are a weak loser now….Hmph, you're not even worth my time…." **_mocked Ravena cruelly as she glided by Tsubaki.

Tsubaki's eyes widened before feeling a sharp pain in her gut as blood spurted before her eyes. Just like that, time suddenly resumed its pace as the entire troop simultaneously cried out in agony and dropped to the ground while Ravena had appeared behind them without so much as a scratch.

(Kurotsubasa)

Illu clutched herself tightly as she collapsed to her knees while Bella put her arms around the girl trying to console her. "_Nani_…._Nani goto da…_? _Rave-chan_..." whispered Illu to herself.

"Ravena/**Kitty**…." Said Grim and Doppelman simultaneously in shock.

"Rave…." Muttered DB in shock as well. "That can't be our Rave…"

"Key!" Shadow said, turning to the Beta, who had sweat pouring down his brow.

"Hang on, almost got it!"

(Battlefield)

The Admin Guard coughed up some blood as she looked towards Ravena in disbelief. 'To think she grew this powerful after all these years…..' thought Tsubaki before suddenly smiling inwardly. "Heh….just what I expect from you Rookie…" she muttered.

"Ara, Ara…If that's all it took to obliterate the famed Night Troops, I'm severely disappointed," lamented Ravena with a sigh when she suddenly ducked, only just missing a swing from Speed's katana that would have easily take her head clean off.

Ravena quickly executed a leg sweep, prompting Speed to jump back. The Admin wasted no time resuming his attack as he furiously swung his sword at Ravena who dodged and deflected each strike. Speed was also quick to defend himself as well as Ravena who fought back with equal strength.

"Not bad for a girl," sneered Speed as he avoided a strike to the abdomen before striking his katana down onto Ravena who quickly clasped it between her palms.

The Neko smirked in response as they both stood in a standstill. "Thanks, I was gonna say the same about you" she responded.

_**KRRRCK!-SNAP! - **_ went Speed's katana as Ravena snapped the blade clean off with her hands. A single kick from her boot sent Speed flying backwards into a large piece of broken wall.

Just as Ravena stood watching a dust cloud arose from the crumbling of the wall, a whip of wind from the side prompted her to jump out of the way into the air. Ravena quickly turned and flung the broken blade she held in the direction of the blast.

_**CHING!**_ The blade was deflected away by Tsubaki who was back up on her feet holding a large shuriken. Tsubaki's expression was livid as she flung the shuriken towards Ravena who had no trouble redirecting the projectile back at the Guard who was already making her assault as Tsubaki caught the shuriken and slashed at Ravena.

Speed was already back up on his feet, joining in the fray, now making it a two on one fight.

(Dead Bloods)

"The Rookie is still living up to her reputation," noted Doc turning the screw in his head. "I can see why she had such a high bounty on her head."

"WOW~! Shiro should ask Ms Kitty to join us then!" piped up Shiro.

"Like HELL we will!" snapped Zaraki when a sudden explosion to their shield quickly made all three hit the floor for cover.

(Field)

Ravena grinned as slid back a distance from Tsubaki whose ponytail glowed and transformed into a sickle with an extremely long chain. The girl dashed forward swinging the weapon with expertise before flinging it at Ravena.

The Nekomata deflected the bladed easily with her shackle before grabbing the sickle's handle. Ravena immediately lifted a leg and wrapped it with the chain before stamping it down, forcibly yanking Tsubaki to her feet. Ravena didn't even hesitate as she followed it up with a swift and violent kick to Tsubaki's jaw, stunning the girl.

"Tsubaki!" cried out Speed as he launched himself at Ravena who evaded and slashed at him with the sickle that he blocked with his arm guard and then threw a kick at the Nekomata. In a swift move, Ravena grabbed the leg and used it to elevate herself and swing her body until she was sitting upon Speed's shoulders. Before Speed had a chance to react, Ravena had coiled the chain from the sickle around his neck and began pulling tightly, strangling Speed as he began choking and gasping for air.

"Master!" cried Tsubaki ready to get up but Ravena quickly pointed the sickle at her.

"You move and this chain gets even tighter" warned Ravena menacingly when suddenly-

_**BANG!-CHING!**_

A gun-shot rang out suddenly as the sickle was shot from the girl's hand causing the chain to break. Speed quickly took the brief advantage and threw his body forward, flinging Ravena from his shoulders. Ravena tumbled on the ground before quickly jumping away to avoid another bullet.

"Phew! Made it in time!" sighed DB in relief as he landed in the field followed close behind by the other members of Kurotsubasa. "Way to cut it close Key!"

"Hey, let's see you try unlock a powerful force-field of Darkness!"

"Not the time guys!" chided Bella jumping in between the two.

"Master!" cried out Tsubaki, quickly scurrying to Speed who gingerly held his neck as he coughed as he gasped for air. "Are you alright?"

"Oh course I am! Don't forget who I am!" exclaimed Speed haughtily slapping away Tsubaki's hand and standing up.

"O-of course, forgive me, Master," apologized Tsubaki meekly.

Ravena clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Che, you got out…You must have some sort of Death Wish."

Shadow quickly summoned his scythe and brandished it at the Neko. The other guys save for Bella and Illu readied themselves too while Tsubaki and Speed prepared themselves to attack.

"Shads! Me and DP are going to help get the people out!" yelled out Grim as he and DP made their way to the stands.

"Butt out Shadowlight, I'll be the one to take in this criminal!" commanded Speed stepping in front.

"Someone who was almost strangled a few minutes ago has no right to be saying that line," replied Shadow coolly making Speed growl angrily.

'Bastard, if it weren't the situation at hand I would have had your head for that' Speed snarled internally.

Shadow ignored the Admin and returned his attention to the Nekomata before them. "Now for you, you are not the Ravena we know, and you are obviously not Felis," he stated narrowing his eyes. "Who are you?"

'Ravena' widened her eyes a little before breaking into a wide grin. Suddenly she threw her head back and laughed out loudly. "Oh this is great! Finally somebody notices!" she laughed before taking a deep breath and looked straight at Shadow while clapping sarcastically. "Very good, Shadow. I commend you for pointing me out."

Tsubaki appeared confused as she glanced back and forth between the two.

"As you have already pointed out, I am not that stiff you know as Felis nor am I that foolish girl you are so fond of," began the Nekomata. "I am the True Mind, the One who rightfully rules this Vessel,_ you will refer to me as __**Lynx!**_" she announced proudly but also with a sneer.

"What is she going on about?" Speed spoke as he slowly recovered; now massaging his recently abused throat. "None of what she just said makes any sense."

"You don't have to worry about that, right now you need to take your troops and get out of the arena." Shadow replied, not taking his eyes off of the newly introduced Lynx.

"Who do you think you are, ordering me around?!"

"The guy reminding you of your job! Shouldn't you be getting the people out of the stands instead of trying to pick a fight with me Speed?!" Shadow quickly lost patience with the Admin. "So go do your job and leave Lynx to us." Shadow said, with the rest of Kurotsubasa backing him up.

Speed scoffed at that remark. "I should be locking up all of you. Who do you think you are ordering me around?" The Admin said with an even tone as he put aside his anger for now.

"Speed-sama?" Tsubaki looked at her superior in confliction. A part of her wanted nothing more but to defeat and capture her enemy, Familiar or Not…but her first and only priority was to Speed. If he gave the order, she would put aside her feelings for revenge and follow his command without hesitation.

"Tsubaki…we're evacuating this area for now." Speed said reluctantly. "We'll have Kurotsubasa clean up their mess this time; though don't think this is over. You'll have a lot to answer for after this Shadow, and that's if you survive this fight. If it looks like you and your guild can't handle the situation we go back to doing things my way." The Admin turned his back to the fight and gestured Tsubaki to follow him as they walked away.

"And who exactly said you could leave?" Lynx fired a magic bolt at the retreating Admin. Her attack flew through the air so fast that it caught mostly everyone by surprise.

"Tsubaki…smoke now."

"Understood."

A large billow of smoke suddenly appeared; blocking view of both the Admin and the ANBU. Lynx's attacked ended up sailing through the cloud of grey and impacted further away, leaving a large explosion. The neko's attack left another sizable crater on the ground.

"Damn, I missed, and here I was hoping I could knock around those small fries for a little while longer." Lynx shrugged her shoulders, waving away the wisps of magic left on her hand after the attack. "Guess I'll just have to settle for you all instead. My **'dear'…**_**'sweet'…**__**'friends.**__**'**_" With every word she spoke, her voice seems to have got colder.

"Whatever you say, faker! We'll take you down and get the real Kitty back out again!" Bella slid into a mock fighting stance. Her time asleep had allowed her to recover most of her strength. The toon girl had never dreamed of fighting one of her best friends seriously.

"Moi, a fake? That's hypocritical coming from you Hyna." In a flash, Lynx sprinted across the field and in front of Bella. The toon girl was shocked, but before she could slam her hand down, Lynx had gripped her omnitrix and twisted her arm.

"Aren't you nothing more, but a vessel for all those toons of yours? Each one you let out whenever you want…and some that you don't. How do we know who is the real Bella here?" The sadistic nekomata hardened her grip on the toon girl's arm.

Wincing a bit from Lynx's steely grip, she mentally had the watch transform her, blowing away Lynx with a burst of green light. That light was also a signal, because now more of Kurotsubasa began their attacks.

"Stand still!" DB slashed with his katana, hoping to land a sword slash on the quick moving feline. The vampire continued to press his attack, madly swing his sword around hoping to hit his mark.

"Yawn…do you obviously think this will work?" Lynx flexibly bent back to avoid another strike. "DB, you're better than this! Come on, liven this up like you always do!" Lynx suddenly stopped, right as DB sword was aimed at her face, causing DB to hold his attack out of shock.

"Why not light your sword on fire? Give us both a rush! Hell, maybe you should go back to those guns of yours!"

Lynx lashed out and kicked DB away, sending him sprawling along the ground. Before Lynx had another chance to gloat, a huge weight pressed down on her, making it hard for her to move. The girl hissed, as the gravity field held her down in place.

"Key, Illu, Bella!" Shadow signaled the three as he focused on holding Lynx in place.

"Right!" Key ran in first with his keyblades in both hands.

While still in the altered gravity, Lynx tried to swipe at Key only to narrowly miss. This allowed Key point his Infinity at the captured feline. He then focus his mana into the keyblade to cast his next spell.

"**Stop!"**

A burst a magic hit Lynx, causing her to freeze in place. Seeing her now stuck in time; Key then backed away making sure to get some distance. Bella, now transformed as TF Armada Starscream, flew up into the air and readied her plasma cannons. The transformer held out his hand and summoned a smaller droid in his hand.

"**Let's go, Swindle!"** The minicon combined with the Decepticon, increasing his power ten-fold. As Starscream powered up he began to take aim. **"Ok, Owlgirl, make sure she's still so I can take the shot!" **

"I…I…" Illu clutched onto her glaive, hesitating to make her next move yet saw she didn't have much time as Key's spell was beginning to wear off. The owl hybrid tried to focus herself to pin Lynx but she just fell to her knees, not finding the will to carry out with the attack.

"I…. I can't! I can't!" Illu broke down. Her weapon clattered along the ground as her eyes filled with tears, unable to bear the fight anymore.

"The spell's breaking!" Key called out to all of them as Lynx slowly regained her ability to move.

Seeing their strategy fall apart, the nekomata then tried to force her way out of Shadow's attack. As Lynx tried to escape by overpowering the guild leader's bindings Shadow was physically struggling to hold the catgirl in place.

"**Enough of this plan! I'm taking control, Plasma Cannon fire!" **Starscream fired two large beams of energy.

The twin streams of plasma rained down, getting closer to their target. Eyeing the attacks, Shadow released the field so that he could move away and use gravity to push everyone else away from the blast zone. Despite that, they were all still blown back a bit from the force of the explosion. The members of Kurotsubasa all stood up while Bella flew back to Earth and transformed back. Before they could see if the attack landed, the smoke cleared to show Lynx hiding under a barrier.

"Can you guys start getting serious? Or are you all going to keep pulling your punches?" Lynx asked while brushing off some imaginary dust from her clothes. "I thought I was some 'faker'. It should be easy to attack me…shouldn't it?" She slyly smirked enjoying the reactions she was getting.

"Well if you're not going to start out seriously, I guess I can give you some motivation."

Lynx's eyes began to glow and released a wave of magic into the ground. Suddenly, Lynx's shadow began to enlarge as several red eyes can be seen appearing in it.

"_**Arise my pets, Kucing Bayangan!"**_

Figures of shadows began to arise from it and take shape, slowly beginning to form into more felid shapes. It a matter of seconds, there was a whole group of large, snarling panthers, each of them featuring four glowing red eyes.

The rest of Kurotsubasa began taking a step back as the shadow panthers faced them and snarled menacingly. One of the panthers curled around Lynx's legs rumbling a bit in pleasure as the Neko stroked its head. Lynx smirked as she uttered a single word.

"**Attack…"**

The Kucing Bayangan all roared loudly as they charged towards Kurotsubasa …or at least it seemed that away. The Kucing swiftly changed directions as they began heading towards the crumbling barriers and ramming against them repeatedly.

If there wasn't enough chaos already from the audience trying to evacuate things just got a lot worse as the Kucing finally crashed through the barrier and began lunging at various players. Screams of fear and agony arose as some players were pounced on and were desperately trying to fight them off.

Other players quickly began unleashing their powers or brandishing their weapons and began fighting back the Kucing. One swung his sword and successfully sliced a Kucing in half, only for it to regenerate as it lunged at him.

Kurotsubasa stared in horror as Lynx cackled in glee. "My poor kittens have been _**sooooo **_bored with the lack of playtime," pouted Lynx mockingly before chuckling to herself.

"Stop it, Ravena! This isn't you!" yelled Bella.

Lynx rolled her eyes. "Uh, Hello? Haven't we already established that?"

"We know what you are trying to do Lynx!" spoke up Key stepping up.

"Then you should know what will happen if you don't stop them~" chuckled Lynx. "You wanna save the people? Then fight me. I'll even give you the first shot, I'm wide open~ " taunted the Neko standing with her arms open, a cruel smile playing on her face.

"You're sick!" spat DB tightening the grip on his sword.

Kurotsubasa's dilemma was obvious. They couldn't let innocent bystanders get hurt but they can't hurt their friend either. Lynx knew it was their Achilles Heel and she was milking it for all its worth.

"Tick-Tock, dearies~" she mocked when suddenly, a blast of gravity slammed into Lynx, sending her flying into a wall.

"Shadow!" exclaimed the others in shock as they turned to look at their leader who had an extremely dark look on his face. Shadow's expression was beyond angry, it was pure rage.

Lynx laughed in delight as she got up, coughing slightly as she wiped the blood trailing from her mouth. "Now that's what I'm talking about! That's a good expression you got there Shadow!"

Shadow moved to take a step forward but felt the back of his jacket being grabbed. He turned his head to see Illu looking up at him tearfully. "Please….don't hurt Rave-chan…. She begged gripping Shadow's jacket tighter.

"You heard her yourself, Illu…. She's no longer Ravena…..The Ravena we know would never do something like this. You of all people should know that…."

"But-"

"Oh always the wet blanket aren't cha Illu?!" exclaimed Lynx in annoyance as she formed a spirit ball in her hand. "You need to get dried out!" she grinned flinging the fireball towards her.

Shadow quickly scooped up Illu and jumped away while Db leapt forward and sliced the attack, creating a small explosion. A flash was seen in the smoke as a loud deafening Sonic Howl blasted through it. Lynx quickly conjured up a barrier to protect herself as the attack slammed against the barrier with a vengeance.

Lynx clicked her tongue as she placed her fingers to her lips and blew a sharp whistle, calling some of the Kucing to come down and attack.

As the feline shaped wraiths ran towards them, Blitzwolfer was preparing another howl when the Kucing were suddenly blown back by a wall of gravity. Before Bella could object Shadow was in the middle of giving an order.

"Bella, DB, Key…go to the stands and take care of these things. Help the Admin with their evacuation." Shadow turned to Illu. "Illu, you stay back here. I could use you here for healing since there are enough medics in the crowd."

"But…I can't just stand back, I can help!" Illu argued.

"You can help by making sure I stay alive during this fight." Shadow said as he reminded them of their smiling opponent who had now had her Kucing ready for another attack. "Lynx isn't going to make this easy, so I would like a medic here."

"Are you really going to fight Ravena Shads? We should really keep the team tighter to fight that Lynx girl." Bella offered some advice.

"I should be able to handle Lynx, now go help out." Shadow said, with as much authority and finality he had.

As much as Bella, Key, and DB disliked the order, they reluctantly nodded and were about to set off before a mocking laugh grabbed all their attention.

"Bold talk Shadow, I'll enjoy stripping that self-confidence away once I mop the ground with you. Though what makes you think I'll let any of you slip out. My cute Kucing will pounce you mice as soon as you leave your hole." Lynx tried to provoke them.

"You'll be busy with your own trap before you could pounce any of us." Shadow nudged his head, signaling them to move.

"Tch, don't say I didn't warn you…" Lynx mentally ordered her pet to attack only to find the Kucing and herself trapped in place. Looking down at her shadow she saw multiple black threads keeping her and her Kucing bound.

"Threads, when did you…?!" As she struggled she recognized the spell that Shadow had cast in secret. "Tendrils of Darkness huh, how long do you think these can hold me?"

"Long enough" Shadow taunted back before glancing back at his guild. "What are you waiting for, take care of crowd then come back."

"…All right fine, but you better be sure about this Shads." Key said, surprising the other two.

"Are you serious Key?" DB asked.

"It's better to get the crowd out of danger so that she can't use it as leverage. Come on, the faster we do this the faster we can get back to the fight." The Beta said before taking off to help with the crowd control.

DB mumbled some bitter words but he then followed Key into the crowd as well. Bella had transformed back and gave a final message to Shadow. "I hope you know what you're doing Shads." The toon girl said before taking off to help with the crowd.

'So do I…' Shadow was then dragged from his thoughts when he felt Punnya tugged worried on his sleeve with her teeth. Next to her was Amaya who had her own look of worry.

"Punnya!"

"U-pyonnn."

"I'll do all I can Punnya, though you wait with Illu. Take Amaya with you and stay safe." He ushered the Manju towards where Illu was sitting on the battlefield. A quick mental message to Amaya had the young rabbit manju raise a psychic barrier of her own as best she could.

As soon as the three were safe Lynx tore her way out of the binding strings.

"Tough spell, so you're going to have to do more than that if you want to save everyone _Shadow-kyun_." Lynx said jokingly and smiled seeing Shadow's glare at the petname. "Aww, what's the matter? Just because I'm not little Felidae I can't use her name for you~?"

"That's exactly it, not like you care about that." Shadow got ready as he kept his glare, Byakugan active. "I'm going to get our friend back, so get ready Lynx."

"Wow, way to talk a big game, but you are the only one who isn't afraid to go all out. Though your methods raise some questions…" Lynx smirked. "All the moments you had me trapped in your gravity trap or even before with that spell would've a good time to use that scythe of yours. Makes me wonder if you're really up for this, _Leader-chan~._"

On that last insult, the free Kucing pounced towards the scythe-user. Shadow got ready only to be interrupted by the sound of tearing mixed in with a chainsaw. Grim no took his place on the battlefield after eliminating the two shadow cats.

"Didn't forget about me, did you?" Grim said with his sawblades out on his legs.

"You don't have to get involved Grim."

"It's my fault we're in this; besides you guys helped me so it's my turn to help you."

The two finished their banter and turned to Lynx who now was sporting an interested smirk on her face as she sharpened her claws.

"Oh, this **will** be fun!" Lynx then flashed forward, claws raised, ready for her entertainment.

"IIIYAAA!" cried Lynx as she stabbed a hand at Shadow who dodged left and appeared behind and attempted to strike only to have his hand caught by one of Lynx's tails. Lynx smirked as the other tail shot up and jabbed his forehead with such force that he recoiled.

Lynx's ear twitched as she sensed movement behind her, quickly turning at crossing her arms above her head. Exactly at that moment, the loud screech and grinding of Grim's Saw foot created a shower of sparks as it connected against Lynx's shackles. Lynx closed her eyes and gritted her teeth in pain as she stood her ground, bearing the shrill screeching of the rotating blades against the metal which reverberated through her sensitive ears. With a loud cry, Lynx's eyes glowed and magically blasted Grim away into wall.

The Nekomata clutched her head in pain as she growled audibly. "Alright, **NOW **I'm mad…." She snarled, her fists encasing in magic. Blue flames of spirit fire surrounded her in a circle, blazing fiercely.

With a mighty cry, Lynx began firing blasts at Grim and Shadow simultaneously in quick succession. Grim made no hesitation as he quickly fired up his blades on his legs and used them skate around the field at a high speed while Shadow spun his scythe and sliced through the blasts coming towards him.

"_You can't protect her Shadow! You can't protect anyone! You can't even protect yourself!" _Shadow heard Lynx's voice echoing in his psyche. He looked up to see Lynx's manic glare staring into his soul. _"This is all you fault Shadow! You did this to her!"_

Shadow's head began to throb violently as he suddenly hit the ground, clutching his head as he writhed about in agony. "AGH! SHUT UP! GET OUT! GET OUT!" he yelled out in pain.

Lynx mockingly threw her head back and laughed. "Do you feel that?! Do you _**FEEL**_ that pain you pathetic fool?! It is a mere fraction of the pain _**I**_ have to endure inside!" sneered Lynx jabbing at her heart with her thumb as her hair bellowed about her face.

"Then how's this for pain?!" yelled Grim as he swooped down from above on a large clay bird as he released a clay spider while simultaneously grabbing Shadow and flying into the air.

Lynx widened her eyes as she saw the spider coming towards her. Amaya quickly tried to strengthen the barrier she already had up around Illu but the sudden rise in panic began causing the barrier to falter as Punnya began to glow as the bomb detonated.

_**KA-BOOM!**_ With a bright flash, an explosion erupted, engulfing the field in fire.

"RAVENA!" cried out Shadow in despair as he watched the flames die out.

In the middle of the field, Lynx lay in a crater, a thin barrier just barely covering her body fading away. The Nekomata breathed heavily as she slowly got up while Grim and Shadow watched from above. Meanwhile, Illu slowly opened her eyes, clearly shaken up. In her arms, Amaya was shivering heavily, having being stunned by the sound of the loud explosion. Suddenly Illu realized that both she and Amaya were shrouded by something big and heavy. A pained growl made Illu gasp in realization as she felt the thing shift. "Punnya?"

Punnya was revealed to have transformed and shielded them at the last moment before the bomb detonated. Punnya gave one final pained growl before collapsing to the ground as she reverted back to her original form. Illu gasped as she turned around to face the manju.

At that moment Lynx had crawled out of the crater, brushing hair from her eyes.

"_Punnya, no!" _she heard a voice cry alerting Lynx to turn her head towards Illu's direction where she saw Illu taking off her jacket and wrapping it around the manju.

Lynx fixated her eyes on Punnya's damaged form, her breath suddenly caught in her throat. "Punnya?..." she whispered as flashes of a memory were triggered.

_**FLASH! **_

_Ravena was fighting fiercely before she was overpowered._

_**FLASH! **_

_Punnya getting struck and falling before her eyes._

_**FLASH!**_

Lynx remembered the anger and despair she felt back then as she saw Punnya lying on the ground. Her rage began to bubble more and more until Ravena threw back her head and released a long screeching cry of anguish as it transitioned back into Lynx.

"_**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH! AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" **_she screamed, over and over. The more she screamed, Lynx's eyes began glowing red as her dark magic began flowing out of her. In the stands, the Kucing Bayangan melted back into the shadows as it combined back into Lynx's magic.

Grim widened his eyes while Shadow could feel himself shudder at the raw power.

Lynx growled as a second set of eyes appeared on her forehead and looked directly up at Grim who gulped.

"She's gonna kill me isn't she?" he asked bluntly.

"Eeyup," answered Shadow.

Lynx's spirit fire turned from blue to black as she gathered it into a giant ball and fired sky high towards the clay bird.

"HANG ON!" cried Grim as he maneuvered the bird out of the way.

Lynx kept firing again and again, her rage showing clearly on her face, her intent being clear to destroy them.

Suddenly, one of the blasts caught Grim by surprise, causing him to sharply turn at the last minute. However, it also caused Shadow to suddenly lose his balance as he tumbled off the bird.

"SHADOW!" cried Illu as she saw her leader tumble from the sky.

_**GIGANTESCO MANO!**_ Cried out a familiar voice as a giant hand grew out of the ground, catching Shadow in its giant palm. Illu breathed a sigh huge sigh of relief as Shadow was lowered to the ground much to Lynx's distaste. As she got ready to shoot at Shadow, six arms grew out of her back and constricted her movements tightly, two of them on he head, poised to snap her neck at any moment.

_**Seis Fleur! **_Said the voice again calmly as Masukomi appeared from the ground with her arms crossed before her. Her glasses were off and her hair was let loose flowing behind her. An army of shadow clones were already revealed to be up in the stands ready to handle any more threats while another large group stood behind her, ready to fight.

"I will handle her, you guys get to safety!" commanded Masukomi taking a fighting stance.

"No! Lynx is a part of my guild, she's my responsibility!" argued Shadow attempting to walk up but was blocked by two clones.

"And FFW is _**MY**_ responsibility." Masukomi spoke in a somber tone. Unconsciously, Shadow flinched a bit. It was still surprising that the Masukomi he knew and the woman standing there, blocking his path are one and the same person.

"I'm sure you can understand why I have to do this. Fights on the battlefield are one thing but when innocents are involved then all bets are off."

A light snicker called the two's attention over to the rebel catgirl. Lynx only gave the hands restraining her a look of amusement, not even a hint of fear at the possibility of demise from the reporter's hands.

"**Out of all of the surprises I've had today, I never thought I'd have to deal with a newswoman. First Grim and now this, do you have to get bailed out every time Shads?"** Another laugh escaped her as her body trembled from laughter, even under Masukomi's hold. **"But Komi of all people; at least I won't run out of playmates at this rate. Ahahahah!"**

"Enough of this, players can only be evacuated so quickly. So for their safety, I'll deal with the threat right now." Masukomi said, tightening her hold and cutting off the girl's laugh. However, she still couldn't remove the smug grin from the nekomata's face.

"WAIT!"

Illu quickly handed the two manju's she held into the arms of a Komi clone and ran out of the safe zone and in a burst of speed grasp Masukomi's shoulder, almost breaking her concentration. The startled reporter quickly regained her composure and stared down the owlgirl. The nervous Illu managed to shake off her fear and speak to Masukomi without hesitation.

"Wait…please; you can't do this to Ravena-chan!" Illu try to plead with her.

"And why not? Do you understand how many people your friend has threatened today? Only a second ago; her spell was wreaking havoc in the stands, injuring and killing Players and Admin alike…" Masukomi reminded her.

"That's not Ravena at all! Right now…she's not herself, Felidae-chan, even Felis-san, would never ever do something like this!" Illu continued to try and reason with her friend's captor.

"Illu…" Shadow clutched his weapon hard, his grip tight enough to draw blood. Whether Lynx was a part of Ravena or not, her awakening was his fault, because he lost control all of this happened.

"Just let me talk to her, I'm sure I can reach Ravena-chan!" Illu begged.

"And what makes you think that you can reach her? She doesn't show regard to anyone, friend or foe. In fact, she was close to ending your guild leader's life had I not stepped in." Masukomi said.

"…Please. Give me a chance…" Illu's voice drop, but the urgency was still there. "Give me a chance, to get my friend back."

The field was silent, even Lynx didn't make the usual snarky comment as she stood still after hearing Illu's plea for her. Shadow and Grim were still kept behind Masukomi, not knowing if they should step in or allow Illu the chance. That feeling was shared with Masukomi, who then released Lynx, letting the nekomata fall to her knees.

"Go…before I reconsider."

Grateful for the chance, Illu quickly ran over to her friend. Before she could say anything Lynx spoke with her head still down, eyes hidden behind her hair.

"**That was foolish of you. Whatever's going through that birdbrain of yours it isn't going to work."**

"Ravena-chan…" Illu slowly got closer to the catgirl.

"**I could care less for you or anyone else!"**

Illu continued to walk closer and closer. "You forgot…when your move hit Punnya. I saw that look on your face. You were worried for Punnya, your friend." Right now, Illu was on her knees in front of Lynx.

"You say you're the real Ravena, but that doesn't mean Felidae-chan and Felis-san are fakes or gone." The owl hybrid then wrapped her arms around the nekomata. "You can stop this, come back to us Ravena-chan."

"…"

The arena was silent, letting the two girls have their moment. The three behind them were tense but they slowly lowered their guards as the thick tension began to fade from the air. Ravena was silent, Illu's words still playing again through her head. An arm rose up and pulled Illu in a bit closer, causing the girl's eyes to widen in joy.

"Illu…tan…"

Illu smiled in happiness. "Ravena-chan, I knew you wou…"

"**You are so stupid."**

"Eh?"

_***STAB!***_

Six eyes widened as the sickening sound deafened the air. Illu's expression changed from happiness to shock. Illu couldn't see it, but she could feel it. The pain dulling all other senses, as her body shut down. She couldn't even scream. From behind, all anyone else could see was Lynx's hand piercing through Illu as blood gushed into the air.

The last Illu could hear was Shadow's voice.

"**ILLUUUUUUUUUU!"**

* * *

><p><em><strong>To Be Continued<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Next Time on FFW:<strong>_

"Nobody touch them! I've called an ambulance!" commanded Hikari running into the gravity room.

"Kohaku!" "Hang in there!" were the collective voices as the group rushes Illu towards the ER.

...

_**Shawn punched the wall with such force that his knuckles bled. 'Dammit….this was all my fault….'  
><strong>_

"_**This is only the beginning…." Muttered Hikari as she watches over the unconsious body of an unknown young woman.**_

_**-  
>"It's time to Deal..." mutters Kusanagi with a coy smile on her lips.<strong>_

...


End file.
